⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 70min Classic rock comedy by Kyle Gass and Jack Black. Guest starring John C. Reilly
Recap
***SPOILER WARNING! In this recap I spoil the full content of the first episode ***
KG and JB (played by Kyle Gass and Jack Black) are two chubby rock star wannabes. Every week they take their acoustic guitars to the open mic night and sing a hymn to their delusions. One day though the open mic host has had enough of them and confronts them with an ultimatum: they will not be tolerated on stage again until they finally come up with a new song. JB instantly embarks on the search for Inspirado, and because he is JB, he becomes more and more unbearable the longer he fruitlessly tries. Eventually KG has enough and quits the band. This traumatic experience of separation serves as the inspiration needed for their second song, a band reunion and a return to the open mic night.
Tenacious D was a comedy rock act that honed their skills on the stages of Los Angeles for several years before they got the chance to record three episodes with two stories each for HBO. This show has a rather classical approach to comedy, about losers who keep on both trying and failing. I also observed that these deluded losers may actually like what they see in the mirror, which is so much more than you can say about more grounded people who believe in everyday lies like the duty to self optimize and whatnot.
Tenacious D became an actual band complete with albums and concerts, and they also made a feature film which I like even better than the TV show. They even had Dio in the movie and guest starred in a Dio music video. Also this series opened doors at least for Jack Black who made School Of Rock and Nacho Libre (and Kyle Gass at least doesn’t look like he’s starving right now).
The TV show features John C. Reilly in the Sasquatch episode, and the other videos in the playlist feature Meat Loaf as JB’s father, Troy Gentile as young JB and Dio as himself and as a Dio poster. The Wonderboy video by the way was directed by Spike Jonze, and a lot of the drums were played by Dave Grohl.
More
Arkham TV 