41 years later, and they’re still not on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?!

See this graphic above this review? Well, that’s Spinal Tap spoofing the Crosby, Stills & Nash debut album cover. And the legendary photographer Henry Diltz claims he’s not copying anything in “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.”

It’s funny, because last week, I enjoyed “The Paper,” which wasn’t a remake of the Ron Howard comedy, but a spin-off of the hit NBC series “The Office.” And I guess the show has been doing immersive tours lately to correct myself.

This week, I review “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” which is the sequel to the 1984 mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap.” Fans recall the fictional rock band Spinal Tap, which consists of the lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), the lead singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and the lead bass player Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). And the spoof was directed by Rob Reiner, who also played the fake documentarian Marty di Bergi.

Guest, McKean, Shearer, and Reiner all reprise their roles in this sequel, which doesn’t crank the sound to an 11, but as high 7, which is good enough for me and any fan of the original. I guess they thought that if many 80s sequels like “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Coming 2 America or “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” were made, than why not “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues?”

Here’s how things have been for them lately. Nigel hasn’t talked to David in 15 years, and Marty wants to know why. Nigel now runs a music and cheese shop, David is composing for a whodunit podcast series (not “Only Murders in the Building”), and Derek runs a glue museum (“What keeps people together?” “Glue”). At least, they each still have music left in them.

They’re about to have their reunion concert in New Orleans. They get a new drummer named Didi (Valerie Franco), as well as guest appearances by Elton John and Paul McCartney, and Hope Faith (Kerry Godliman), daughter of their late manager Ian Faith (originally played by the late Tony Hendra). And their concert manager Simon Howler (Chris Addison) suggests they die on stage for what would be a memorial concert. Do you honestly think they want to die on stage? And do you honestly think they would?

An interesting choice of comedy is that since they can’t get in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, then the new manager decides to set up the International House of Rock (IHOR doesn’t really ring as IHOP does it?). Another is how this sequel shares the original film’s passion for Stonehenge, but I can’t say how. And they didn’t expect us not to laugh at the musicians’ new jobs, did they?

Not all the jokes land and we don’t get much narrative from the fake band (after all both movies run for less than 90 minutes), but we do see Spinal Tap surviving the 2020s without trying to cater to today’s audience. Guest, McKean, Shearer, and Reiner all still deliver the energy and comedy, and Reiner still does a good job behind the camera. If he can direct “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life,” then I think he might be making a comeback (I still enjoyed his guest appearance this year on “The Bear”).

You have to travel back in time to see the original movie, which saw documentaries and the music world in a comical sense (think about the cucumber and tin foil gag). “The End Continues” is not going to top the Billboard Hot 100, but it does have a fun time trying. And so far, I think September is a good month for mockumentaries, whether we’re talking about TV shows or movies.