A baffled rock band meanders the labyrinthian corridors of a Cleveland concert venue, searching in vain for the stage. A miniature model of Stonehenge is stomped into near oblivion by mincing dwarfs, as the lead singer looks on with astonishment. A drummer spontaneously combusts in a flash of light, leaving only a green globule on the seat behind his kit.

These are the images sewn into the living rock of our collective consciousness by “This Is Spinal Tap,” the story of a fake and vigorously ludicrous group that has proved far more beloved and influential than anyone would have expected following the film’s fraught initial release in 1984. All of this and more — a lot more — is covered in “A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever,” a new history of the band written by Rob Reiner and the acto

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