First mockumentary? vs. Spinal Tap

Albert apparently argues this was the first mock-documentary, against a proposal that most of us would make, that being This is Spinal Tap (1984) was the first.

Kevin Pollak offered an interesting response, that Real Life is not a mockumentary, but a linear storyline about a documentary, and Spinal Tap is actually the first fully documentary-style mock format. I would have to agree, as Real Life follows a typical story and character structure of a feature, while Spinal Tap is a collection of vignettes, assembled into the subject-driven storyline of the documentary. Had Real Life been edited differently, it may have fit this format, but I have to agree with what seems to be the larger crowd, it simply has too much plot to be a mockumentary.

Now Rob Reiner having known Albert since high school, who can say where the conception of this format truly lies. But it probably begins with Albert, with Chris Guest and Rob taking it to fruition, and of course Chris perfecting it around the time of Waiting for Guffman/Best in Show, inspiring Ricky Gervais to serialize the idea in The Office, and the idea finally becoming bastardized by the time Parks and Recreation and Modern Family roll onto the scene (not that these aren't funny shows).

And of course we can credit reality tv to the Loud family (An American Family), and give Albert tremendous credit for being the first to illustrate reality/ real life is not interesting enough, which is in fact why we have feature films and mocumentaries, and even if you try to capture real life, it will only succeed if over performed and over dramatized (burn it down!). Which is ultimately even the criticism that An American Family falls under.

Not Albert's best film, but perhaps his most culturally influential.