It must be noted that The Folksmen, the acoustic sister of Spinal Tap, features the same three Tap actors and musicians: Shearer, McKean and Guest. Also of note: The Folksmen first appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1986, shortly after Spinal Tap, and then disappeared from the landscape for quite a while, resurfacing a year or two ago as an opening act for a few Spinal Tap shows. (Imagine the makeup artists backstage working overtime!)
The characters played by Levy (Mitch) and Willard (manager of The Main Street Singers) grated on my nerves, especially Willard. I'm somewhat weary of his repetetive persona, the lighthearted goof who consistently cracks really bad, offensive jokes and has no idea that others perceive him as a complete moron. I was also disappointed that The Folksmen didn't sing their ode to train wrecks, Blood on the Coal. (To read the lyrics to this great tune, click on The Folksmen's pic on the movie web site, choose the album "Pickin'", read the lyrics and listen to 15 seconds of the song, which is thankfully included in the OST.)
In retrospect, I hoped for more from Guest - the film moves slowly, which admittedly is part of its charm, but it detracted from my enjoyment. And I wanted MUCH more of The Folksmen - their original bit on SNL in the 80s drew more laughs from me than any single segment of the film in which they appeared.
The production information package is available here.
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