WKNDwatchlist: Thelma, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and This Is Spinal Tap

This week, we talk about three heroic comedies, from a scooter-bound geriatric crusade and fourth-wall-breaking Sherwood silliness to the backstage chaos of heavy-metal mockumentary royalty, in Unlikely Heroes.

Thelma

A delightfully breezy action-comedy caper, Thelma stars June Squibb as a 93-year-old grandmother who channels Tom Cruise to reclaim her scammed money. Teaming up on a motorised mobility scooter, she sets out across the city to prove she has still got it, delivering an ambling, heartfelt spoof packed with spirited charm and real warmth.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Mel Brooks takes aim at Kevin Costner’s Prince of Thieves in this delightfully camp, silly spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Led by Cary Elwes’s heroic charm alongside Dave Chappelle and Amy Yasbeck, the film revels in fourth-wall breaks, urban musical flavour and absurd gags. While decidedly stupid at times, its comedic bravura offers an infectious, entertaining romp.

This Is Spinal Tap

Rob Reiner’s iconic mockumentary perfectly skewers the big hair, petty egos and backstage politics of 1980s rock bands. Starring Christopher Guest, this spontaneous, oft-quoted classic cranks the laughs up to eleven. From disastrous stage antics to bogus albums, it remains a razor-sharp, immensely influential satire that achieved cinematic greatness with remarkably little.

What’s on your watch list this weekend? Let us know! For more reviews, head over to splingmovies.com. And remember: Don’t WING it, SPL!NG it!