Jamie Lee Curtis has named the 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap as the film that changed her life, not for her own career but because it led her to her husband, comedian Christopher Guest. Curtis, best known for horror roles but also an accomplished comic actress in films such as Trading Places, True Lies and Everything Everywhere All At Once, has said the film's brilliance and Guest's starring role first drew her attention to him before they even met.

Curtis recalled spotting a picture of Guest in Rolling Stone while the film was being promoted and mentioning it to her friend Debra Hill, co-writer and producer of Halloween; a chance restaurant encounter with Guest followed soon after, and the pair married within four months, remaining together since. This Is Spinal Tap, directed by Rob Reiner in his feature debut, is widely regarded as one of the greatest mockumentaries ever made and launched Reiner into a celebrated run of varied films, including Stand by Me, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally… Reiner, who died in 2025, last reunited with Guest on the recent sequel This Is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.