The Sting Of Rock And Roll

Rating: 8/10 (2 November 2010)

This movie rocks! It's a screamingly funny mock-heroic epic about two fat, middle-aged heavy metal rockers who go on a Tolkien-style quest to find a magic guitar pick that will grant them unlimited talent and fame.
Everyone knows the inspirations for this film. Starting with Led Zeppelin, all great heavy metal bands have copied the myths, lore, and pageantry of the LORD OF THE RINGS novels, along with assorted occult, black magic, and other colorful symbolism. In a way it really "closes the circle" to have a Tolkien-style "epic" about a heavy metal duo, with the cultural influences coming full circle.
But did anyone notice the obvious tributes to the old Robert Redford Paul Newman con-man movie, THE STING? The most obvious link is the way that each new chapter in the saga starts with a colorful picture -- supposed to be Tarot cards, but THE STING used the same device. And the plot is quite similar. In the STING, a bright-eyed young con man seeks out a tired, washed up master to learn the art of "the sting." Tenacious D uses the exact same plot, with Jack Black as Robert Redford and Kyle Gass in the Paul Newman role.
The only thing that's missing is the Scott Joplin soundtrack!