DISCLAIMER: I'm a VERY harsh critic on pop culture so be warned - I can be unrestrained and very nasty to boot. It's after years of honing my viciousness drinking wine with friends while debating the pros and cons of particular bands. One of my favorite writers is Cintra Wilson so that may explain some of my influences. If you haven't read Cintra Wilson I definitely recommend her - especially her critiques of Oscar night (before 2007 - she was too easy on them that year). Yes, it's tough being such a critical yet mindlessly devoted "fan". So easy too - you just sit back on your un-talented butt and whine about legitimately creative people being less than perfect. Somehow every hero eventually disappoints though - reminding me that creative juice will often pass it's expiration date. Yes, there are a few artists that surprise you and can put a new spin on their shtick but you can usually count those artists on one hand. In fact I just took a look at my CD collection and I couldn't find one band or artist whose stuff wasn't better in the beginning except, strangely enough - William Shatner. I know, I know - but really, the album he did with Ben Folds - "Has Been" was genius. Marianne Faithfull has reinvented herself but so many musicians end up doing "classics" and become cabaret singers of sorts. I think Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs) is pretty clever and versatile but he was a little scary when he started looking like Michael Jackson - and he married a model - so typical. Another artist who has yet to disappoint is David Cross (of "Mr. Show" and "Arrested "Development"). Thankfully he's still bitter, hilarious, unrelentingly uncompromising and politically incorrect. Which brings me to "Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny". It's lame - lame, lame, lame, lame. A prime example of dumb and formulaic comedy. David Cross and Bob Odenkirk of Mr. Show were embarrassed to release their full length feature "Run Ronnie Run" but it packs way more laughs than Tenacious D's recent wilty film. Where are the jokes? The clever songs? Where has Jack Black's bubbling, hyperactive and amusing stream of consciousness gone? "The Pick of Destiny" is a classically bad comedy that can't stretch its humor through 93 minutes. Why am I surprised - it's such a common problem with humor on the big screen. ("Zoolander" is the exception to the rule for me - and I'm aware that it's a love it or hate it movie). There were some marginally funny bits like the Sasquatch Mushroom Trip, their escape by "power slide" and the Rock Off with Dave Grohl as the Devil (an idea they've executed better in the video for the song "Tribute"). The biggest bummer was The D's music - subpar lyrically and lacking their usual "tasty tunes" and melodiousness. I played their first, self titled CD ("Tenacious D") relentlessly - not only was it funny but it TOTALLY ROCKED making it one of my favorite CD's of 2001. It was the kind of comedy you could quote endlessly and the type of music you could proudly blast in your car. It was all good - their shorts for HBO, the DVD "The Complete Masterworks", the video "Fuck Her Gently" by Spumco, and Jack Black in "High Fidelity" and "School of Rock". I loved these guys. Jack Black became one of the few men on my list of "do-able" movie stars. I lay part of the blame on director Liam Lynch who is likably nerdy in the deleted scenes feature of the new DVD but didn't do much in terms of framing shots, maintaining momentum or shooting the comedy with any passion. He seemed to save all his skill on the chronically conventional car chase scene and really, on that count I couldn't care less. When will fimmakers just STOP these tedious car chases and think of something more entertaining? I was surprised to read that Liam Lynch directed Sarah Silverman's film "Jesus is Magic" which is both exciting to watch and very funny (despite the slightly wooden and out of place musical numbers). Oddly enough, after all my complaining, Brad just asked me to explain the plot of "Pick of Destiny" and he laughed all the way through the synopsis. So maybe the ideas weren't so bad - it was the execution. I also wondered if the film would be much better to sit through stoned but if it doesn't work straight it just isn't funny. Dear JB and KG of The D, please bring back your "mighty juice".
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