TENACIOUS D:
THIS IS NOT A RETROSPECTIVE ON “THE GREATEST BAND ON EARTH”, THIS IS JUST A TRIBUTE!
By Nico Beland
EPIC RECORDS
Jack Black and Kyle Gass AKA Tenacious D
WARNING: The Following Blog Post Contains Strong Language, Reader Discretion is Advised!
Welcome to the next installment of a new segment on my blog I like to call Psychotic Retrospectives where I share my personal history and opinions of well-known, nostalgic, and underrated movie and/or pop-culture related media. However, unlike my last retrospective where I reviewed different versions of a movie and discussed the history and my nostalgic memories of that particular film, this one is going to be about something I don’t usually talk about here…music, specifically a rock band and not just any rock band but quite possibly the most important and influential rock band to me, the comedy-rock duo Tenacious D.
Founded in 1994 by funnymen, Jack Black (School of Rock, Tropic Thunder, Jumanji 2 and 3) and Kyle Gass (Almost Famous, Elf, Kung Fu Panda) the D started off as a local band playing at nightclubs and bars but soon their popularity exploded with a 1997 mini-series on HBO, studio albums released in 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2018, various guest appearances on TV and in movies, and even spawning a feature-film in 2006 titled Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. Now that I’ve introduced the band, let me take a moment to discuss my history with ol’ Jables and the Rage Kage.
I didn’t know who Tenacious D were until sometime around the movie’s release, I was already familiar with Jack Black having seen him in several movies like School of Rock and Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of King Kong but at the time I had no idea he was also part of a rock duo. That was until a friend of mine brought the soundtrack of the film over to my house…and everything changed forever.
The Pick of Destiny, Tenacious D’s second album and soundtrack to the film of the same name
Upon listening to The Pick of Destiny soundtrack and hearing my friend talk about the movie I was rocking out, laughing, and having the time of my life. I knew that I had to see this movie for myself, unfortunately I could not find any theaters that were showing it at the time of being introduced to the D so I had to wait for it to come out on DVD to finally watch it.
But once I did see the movie that’s when I permanently cemented my Tenacious D fandom and have been a proud supporter of the D since I was 13. I own all of their albums both physically and digitally, Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks on DVD and a Blu-Ray of Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks 2, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny movie, and different replicas of the Pick of Destiny, sang songs with my friends all the time like Wonderboy, Master Exploder, Rock Your Socks, Tribute, Fuck Her Gently, Karate, Beelzeboss: The Final Showdown, Classico, The Metal, and POD (The Pick of Destiny), not to mention I just recently saw them in concert in Seattle during their Post Apocalypto tour in 2018, you bet your ass I wore my Master Exploder Pick of Destiny necklace that night.
Cover art of Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks and Tenacious D: The Complete Masterworks 2 DVDs
Calling myself a Tenacious D fan would be an understatement, fanatic and fanboy sound more accurate to the situation. Anyway, let me be your guide as we explore the bizarre, “Rocktastic”, absurd, and downright hilarious world of Tenacious D media starting off with their 1997 HBO mini-series simply titled…Tenacious D.
TENACIOUS D (HBO SERIES):
FUNNY 6-EPISODE MINI-SERIES IS FOR HARDCORE FANS ONLY!
By Nico Beland
Show Review: *** out of 4
HBO
Jack Black and Kyle Gass in Tenacious D (HBO series)
Starting off with Tenacious D’s mainstream debut, the six-episode TV mini-series that ran on HBO from 1997 until 2000 and was created by Black and Gass alongside David Cross (Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Kung Fu Panda trilogy) and Bob Odenkirk (Super High Me, The Spectacular Now, Long Shot). The best way I can describe the Tenacious D TV series is like a mix of Seinfeld and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! as it features a lot of cheesy special effects and the protagonists getting into all kinds of wacky shenanigans on their quest to become the greatest band on Earth.
If you’re a hardcore Tenacious D fan (like me) watching the show then you’ll notice several references, characters, songs, and concepts that would eventually be worked into their 2001 debut album and the movie Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. While the series aired long before their first album or the movie, it’s probably best to familiarize yourself with Tenacious D by listening to their music and/or watching the movie before jumping into this, if you’ve never listened to or watched Tenacious D before and watching the show on its own then don’t bother because this series is really stupid.
I don’t think it’s impossible to watch the show on its own but I personally found most of the humor to be funny because I already know the songs and have seen the movie numerous times so I was able to catch all the references that were made. It’s actually quite fascinating to see where all the ideas for The Pick of Destiny originated from like Lee, Sasquatch, and the rock-off against Satan.
The series follows JB (Jack Black) and KG (Kyle Gass) better known as the self-proclaimed “Greatest Band on Earth”, Tenacious D as they attempt to make it big in the rock music industry. A day with the D usually consists of performing gigs at the local open-mic night hosted by Paul F. Tompkins (Mr. Show, DAG, Run Ronnie Run), loafing around in their apartment (Usually while high), desperately searching for “Inspirado”, and quite often getting into trouble.
You know, all the typical rock star shenanigans, meeting their creepy #1 fan named Lee (JR Reed-Kung Fu Panda, Klown Forever), fighting each other in a karate match because of love, challenging the Devil himself to a rock-off, and of course an encounter with Sasquatch (John C. Reilly-Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Step Brothers) himself as they try to prove themselves as the greatest rock band of all time with hilarious results.
Overall, the Tenacious D mini-series has a similar vibe to The Pick of Destiny movie except on a much smaller scale and lower budget, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any less funny for die-hard fans of these foul-mouthed, Hard Rockin’ goofballs. However, a casual viewer may get a few laughs out of it, but I personally wouldn’t recommend the show unless you’re somewhat familiar with Tenacious D and their brand of humor…or just plain high, that would be fun also.
Each episode starts with an intro featuring Tenacious D walking into the bar where the Open Mic Night is being held at with a sign outside that changes its message much like the Couch Gags from The Simpsons. Also, most of the episodes begin and end with them performing at the Open Mic Night with an outrageously raunchy introduction by Paul F. Tompkins at the beginning and they usually play songs that would eventually become popular on the 2001 album and in The Pick of Destiny such as the History of Tenacious D, Tribute, Kyle Quit the Band, Kielbasa, and Karate to name a few.
The series is almost like a TV show version of the movie The Pick of Destiny which can either be a positive or a negative. On one hand the jokes that would make their way into the movie are still very funny and it’s interesting to see where they originated but at the same time if I want to watch these scenes and/or listen to these jokes I’d just put the movie on, it’s better paced, the jokes seem more fleshed-out and funnier, there is a little bit more plot in the film besides trying to become the greatest rock band ever.
Nevertheless, the Tenacious D HBO show is interesting to watch if you’re a huge fan of the band and The Pick of Destiny. It’s not for everyone that’s for sure but if you’re either a Tenacious D fan or someone who loves rock music, comedy, and some really bizarre humor then this show is definitely for you, now let’s step into some Tenacious D territory that I’m more familiar with, shall we?
TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY:
ROCKIN’ ROAD TRIP COMEDY IS A GOOFY FUN TIME!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** 1/2 out of 4
NEW LINE CINEMA (WARNER BROS. PICTURES)
Jack Black and Kyle Gass in Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
Here it is, the film responsible for turning me into both a Tenacious D fan as well as a Jack Black fanatic similar to what The Mask did for Jim Carrey the first time I watched that (If you want to know my thoughts on that franchise…stay tuned!). Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, a 2006 musical comedy directed by frequent D collaborator Liam Lynch (Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic) who had worked with them before on music videos and HBO shorts, and starring Black and Gass which is a fictionalized origin story of how Tenacious D met and went on a road trip to retrieve a magic guitar pick that could transform them into the greatest rock band on Earth.
Aside from maybe seeing a commercial for the movie once on TV while I was watching South Park (I started getting into South Park around the time this movie was coming out) I didn’t know anything about it until my friend came over with the soundtrack. As previously mentioned, I sadly missed The Pick of Destiny during its theatrical run and apparently a lot of people did as it was a box-office bomb when it came out, earned mixed reviews from critics, and faced competition with big hits released at the time like Casino Royale and Borat.
I was 13 when I first watched the movie when it came out on DVD and I loved the hell out of it from the songs to the bizarre humor as well as the strange charm of both Jack Black and Kyle Gass. It was a laugh riot for me that I watched many times and invited friends over to see it for themselves, pretty much everyone I showed that movie to back then loved it.
Unlike the majority of Happy Madison or Friedberg and Seltzer’s comedies, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is dumb and juvenile in all the right places and still manages to get some big laughs out of me even today. Is it one of the comedic greats? No. Are there jokes that don’t always stick the landing? At times. But for the most part the D’s humor rocks just as hard as their songs and overall, it’s just a delightfully absurd road trip comedy with two very talented and funny leads as your guides.
The film follows aspiring rocker JB (Jack Black) who as a boy ran away from his religious family in the piece of shit town of Kickapoo for the land of Hollywood on a quest to form the world’s most awesome rock band. Shortly after arriving he meets acoustic guitarist KG (Kyle Gass), who was performing on the street and the two of them become a band like no other, Tenacious D.
However, they soon discover that the secret to rock n roll lies within a magic guitar pick that was created out of Satan’s tooth, the Pick of Destiny. The D begins their adventure to find this ancient pick and become the greatest rock band of all time while also encountering a passive-aggressive truck stop waitress, a mysterious stranger with a shady past, sorority hotties, Sasquatch, and even Satan himself along the way.
The film also stars JR Reed, Paul F. Tompkins, and John C. Reilly reprising their roles from the HBO series as Lee, Open Mic Night Host, and Sasquatch, Troy Gentile (Bad News Bears (2005), Nacho Libre, The Goldbergs) as Young JB, Amy Poehler (Mean Girls, Blades of Glory, Parks and Recreation) as Truck Stop Waitress, Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption, Dead Man Walking, Mystic River) as The Stranger, Ben Stiller (Zoolander 1 and 2, Dodgeball, Tropic Thunder) as Guitar Center Guy, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl as Satan, Meat Loaf (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) as Bud Black, the late Ronnie James Dio as himself, Cynthia Ettinger (Seinfeld, Smallville, Carnivále) as Betty Black, and Andrew Caldwell (College, Henry Danger, iZombie) as Billy Black.
Overall, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny may not be as recognizable as films like The Blues Brothers, This is Spinal Tap, or The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but it’s still an entertaining musical comedy romp nonetheless. Sure, not every joke lands but a majority of them do and even the scenes that are ridiculous and absurd can still be funny like Jack Black deactivating lasers in the Rock n Roll History Museum in the greatest way possible and obviously the Sasquatch sequence, it’s juvenile and stupid but in a way where you just can’t help but laugh.
If anything, it’s a perfect example of a stoner comedy like Harold & Kumar or Pineapple Express where you invite your friends over, have a few drinks, smoke a little pot, and laugh your ass off, you’ll be doing Cock Push-Ups in no time afterwards. For the record that is a reference to the movie, I’m not trying to be crude and raunchy at random.
Joking aside, what really makes the humor and the film as a whole work are Jack Black and Kyle Gass’ chemistry and charisma. Black as the eccentric aspiring rocker with a bit of an ego but not to the point where he’s a straight-up jerk and Gass as a more clueless, simple-minded half of the D, they work together wonderfully both onstage and onscreen and it’s a shame the movie flopped because I would have loved seeing more starring them…and no, their cameo in that piece of regurgitated shit Bio-Dome doesn’t count!
If I had to nitpick something about this movie, it’s the Pick of Destiny itself because while it is a neat looking guitar pick the film never really shows exactly what it can do aside from a dream that Jack Black has about it and Ben Stiller dumping exposition in the back of his guitar shop through drawings from the dark ages. It doesn’t ruin the movie for me, but I think it would have made it a little more interesting if we had the opportunity to see the Pick in action.
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is a humorous, wacky, and rockin’ love letter to the Tenacious D lore filled with familiar songs, references, and fan-service sprinkled throughout. On its own, it’s a silly but also very entertaining buddy road trip movie with a lot of rock music, magic guitar picks, pot, cock jokes, and Sasquatch. What’s not to love?
TENACIOUS NEEK:
TENACIOUS D TODAY!
By Nico Beland
EPIC RECORDS
Jack Black and Kyle Gass are the last men on Earth in Tenacious D: Post-Apocalypto
Let’s close things off with me sharing how Tenacious D impacts me today and what’s the same and different about my thoughts on the band now as a 26-year-old (At the time of this retrospective). Obviously, I loved The Pick of Destiny when I was in middle and high school (I think at some point it may have been my favorite movie or at least one of them) but going back to it today while I still love that movie and find it hilarious even to this day, I’ll admit it is undeniably flawed and some of the jokes that were once a riot when I was younger can (slightly) fall flat today, I still laugh at the majority of the humor in this movie though.
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny was the film responsible for turning me into a Jack Black fanboy and the following year after its DVD release I showed my JB support by seeing all three of his movies that were released that year in theaters which were Be Kind Rewind, Kung Fu Panda, and Tropic Thunder. Not to mention, a few years ago around Christmas I revisited the 2003 Will Ferrell comedy Elf and was completely geeking out over Kyle Gass’ appearance in the film and just recently found out that both Gass and JR Reed had minor supporting voice roles in Kung Fu Panda which Black voiced the main character in.
However, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is not the big Tenacious D event for me, that honor goes to Post-Apocalypto which is the D’s most recent concert tour. One of their shows was held at the Moore theater in Seattle, WA on the night of December 14, 2018 (Which was also the same day I saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse…a very wise use of my Friday!).
Seeing the D performing live was such a treat and an unforgettable experience and I was rocking out and laughing all the way through the show. Also, by pure coincidence I found the Post-Apocalypto CD at a Barnes & Noblestore near where I work the following day before my shift, I didn’t plan on that, but I bought it the moment I saw it.
So yeah, I’ve been a proud supporter of Jables and Kage for a while now and have no plans of stopping anytime soon. As long as they keep on rocking and making me laugh then I’ll be in good hands with their unique styles of music and comedy…except for one thing that I’ve been blatantly ignoring throughout this entire retrospective despite a certain cameo appearance in this particular film.
BIO-DOME:
A COMEDY SO OBNOXIOUS AND TERRIBLE THAT IT DOESN’T DESERVE A FULL REVIEW!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: ½ out of 4
MGM
Tenacious D cameo from Bio-Dome
Shortest review in the world, a film that’s so bad, ear-gratingly annoying, and painfully unfunny that not even a cameo appearance from “The Greatest Band on Earth” could save it!
The film stars Paulie Shore (Encino Man, Son in Law, A Goofy Movie), Stephen Baldwin (8 Seconds, The Usual Suspects, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas), William Atherton (Ghostbusters, Die Hard 1 and 2, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie), Joey Adams (Chasing Amy, Big Daddy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), and singer Kylie Minogue; and is directed by Jason Bloom (Overnight Delivery, Veronica Mars, iZombie) and was released in 1996.
No comments:
Post a Comment