Kyle Gass had an idea that might make his 2006 cult stoner rock and roll epic Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny even better.
It should have been a rock opera like The Who’s “Quadrophenia” or “Tommy.” There is no straight dialogue. Everyone is singing.
He floated the idea in an interview I did with him and co-star and Tenacious D bandmate Jack Black in Los Angeles a few weeks before the film’s release.
“The opening scene is shocking and sometimes it gets a little sad when the scene stops,” Gus began to explain, but Black interrupted.
“What are you talking about? Stop talking bad about movies,” Black said. “It’s not easy to write a complete opera. Hats off to The Who, but on the other hand… [“Tommy”] It kind of sucked, but probably because it was an opera from start to finish — Kyle!
“At some point you have to stop singing and start talking. You have to talk and communicate without singing. It’s a pain.”
I’m not sure if I agree. I wish “Pick of Destiny”, which was just released on Blu-ray for the first time by Shout Factory, was a straight opera. And I wasn’t sure if Black and Gus were bickering about the virtues of rock opera. Whether you think Ken Russell’s 1975 film adaptation of Pete Townshend’s rock opera is crap depends as much on demographics as it does on movie tastes. I think “Tommy” is interesting, so I’ve watched it several times over the years.
And I have the same amount of love for “Fate’s Choice: Tenacious D.” This is not a great movie. And despite their characters’ protests to the contrary, Black and Gass knew that when they made the film. What it is is in his one of a kind joke films made to confuse those who don’t know the self-proclaimed myth of Tenacious D, the self-proclaimed greatest rock and roll band in the world.
The moment you start taking this movie even remotely seriously, everything evaporates – it simulates a really bad vanity project created by an arrogant (and similar) movie star and his cronies. It’s supposed to be a cheap, stupid thing designed by smart people for the sake of it. Liam Lynch, who directed and co-wrote 2005’s Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic and numerous music videos, is also a longtime D collaborator. (As well as being a musician himself, his 2002 album “Fake Songs” is a minor masterpiece.)
So Black – the unlikeliest of movie stars, a veritable sight gag with chipmunk cheeks shadowed by Hollywood stubble – was never meant to break character, and basically He had no intention of being thoughtful about this project, which is a fictional origin story for him and Gus in a semi-real band.
“This movie has 37 hearty laughs, 27 shrieks, 2 giggles, 1 snort, 3 shocks, 1 orgasm, and 2 disgusts,” he said. explained. He also said that we can expect good sequels, but then we can expect weak sequels that end in a trilogy.
Although a sequel was never produced, they produced a six-episode web series on YouTube (“Tenacious D in Post-Apocalypto”) and continue to tour like a real band. And “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” gained a devoted following.
Russell’s cinematic take on the stoner film tradition of Cheech & Chong and, yes, the rock opera of The Who, “Tenacious D. in the Pick of Destiny” is aimed at people who self-medicate. It’s a good-natured, sometimes surprisingly funny movie.
But while this movie may be the kind of movie that uses mood-altering substances that is most commonly watched, at least one that has experience with mood-altering substances, it’s not really a warning to anyone. Not the kind of movie that needs to be. It’s almost a stoner comedy with some funny songs that are surprisingly well executed. Back to basics, Tenacious D is a heavy metal duo comprised of two of his stalwarts, the irrepressible Negro and the terrifyingly talented Gus, who play acoustic guitar. Before this film was released, they produced a short-lived HBO series that had decent sales.
But what makes Tenacious D so much more than just a witty conceit is that Gus (usually referred to as “KG” or “Kage” or some other permutation of his initials) tells his clueless uncle It’s just that he’s a great musician. It turns out that Pete will be joining the co-ed softball team Beer on the Base, but Black (“JB”, https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2024/feb/29/flashback-opinion-tenacious-d- (in) -the-pick-of/”Jables”) sings the parody lyrics with a Joe Cocker-esque conviction that betrays a genuine love for the genre he’s trying to destroy. He knows how stupid headbangers’ obsession with satanic and wakeman stuff is, but he still loves Norwegian black metal.
When it comes to their films, it starts with inspiration. The first six minutes of the aforementioned film are dazzling, suggesting they’re a wall-to-wall metal musical with sharp self-awareness (Meatloaf’s casting as young JB’s father is particularly good). And to be honest, it ends up being kind of lame, obvious, and kind of tired, but that’s partly because of the final number that declares the film to be a “bad Citizen Kane”. Although it is supplemented by, I think it is for a certain limited purpose. That’s because Kane simply doesn’t have the luxury of taking a quick nap or another nap.
I’ve always had a soft spot for these kinds of smart, stupid movies that feel like they’re made against someone’s better judgment. I enjoy D and I’m glad you explained its origin myth. And a brief appearance by Tim Robbins (who discovered Jack Black all those years ago and gave him one of his best roles, a camp believer on par with Bob Roberts). There are also little easter eggs like, but he wasn’t even in the script. (This story, unreliably told by Black, is that Robbins showed up on set one day and filming began.)
A Clockwork Orange may not come to mind for everyone in its target audience, but it’s rare to see a romantic comedy about two deeply heterosexual men so clearly in love with each other. . Guys, it’s really moving, and I hope D always survives.
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- Starring: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, J.R. Reed, Tim Robbins, Meat Loaf, Troy Gentile.
- Director: Liam Lynch
- Rating: R
- Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes
- Re-review from Shout Factory Blu-ray