The Actors’ Gang, home to some of the most outrageous guys ever seen on screen, also played host to Jack Black and Kyle Gass. The artistic couple formed Tenacious D there in 1994, one of the most powerful, fun and refreshing bands in American rock in the last 25 years. Between albums, anthological videos, television series and comics, The D also pulled out of his hat an impressive musical with an original title much more beautiful than our ‘Pitching the note’: ‘Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny’.
The call of rock
From ‘The producers’ to ‘All about my chaos’, the musical genre has always embraced the most wild comedy without regard, offering from time to time some indisputable jewel like ‘South Park: Bigger, longer and uncut’, ‘Musical Caníbal’ or this lavish ‘Tenacious D: hitting the mark’, where director and co-screenwriter Liam Lynch, veteran collaborator of the band and present in much of the funniest visual rock of the last 20 years, orchestrated a magnificent and dizzying musical comedy to the rhythm of its two wacky leads.
In all this time, since the release of their self-titled album in the early 2000s, they have only released four albums. Four albums in 20 years may seem like little, but seeing the sheer amount of good ideas and powerful melodies in most of his songs, plus how busy Black is usually, it’s more than enough. But is that The D are much more than a (great) rock band. Black and Gass form an insane comic couple who do not disgust the adventure of changing formats. There are their series, their video clips or the comic with which they accompanied their latest album, ‘Post-Apocalypto’, of which only half of the album is composed of songs, but what songs. You also have it available in “animated” episodes, to say the least.
Returning to the film, produced among others by Ben Stiller or Toby Emmerich, we must recognize that the cult is more than deserved. With a budget of 20 million dollars, this demonic epic of laughter, rock, friendship and hallucinogenic substances barely grossed 8 locally and another 5 outside, totaling a ridiculous 13 million dollars. One thing was clear: the world was not ready for Tenacious D. I would dare say they are not ready yet, and that is what continues to make them more unique than they already are. That fiasco is the culprit that his next great adventure only exists in comic or “animated” miniseries format.
The film basically extends, improves and enriches the universe that the band had previously created for HBO in a mini-series that the duo created between 1997 and 2000 and for which the relationship between the D and the house of ‘The Sopranos’ did not end well. altogether. According to Gass, HBO offered them to do ten episodes in exchange for giving up their role as executive producers. Gass and Black then decided to make a movie instead of handing HBO creative control of the band. From this intelligent and daring movement, a film would be born that should already be part of any collection worth its salt. Whether you are a rocker, a fan of humor or a movie buff, it is an indispensable title in your video library.
Jack Black is a genius, a rough diamond of savage talent with an uncanny capacity for physical humor. That he also has a tailor-made rock voice makes him a really strange, bizarre specimen in a world of humor where Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller have much more visibility. That is another of Black’s great gifts: he likes to do things in a much more traditional way. His colleague Kyle Gass, more focused on the musical part of the show, also has a strong stage presence, as was clear from his cameo in the sensational ‘Three Idiots and a Witch’, one of those infallible comedies that you surely missed. . I don’t blame you, the Spanish title is to put them all in jail.
As I was saying, the case of Jack Black is very interesting. A human bomb that needs its range of action, but when used at half throttle (‘Margot and the wedding’, ‘King Kong’, ‘Bernie’) it is also able to take over the function. Less versatile than Stiller and less constant than Ferrell, Black may nevertheless be the wildest and most eccentric of all. He surely also the most fascinating. His humor, anchored in a universe made up of medieval tales, pre-adolescent jokes and rock culture, makes him one of a kind.
