Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

This Is Spinal Tap

By Afsheen Nomai, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Hilarious, ribald, drug-filled rock send-up.

Movie R 1984 83 minutes
This Is Spinal Tap Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 13+

Based on 7 parent reviews

Accurate P.
Accurate P. Parent of 16-year-old
August 5, 2023
age 12+
A very tame R rated movie. It's about on the same level as something like Major League or the original Vacation. There are about 30 F-bombs and a few mild sexual references. There are also a few references to drugs and alcohol.

This title has:

Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
BlitzGuy20
BlitzGuy20 Parent of 8-year-old
January 14, 2021
age 12+

Raw and awkward mockumentary has language and some sex humor

This Is Spinal tap is a 1980’s comedy “nockumentary” about a decking heavy metal rock group. It’s very similar to shows like “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation”, and do contain its raw and cringe humor with its sex jokes and language, so here’s my full parent review in detail: VIOLENCE: Basically none, but there is some “violent behavior”. A man smashes things on an office with a cricket bat in a comedic sequence. A man smashes his guitar. LANGUAGE: In the second half of the movie, language such as f*ck and bullsh*t appear more frequently than the first, especially in one scene where the band constantly swears at each other in anger. All in all, the film has over 20 uses of f*ck and sh*t throughout. ALCOHOL/DRUG/TOBACCO USE: People frequently smoke, some people refer to liking drugs and nothing more is really shown than just references in no detail. SEXUAL CONTENT: Some sexual jokes are heard throughout. In one scene, a woman discusses with a man why his album picture is sexist, and explains that “a naked and greased up woman is shown on all 4’s with a dog collar on and attached to a leash held by a man” and the label is never shown. Later on in the film, a man also explains another artist had half naked women and him being whipped by them. A man says that his piece refers to oral sex, but it is mentioned so lightly that it would fly over a kids head. Most songs are about big bums and “sexy” people in all. Some other references, but all fly over the heads of kids. OVERALL: 12+

This title has:

Too much swearing
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THIS IS SPINAL TAP, documentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) follows the British heavy metal band Spinal Tap on their tour of North America in 1982. The band is besieged by bad luck (their drummers keep dying off under bizarre circumstances), poor taste, and questionable talent. The main members of the band, David (Michael McKean), Nigel (Christopher Guest), and Derek (Harry Shearer) are so over the top with their performances as rock stars that it's almost impossible for anyone to take them seriously, including their fans, their record company, and their manager(s).

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (14 ):

Make no mistake, while Spinal Tap is a tragic failure of a band, this film is top-quality humor. When This Is Spinal Tap was released, people truly thought it was a documentary about a real band. People would even come up to director Rob Reiner, telling him that he made a great documentary, but should have filmed a better-known band.

This Is Spinal Tap is solid entertainment, especially for those who are huge fans of rock music. The film is mostly ad-libbed by the actors, who all give side-splitting performances. While watching this film, you can't help but cringe and laugh at the band members as they deal with repeated disappointment and disaster. Classic scenes include Nigel talking about amps that go up to 11, the band attempting to harmonize "Heartbreak Hotel" at the foot of Elvis's grave, and, of course, Stonehenge. Appropriate for rock music fans over the age of 13.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the difference between a documentary and a mockumentary. How can you tell which is which?

  • The movie can jump-start a great discussion about the role of marketing in the music business. How much of their success (or lack thereof) does Spinal Tap owe to marketing versus their own (clear lack of) talent?

  • What is director Reiner trying to say to the audience about the music industry?

  • How does this movie's subject matter relate to the current pop music scene?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate