Kyle Gass had an idea that might have made the 2006 cult stoner rock 'n' 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." No straight dialogue. All singing.
He floated this idea in an interview I conducted with him and his co-star and Tenacious D bandmate Jack Black in Los Angeles a couple of weeks before the movie opened.
"The opening scene is mind blowing and I sometimes get a little sad when it stops," Gass started to explain, before Black cut him off.
"What are you talking about? Stop saying bad things about the movie," Black said. "It's not easy to write a full opera. You've got to take your hats off to The Who but on the other hand, ["Tommy"] kind of sucked and it's probably because it was an opera from beginning to end -- Kyle!
"You've got to stop singing and start talking at some point. You have to talk and communicate without singing. It's annoying."
I'm not sure I agree. I kind of wish "The Pick of Destiny," which was just released on Blu-ray for the first time by Shout Factory, was a straight-up opera. And I've never been sure that Black and Gass were doing a bit with their back-and-forth about the virtues of rock operas. Whether or not you think Ken Russell's 1975 film version of Pete Townsend's rock opera kind of sucks probably depends as much on your demographic cohort as your cinematic taste; I think "Tommy" is a hoot and I've re-watched it a few times over the years.
And I have about the same level of affection for "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny." It's not a great movie -- and despite their in-character protestations to the contrary, Black and Gass knew that at the time they made it. What it is, is in one of those in-joke movies designed to baffle anyone unacquainted with the self-promulgated mythology of Tenacious D, the self-proclaimed greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world.
The moment you begin to take the film the least bit seriously, the whole thing evaporates -- it's supposed to be cheesy and stupid, designed by smart people to simulate a really bad vanity project made by a hubristic (near) movie star and his entourage. Director and co-writer Liam Lynch, who directed 2005's "Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic" and a host of music videos, is also a longtime D collaborator. (As well as a musician in his own right -- his 2002 album "Fake Songs" is a minor masterpiece.)
So Black -- the most unlikely of movie stars, a veritable sight gag with Hollywood stubble shading his chipmunk cheeks -- was never going to break character and get thoughtful about the project, which is basically a made-up origins story for his and Gass' semi-real band.
"This movie has 37 hard laughs, 27 chortles, two giggles, a snort, three mind-blowers, one orgasm and two disgustipations," he explained. He also said we could expect a good sequel, and then a trilogy-ending weak one.
Although sequels never came, they did go on to do a six-episode web series for YouTube ("Tenacious D in Post-Apocalypto") and they continue to tour, almost like a real band. And "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny" has acquired a devoted following.
In the tradition of the Cheech and Chong stoner flicks and, yes, Russell's cinematic interpretation of The Who's rock opera, "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny" is a good-natured and sometimes startlingly funny film targeted at the self-medicating crowd.
But while it might be the sort of movie best appreciated with mood-altering substances -- or at least experienced with mood-altering substances -- it isn't really the sort of thing anyone needed to be warned away from. It's pretty much a stoner comedy with some surprisingly well-rendered and funny songs. To get back to basics, Tenacious D is a heavy metal duo made up of irrepressible Black and formidably talented Gass, two heavyset men who play acoustic guitars. Before the film, they had a short-lived HBO series and produced one decent-selling record.
But what made Tenacious D actually good -- instead of just a canny conceit -- is that Gass (usually referred to as "KG" or "Kage" or some other permutation of his initials) is an excellent musician who looks like your clueless Uncle Pete turned out for beer-on-the-bases co-ed softball, while Black ("JB," "Jables") sings his parody lyrics with a Joe Cocker-esque conviction that belies genuine affection for the genre he's subverting. He knows how silly the headbanger obsession with things satanic and Wakeman-esque is, but he still digs Norwegian black metal.
As for their movie, it starts out inspired -- the aforementioned first six minutes of the film are dazzling, hinting as they do at a keenly self-aware wall-to-wall metal musical (the casting of Meatloaf as the young JB's father is particularly good). And to be honest, it ends up sort of lame, obvious and kind of tired, although it's partially redeemed by the closing number, which proclaims the film "betta thanna Citizen Kane," which, in a limited purpose sort of way, I suppose it is, since Kane doesn't really have any slack time in which one might catch a quick nap or roll up another one.
I have always had a soft spot for these kind of smart dumb movies that feel like they were made against someone's better judgment. I enjoy the D and am happy to have had their origin myth explained to me. And there are little Easter eggs, like a brief appearance by Tim Robbins -- who sort of discovered Jack Black years ago and gave him one of his best roles, that of the dittohead camp follower in "Bob Roberts" -- who wasn't even in the script. (The story, unreliably related by Black, is that Robbins just showed up on the set one day and they started filming him.)
While not everyone in the target demographic will get the "Clockwork Orange" reference, you don't get to see many romantic comedies about two heavyset heterosexual guys who are so obviously deeply in love with each other. It's touching, guys, it really is, and I hope the D always abides.
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None- Cast: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, JR Reed, Tim Robbins, Meatloaf, Troy Gentile
- Director: Liam Lynch
- Rating: R
- Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes
- Re-reviewed from the Shout Factory Blu-ray