Jack Black on the proudest movie he ever made: “My real baby”
Many of an actor’s most significant films are those that challenge them the most. Despite the demanding and sometimes arduous process of making these films, the satisfaction of seeing the final product on screen makes it all worthwhile. For Jack Black, known for his passion for rock-related projects, one of his proudest achievements might be Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, a film closely tied to his everyday life.
Given his choice of roles, though, are we sure that Black isn’t just a hair-metal singer trapped inside an actor’s body? Sure, Black has his chance to get down and dirty behind the camera and deliver some true gems, but there are nearly as many masters of their craft who know how to tastefully use a term like ‘rocket sauce’ in everyday conversation.
Before Black had even started his film career, Tenacious D was his main outfit. It was clear that the band had the chops to be decent, but they were never meant to be taken all that seriously, especially considering that half of their songs are about sex and being one of the greatest bands in the world.
Those descriptors might not sound that far off from what actual rock lyrics are about, but Black didn’t want to be competing with any rock band. His band was funny from the get-go, and even if he had to slave away for it, he would give them their time in the sun.
After already playing a PG version of the same ‘Jables’ character in School of Rock, The Pick of Destiny was the moment where Black could do anything he wanted. Despite having a recurring segment on HBO, Black thought that the best way to tell the story with Tenacious D is to break down their origins, featuring Kyle Gass busking on a beach in California before coming to blows with the man who would one day turn his world upside down.
The film is a complete piss-take on nearly every rock and roll story you’ve ever heard, but the stoner comedy aspect still holds up years later. Even if you don’t find anything they say remotely funny, the music still kicks ass, featuring Dave Grohl playing drums on a couple of tracks and managing to turn in amazing rock licks on ‘Master Exploder’ and ‘The Metal’.
Even with a lot more blockbuster franchises under his belt, Black still has a soft spot for the film in hindsight, saying, “In a weird way, it might be Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny because that’s the only movie that I wrote. So, that one is actually my real baby. Maybe it’s not the best, but it is my proudest.”
Although Black has a certain schtick that he’s known for doing in many of his movies these days, you aren’t going to find a film that is as true to him as this. There’s a good chance that neither he nor Gass ended up breaking into a high-security rock and roll museum and having a musical battle with Satan in the middle of a parking lot, but everything else could have been ripped out of his daily life with Gass.
In that respect, the movie could be considered somewhat of a magnum opus in Black’s canon of films. It’s definitely not going to make you a more intelligent admirer of cinema, but if you ever had a dream of becoming a towering rock and roll god, chances are you either knew the guy Black is playing or actually were that guy.
