i actually havent’ been shredding as much as i may have liked this week, with some socializing going and getting in the way. this weekend though i fully expect to destroy my fingertips in the pursuit of guitar heroism.

last night was a particularly unexpected treat, as the passes jessica signed us up for to go to a free screening of tenacious d and the pick of destiny turned out to be for the actual hollywood premiere at grauman’s chinese. after extensive line-waiting, we not only got into the movie (reviewed below), but had a handful of funny star sitings. we saw a surprisingly gray-haired ben stiller from a distance while waiting in line. i almost tripped over andy dick posing for a photo with a little kid crossing the back of the theatre to get to our seats (he later sat right in front of us for the movie). spotted john c. reilly spotted chatting in the back of the theatre. almost missed jeremy piven as he passed us toward the mens’ room on our way out, where we also were followed by a tuxedoed paul f. tompkins. then as i was pulling out of the theatre’s parking garage, i also caught hugh hefner posing for a photo with his three blonde lady friends (i think they were there for some fancy concert going on at the kodak amphitheatre the same night). oh, and of course the highlight was jack black and kyle gass coming down the aisle to introduce the film, wearing royal red robes, crowns, and carrying scepters, before thanking us for coming to see the best movie of all time.

borat: cultural learnings… – 3 stars

tenacious d and the pick of destiny – 4 stars

i meant to post my thoughts on seeing borat last weekend but now that i’ve seen both they kind of go together review-wise, as both started as short sketches on a late-night hbo series, and have been translated into full-length comedies. both fall prey to a little bit of the natural difficulty in stretching a short, hilarious bit into a full and satisfying story arc, in that there are a few slow parts that just aren’t that funny where they have to bridge one great segment and the next somehow, but overall it felt a little less forced in the D movie, probably because there was no facade of reality to maintain. it was okay for jb and kg to make sudden and seemingly unwarranted jumps to the next plot point, because that’s just how their characters work, but less so for borat to do completely irrational things as if he’s not just from eastern europe but also just an imbecile.

overall, both had some downright hilarious moments. granted, borat had some more high-minded moments of satire, but i think it also relied a lot on shock value for its humor in several places (i’ll leave you to discover the unpleasantly hairy specifics if you haven’t already), or went so far as to make you stop laughing at the gall of some of the people he interviews. while it’s definitely more ambitious, i definitely didn’t think it warrants any of the ‘best comedy in ages’ distinctions some of the press have been using.

the D movie for the most part nailed the tone of the really well-done tv specials, in that these guys are obviously a joke to everyone, but the way they take their soont-to-be rock stardom so seriously makes them endlessly laughable. it’s not nearly as cheesy and crotch-hit slap-sticky as the tv ads make it out to be, and jack black reprises his fame-launching personality here pretty perfectly, relieving my fear that he might have walked away from it now that he’s ‘moved on’ career-wise.

i told spencer today that sure, if you go in looking to criticize it cynically for not really covering new territory or some bits falling short (e.g. the sasquatch bit), you can. but if you go in looking to have a good time, you really will. i’d liken it almost to wayne’s world, in that it’s a thin plot holding together some really classic segments, only this time with a seriously excellent original soundtrack of tenacious d tunes.

the main difference between the two, for me, is that if i waited a couple weeks and watched borat again, i’m pretty sure i’d laugh less now that the surprise element is gone. where with tenacious D, i’d probably catch more of the clever lyrics in their songs, and pick up on more great nuances to the funny characters (one i did notice: ben stiller’s cameo as the guitar store guy is SO DEAD ON, especially in the hairdo and the way he walks. i swear he studied a genuine guitar center clerk for a week just to nail that one bit). and to me, that’s what makes truly great comedy stand apart, is that it lasts. for the same reason 40 year old virgin easily outlasts most of wedding crashers, i could keep watching it and keep enjoying it just as much. so for that reason, i’d say see both, but if you have to pick one i’d actually go against conventional wisdom and go with the D.