The resurrection of Nigel

A few weeks ago, my husband and I saw a VW commerical with what appeared to be Slash from Guns-N-Roses playing a guitar. We sort of thought it was just a look alike and didn't really think much more about it.

Then, tonight we saw what looked like the character Nigel Tufnel from one of the best movies of all time, "This is Spinal Tap."



So, VW's little ploy to get me to visit the URL they flashed on the screen worked, and I keyed it in. (Apparently there is a commercial with John Mayer as well, per the image above).

It was indeed Christopher Guest, who played Nigel in the movie made more than 20 years ago. Although, from the looks of the VW commercial, time hasn't been so kind to him, or at least it appears that way.

In recent movies he hasn't seemed as haggered haggared haggard as he looked in the commercial, but I'm thinking it's not just age, it's lighting and makeup and whatever else they do when they make a commercial. By recent movies I mean "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show," and "A Mighty Wind." None compare in the least to Spinal Tap, though they all try to recapture the magic of the mockumentary that was so brilliantly captured in Spinal Tap. Damn, that is a funny, funny movie.

Anyway, my point is (in case you hadn't figured it out), if you have never seen "This is Spinal Tap," please, please, run, don't walk and rent it or do your little DVD by mail thing or whatever you do. I promise, if you like dry, silly humor, you will love it.