British rock journalist Nick Kent perfectly summed up pop music by nothing how the best rock combines the Byronic and the moronic. That uneasy mix of poetry and poses, swagger and stagger, makes rock and roll ripe for mockery -- and, with Walk Hard arriving on DVD this week, what better time to name a few great comedies that have mocked rock and punctured the pretensions of pop?

1) Walk Hard

Starring John C. Reilly as roots-rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard doesn't just stick a foot out to trip up Walk the Line; it also manages to spoof The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Elvis and much more. (Indeed, Walk Hard follows such a carefully-crafted timeline as it travels through pop music history, it almost feels like a second take on the brilliant, underseen Grace of My Heart, another film that spanned decades through musical styles.) With a brilliant supporting cast and Reilly's cement-headed self-centered performance in the lead role, Walk Hard is that rare parody that nonetheless still loves what it mocks.

Best Line: "Wait a minute, son: Dewey Cox has to think about his whole life before he performs. ..."

Nothing gets folks worked up like a list, especially one focusing on movies -- a subject everyone has strong opinions on. The latest is a ranking of the "50 Greatest Comedies of All Time," according to the readers of The Guardian. First, let's look at their Top Ten: 1) Monty Python's Life of Brian, 2) Airplane!, 3) This is Spinal Tap, 4) Some Like It Hot, 5) Withnail and I, 6) Blazing Saddles, 7) The Big Lebowski, 8) Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 9) Duck Soup, 10) Young Frankenstein. Not perfect, but a pretty solid bunch. Keep in mind The Guardian is a British publication, which explains the abundance of Python and the high ranking of the funny-but-certainly-not-6th-greatest-comedy-of-all-time Withnail. I must say, I don't know anyone who would put Life of Brian at #1. I don't even think it's the funniest Python movie, that honor would go to Holy Grail. Great to see Young Frankenstein, Airplane! and Lebowski in particular ranked so high, though.

Looking at the rest of the list, I was glad to see that a lot of my personal favorites made the cut -- Planes Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck (I love me some Candy), Raising Arizona, Anchorman, Kingpin, The Naked Gun, The Blues Brothers, I could go on. I've got some quibbles -- where's Broadcast News? Office Space? Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Animal House? Vacation? -- but only a few of their choices really stood out to me as undeserving. For example, I did a triple take when I saw Meet the Fockers on there. People! Meet the Parents (which didn't even make the cut) sure, but Fockers? What the Fock? Oh well.

Comedy is highly subjective, so a list on this subject is never going to please everyone. A comedy list is extra difficult because it's hard to decide if you're supposed to choose based on number of laughs or quality of the film. (Although, since it's comedy, shouldn't those be one and the same? It seems most don't think so, especially judging by comedy's constant neglect at the Academy Awards). Plus there's the whole generational issue. With some exceptions, what was funny 80 years ago might not hold up laugh-wise today. I'll just come right out and say it -- The General is an important part of film history, sure, but it ain't funny. What would you remove from the Guardian list? And what'd they forget?

The band who made monumental music achievements with their amps that go to the rockin' number 11, is now reuniting to help save the world and fight climate change. Last the cinema world saw them, Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins and Derek Smalls were Catching Up with Marty DiBergi seven years ago. Since then, it appears that Nigel has been raising miniature race horses but can't find jockeys small enough to ride them, David's busy as a hip-hop producer/colon clinic head and Derek has been in rehab for his Internet addiction. Now they're re-teaming for a concert in London and a new short film that helped open up the Tribeca Film Fest, in a gala hosted by Al Gore.

Rob Reiner's new short is called, simply, Spinal Tap, and is part of a campaign called SOS/Live Earth. The new flick has DiBergi taking credit for the term "global warming," and the band discussing their dedication to charity work, which of course, includes campaigns to help ferrets by raising money to get them Caesar Salad. As if that wasn't enough for hard-core mockumentary and Tap fans, the group has a new single called Warmer Than Hell, which includes the lyrics: "The devil went to Devon, it felt like the fourth degree / He said, 'It it hot in here, or is it only me?'" Luckily, for all of us who aren't in Tribeca, we can see the film along with 8 others here starting today. And for you lucky buggers in London, Spinal Tap will perform in Wembley Stadium as part of the Live Earth concerts this July.

Note: Look for Cinematical's extensive coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival to begin real soon.

The latest in the vdubrocks campaign ads features one of my fave directors, Christopher Guest, reprising his This is Spinal Tap character, Nigel Tufnel. You can check out Nigel rocking it out in his highly fashionable kilt, black tshirt, tube socks and sneakers, while standing on (and falling off of) the roof of a white Jetta rising up from the stage, while white Rabbits mark the four corners of the stage. The first ad in the campaign featured U2s Slash** rocking the casbah with black GTIs set up like amp stacks. Personally, I think its hilarious that they've brought Nigel, a fake musician, out of the vaults for this campaign.

Watching Nigel rock it out in the ad, I couldn't help but think ... wouldn't it be cool for Guest to bring Spinal Tap back for a new mockuementary about the aging rock-and-rollers getting together for a reunion show for VH1? I can't be the only person out there who would love to see Tufnel, David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) bringing it on again, right? The "band" reunited a couple of times in the past, in 1992 for the album Break Like the Wind, for which they did a promo tour and "videos", in 1998 for a short film called Spinal Tap: The Final Tour, in 2000 when they launched a mock website called "Tapster," and in 2001 for a "Back From the Dead" tour that spanned nine cities. Oh, and there was a 2004 documentary about the band as well.

But seriously -- we've had Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration. Isn't it about time we saw Spinal Tap back on the big screen -- utilizing the rest of the of Guest's fab ensemble cast? Picture Catherine O'Hara and Jennifer Coolidge as aging groupies! Parker Posey as, say, Nigel's daughter -- or better yet, as a younger groupie competing against O'Hara for the band's attention. And while we're at it, how about Guest in duel roles? He could reprise Corky St. Clair as the director of the reunion show! Oh, the possibilities are endless. Who else out there would love to see Guest bring back Spinal Tap?

[ via our sister site, Autoblog ]

**SIncerest apologies to both Slash (who, as our readers pointed out, is from Guns 'n Roses, NOT U2, and to The Edge, who IS from U2, for my error there. And thanks to our readers for pointing it out. And yes, I grew up on both bands, and yes, I know better. Shame, shame on me. I guess I have to give back my cool 1980s jean jacket covered with safety pins and rock band buttons now, along with my hip collection of U2 and GNR cassette tapes. Darn. -KV