Some works of art are truly misunderstood on a wide scale. Whether it was rock n‘ roll, impressionism or Clerks, some things were never really accepted in the way they should have been because each work was made out to be something it was not. I believe Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny easily falls into this category. Most film critics look at the film as some “low-brow-buddy-road-trip-rock-opera-comedy” that is only to be seen “through a thick cloud of marijuana smoke". While the movie takes on such an appearance on the surface, Tenacious D as a work of art has been misinterpreted. POD, or Pick of Destiny should not be viewed as solely a musical comedy filled with drug references and crude humor because while it contains these elements its deeper meanings and portrayal of life is nothing less than existential.
I will begin by admitting my bias. I am a huge fan of “the D” and their music and the first time I saw this movie I loved it, not surprisingly. However, not everyone who viewed the movie accepted it the with exactly the same feelings. By the numbers the movie cost 20 million to produce and since its release in November of 2006 has lost 7 million world wide (net grossing of 13 million). But this is not all bad because at its peak the movie was ranked #4031 in america. Well, despite these less than perfect numbers critics have called Tenacious D “tiresome”, “mildly amusing” and described the film solely as “one big gaseous emission.” Some film critics have famously said “I didn’t hate it” and “it would be against the law for me to recommend this film to anyone”.
Okay, so Tenacious D was officially a box office bust, but I would like to argue that none of the film critics, who thought highly enough of themselves to cast this movie down as one of the worst ever made, are all not very educated on the ideas of existentialism. I believe Jean Paul Sartre would watch Jack Black and Kyle Gass on this quest for rock n’ roll glory and think it was brilliant in its portrayal of existentialist themes and ideas. While he might not recognize the references to AC/DC and Van Halen he would easily notice some huge existentialist themes ranging from the power of choice to the abandonment of man as a whole. So take a seat O high browed all mighty film critics and prepare to have your socks rocked off as I bring out the true meaning of the D.
Lets start with the two main characters Jack and Kyle:
Jack Black, JB, Jables, call him what you will but his character is the epitome of Sartre’s argument that “existence precedes essence”. Jack is born to “a humble family religious through and through” with crosses adorning their walls while young JB sits with the rock gods lining the confines of his room. JB has chosen to side with rock n’ roll, instead of following in the path of his family, and so his family’s decision to be devote and religious has not stopped JB one bit. Just as Sartre puts it in Existentialism as a Humanism, his existence, or his choices to listen to rock music and dream to follow in his idols footsteps, precedes his essence which is a rocking songwriter, and he is free to be totally different from his family. Young JB also demonstrates his power of choice when he choses who to go to for advice after being scolded by his father for his music. He could easily go to his brother, his mom, his family’s pastor, anyone! Instead, JB makes the decision to turn to Ronny James Dio (or the poster of Dio in his room). Just the act of deciding to ask this classic metal god for help has already determined the advice JB will receive. His family or priest would tell him to quit his ways and turn his life around, instead Dio tells him to follow his dreams in Hollywood and so JB escapes his home. Later on Jack’s never ending quest for the Pick of Destiny leads him to master rock singing, acoustic guitar jamming and gig playing and make eternal friends with Kyle. Jack doesn’t realize it but his quest for this “supra-natural” pick leads him to make a series of decisions that paves a path for him to make his own destiny. Jack is not distracted from his quest by beautiful women, food, security guards, hallucinations of a CGI Sasquatch or a five mile hike through the woods. He has the internal strength to decide to endure all of this because he is promised some unbelievable outcome. However, Sartre would be quick to pint out that along the way he actually learns that his best friend Kyle is the most important thing and this leads him to jump in front of the Devil’s lightning and save his friend, his band and his future career as a song writer. Therefore, Jack achieves his dreams of paying his rent with his music by his own will, not by the use of some magical guitar pick.
Kyle exhibits some of the more negative views held by existentialsim. First off he is constantly trying to become something he is not. He wears a wig and tell lies about all the famous people he knows because he wants to believe it himself and because thats how he wants to be viewed by JB and the public. The audience gets a real peak into the character of Kyle at the “half way house cafe” when he meets some attractive ladies and tells them another set of lies he only wishes could be true. Finally Jack gives him an ultimatum. I don’t know if a more existential question has ever been raised. Because if you side with Kyle, then you adopt a sense that you have some kind of human nature that pushes you to make such decisions based on primal urges and a woman's appearance and you can't be held responsible for such decisions. However, if you side with destiny you make your own path in life and choose to be what you want. Kyle keeps true to his character and makes up an excuse because he truly believes that the decision he has made (to go to the party) is the right one for the duo. Sartre would point out that it was only after Kyle made the decision that he then adopted the mindset that it was right for the group because he has to logically defend his choice.
The film handles one existentialist theme extremely well, and this would be “Abandonement”. The motif begins with this scene here. Jack sings “Baby” about being out alone and “Daddy” is gone. Well Sartre would point out that Jack has discovered the human condition of abandonment because it would seem as though something has created all of us but we all have the choice to do as we wish. And wouldn’t you know it but this idea is physically represented with a visit from Alex and his Droogies from A Clockwork Orange. The gang shows their ability to exercise free choice by beating up the vulnerable JB and there is no rhyme or reason to the violence, its simply violence for violence’s sake. The real symbolism of the scene comes when Kyle happens upon Jack being beaten and just hides. There is absolutely nothing restraining KG from going in and trying to save Jables yet he chooses not too because all of his decisions leading him up to that point have been selfish. He was wearing a pompous wig, mooching off of his parents for rent money for a decade and a half and worst of all refused to give Jack a little guitar lesson. Kyle here may represent something larger such as the mass of people who consider themselves innocent bystanders and sit and watch as people like JB get beaten for no reason. Or if Sartre was making the argument, he may say that Kyle here represents a divine figure that puts Jack in this messed up and violent situation in the first place and then abandons him when he is most in need. Worst of all Kyle completely proves Sartre’s point by then taking credit for saving JB once the ‘malchicks’ have had enough. Kyle masks his abandonment of JB because he wants Jables to think very highly of him for accomplishing something that he took no control over. Jack is all on his own and worst of all, he believes that there is someone there to watch over him. For someone like Sartre it is way too easy to draw the connections between Kyle’s actions and a religious beliefs in a higher power. Both leave Jack (the worshiper in this case) abandoned and oblivious to their own independence.
This ties back into Kyle’s choice at the Halfway House Cafe because now both Kyle and Jack find themselves abandoned. The theme plays out with the song “Dude, I Totally Miss You” because yet again Kyle has abandoned Jack, but this time he knows its a mistake. Kyles decision to take Jack in, buy him an incredible guitar and train him in the ways of rock have lead him to stop believing in his own selfishness and instead believe in the band dynamic. This leads Kyle to make a conscious decision to go back and help JB and therefore actually DO something about both of their problems. Sartre would have to agree that the only way to deal with man’s abandonment on earth is to make your own decisions as though you know it will effect other people, just like here Kyle knows he can help Jack. Kyle’s selfishness seemed to be his total essence in the beginning but his selfless decisions to buy Jack a new guitar and then help him steal the magical pick become his new essence as lead guitarist for the band. Also, it was Jack’s devotion to Kyle as a pupil and a friend that he built up from the beginning of the movie that led him to instinctively jump in the way of satan’s lightning. They both made decisions that led to them becoming a strong band and escape the devils clutches. Therefore both members of Tenacious D carve their own destiny and its not the pick and some “supra-natural” power that saves them, but the power of choice instead.
If you haven’t seen Tenacious D, then stop reading this sentence right now and go watch it. If you have seen it already (or if you are back from just watching it for the first time) then go watch it again. But this time instead of just laughing at the foul humor, keep your eye out for how both Jack and Kyle make their own destiny and conquer abandonment, because that's what the movie is really about.
-Ben Stern
Sources:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tenacious_d_in_the_pick_of_destiny/
http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=tenaciousd.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9f-SppJF84
Sartre, Jean Paul. Existentialism is a Humanism. 1946. http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm
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