Anvil vs. Spinal Tap

Even after watching the documentary – or rockumentary – Anvil! The Story of Anvil and afterwards, looking them up online, I'm still not sure they're not a spoof band. I mean, their music isn't even as good as Spinal Tap's (who have fallen into that strange grey area of being a fictional band who have actually released a record and gone on tour).

The similarities between Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008) and This is Spinal Tap (1984) are just ridiculous: indeed, the characters and dialogue from This is Spinal Tap seem to inform Anvil! The Story of Anvil throughout. Both bands (real and imagined) were big in the 1980s, then vanished into obscurity, and after trying to make a comeback finally became big in Japan. Both are heavy metal bands. Both have a Rob(b) Reiner. Both have volume dials that go up to 11. And the Stonehenge connection. Spinal Tap are certainly more real to me than Anvil.

We all now know that I'm Still Here, the recent documentary – or cockumentary – directed by Casey Affleck about his brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix, was a hoax. This involved Phoenix being a dick for two years; putting on weight, growing a beard, being obtuse in chat shows, admitting to giving up acting and starting a rap career. Knowing it's now a hoax essentially means Phoenix was acting a part (in public) for two years.

So what I'm waiting for is the makers of Anvil! The Story of Anvil to admit that the band are a hoax; that they've been planning the film since 1973, when two of the band members met at school, and have been acting their parts for the last thirty-five years, just for the film about them to be released in 2008. (At the same time, I'm also thinking, you just can't make these guys up can you?)