"There was always something of the populist in Rob Reiner's directorial work; he trafficked in the realm of the crowd-pleasing comedy, the suspenseful four-quadrant thriller, the mainstream-friendly courtroom drama. But he managed to innovate and pioneer even in these confines. Hell, in his 1984 directorial debut, "This is Spinal Tap," he practically invented the entire genre of the mockumentary (which "Tap" co-writer and co-star Christopher Guest would make a career of continuing), and in so doing changed the face of cinematic comedy forever."
"Of course, volumes have already been written about the pitch-perfect calibration of Reiner's comedic instincts as a filmmaker here, from its po-faced skewering of music docs like "The Last Waltz" to the way he expertly cut together largely-improvised footage into a gut-busting mockumentary about a trio of hard-rocking losers and their feeble grasps at lingering fame. But it's also worth noting the impeccable timing of his straight-man performance as credulous filmmaker Marty DiBergi,"
The sudden deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele prompted reflection on a highly entertaining cinematic career. In the 1980s and 1990s Reiner specialized in crowd-pleasing comedies, four-quadrant thrillers, and mainstream courtroom dramas while innovating within those forms. His 1984 directorial debut This Is Spinal Tap practically invented the mockumentary, combining po-faced skewering of music documentaries with expertly edited, largely improvised footage. Reiner balanced improvisational performers with precise comic timing as a straight man in the role of filmmaker Marty DiBergi. Several Reiner films became cultural touchstones that epitomize their era and continue to attract audiences.
Read at Roger Ebert
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