Mark Steyn praises the other (if quieter) Christopher Guest ensemble musical pastiche:
As Steyn points out, Guest’s mockumentaries succeed even though they leave out hugely important aspects of their targets’ lives.
He notes that the folk music spoofed in A Mighty Wind is all vaguely apolitical, contra the spirit of the times. However, it depends on which “times” you’re talking about; while I’m no expert, it seems to me that the folk revival stuff pre-Kennedy assassination was less overtly political than it was late Sixties.
Likewise, as I’ve said before, Spinal Tap is universally regarded as one of the greatest, truest movies about rock music ever made, even though the finished cut largely leaves out drugs, groupies and even booze. I could be wrong, but I don’t think anybody even lights up a cigarette.
It’s like if Pixar made Cocksucker Blues.
Whereas Lemmings and other National Lampoon spoofs of the era have strong, well deserved cult followings but are nowhere near as famous now, probably because it is just too painfully accurate:
