Comedy

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (HBOMax, 2025)

While this had been on my radar as going to be released at the end of 2025, the tragic event of the murders of Rob and Michele Reiner made me watch this “mockumentary” followup in a very different light.

While I am a fan of the original movie, I do not know all of the songs and the key lines by heart. The setup of the sequel is that the band needs to reunite for one more show. Rob Reiner “Marty” is back as the director/interviewer.

Sadly, I think the movie suffers from having to follow in its own footsteps. There are some good bits with some “special guests” and the best thing is that there is a definite story arc in the 90 minutes.

In hindsight, it was bittersweet to see Rob Reiner do a bit of slapstick.

I have to shout out the newcomer Valerie Franco as Tap’s latest drummer. This seems particularly relevant now that Rush has tapped a new drummer; I think once again Spinal Tap was ahead of the curve!

This movie won’t resonate like the first one did, but it is going to serve as the standing stone of Rob Reiner’s last film, and it does that honorably, and with some honest laughs along the way.

Only Murders in the Building (S5, 2025, Hulu)

Note: this is commentary on all of Season 5, so there are Spoilers!

This is my wife’s favorite show on television, and we’ve been watching since we tried Hulu at season one mainly to see the show. I was unsure how the gimmick was going to hold up, but here we are with a season six announced and no real downgrade in the quality of the show. But do I have things to say? Yes!

They tried to give Steve Martin’s character some kind of “b” story for growth but the testosterone thing was very hit-or-miss. Martin Short is a loveable cringe to watch but I wonder if things are on the horizon for his marriage to Meryl Streep to be dissolved. There just seemed to be notes of unhappiness there for him. Selena Gomez did a fine job this season but I worried about her health as she really slimmed down. I read she’s recently married so I hope it was from a good place as she is beautiful either way.

Guest stars this year were a mixed bag. Dianne Wiest seemed out of place even given the character. Tea Leone was given a scattered character and gave a scattered performance. (Her character’s adult sons were one of the bright spots of the season.) The billionaires were funny impressions, most of all Renee Zellweger’s not-Martha. Keegan-Michael Key was another without a lot to do, but he did prove important to the season.

They seem locked into a ten-episode format which is just long enough to develop a good murder mystery with some twists, but not so long that it needs padded episodes. The standout of the season for me was episode two, “After You.” It really gave Lester a showcase episode while moving the plot significantly along.

The main thing that bothered me at the end of the season was showing Dianne Wiest’s character as having achieved the dream of living in the Arconia, but it looked to me like Mabel’s squatter apartment. Does this mean that Mabel has a new place? I hope this is quickly addressed. The biggest bright spot was one of the sons dating Howard–I hope there’s a fun way to keep seeing this develop.

It’s always a tricky thing when a hit show travels, so we will see what happens to the gang in London (and how long they are there) for season six.

The Naked Gun (2025)

I was a big fan of the silly humor of the original Police Squad and its follow-on movies. This latest in the exploits of the LAPD’s special squad now follows Frank Drebin’s son, played by Liam Neeson. He has the same straight-man vibe that Leslie Nielsen did that made the first run so successful. The movie pays homage to original cast members (and in one case DOESN’T pay homage on purpose). Pamela Anderson was a lot better as the female lead than I expected.

It has been years since I have heard my wife laugh so much at anything, so I think the movie is successful. There were a couple of running gags that lost their effectiveness, but I admire that they kept up with it. We could do with more farce in our lives and the exercise of examining the background for the humor instead of what’s right in the foreground.

About the only jokes that fell flat for me were the ones intimating a sex scene when looked at via infrared goggles. For me, that just went to a place that I don’t remember the original stooping to for laughs. I suppose that might be the influence of Seth McFarlane, or it just might be what’s permissible now versus the late 1980s.

It was great to watch a movie with less than a ninety-minute runtime, and that included watching the credits for some additional smirks and laughs. I blinked to miss the movie’s run in theaters but was glad to see it on Paramount+.