# Is Jack Black's career tanking? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488 "2011-01-30T05:01:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/41 "2011-02-01T01:10:01Z")
_googles “skadi”_ Did you just Godwinize a Jack Black thread? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/42 "2011-02-01T01:53:02Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > You need to lay off the _Skadi_ site. You think white nationalists invented the [golden ratio?](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1416&bih=705&q=golden+ratio+face&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=) The issue of facial proportions adding up to what we do or don’t consider attractive has fascinated me for about as long as I’ve been alive, and long before I stumbled upon that damn website. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/43 "2011-02-01T02:14:13Z")
He was pretty good in the Yo Gabba Gabba kids show guest appearance. Really showed his licks in that one. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/44 "2011-02-03T13:30:15Z")
I thought he was great in Brutal legend, if computer games count… ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/45 "2011-02-03T15:20:24Z")
Shallow Hal was the best movie that Jack Black was ever in. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/46 "2011-02-03T17:11:58Z")
Now that the White Stripes have called it quits, the obvious thing would be for Jack White and Jack Black to team up. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/47 "2011-02-03T17:23:27Z")
Thanks, everyone, for your responses. Maybe he’s doing better than I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/48 "2011-02-03T17:33:55Z")
I agree that Black has a very limited range, but I can watch him endlessly, and I would easily choose any Jack Black movie over Adam Sandler, any day. Black is goofy fun, while Sandler is hostility pretending to be fun. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/49 "2011-02-03T17:37:55Z")
I’d pay to see a movie starring Sandler and Black as two retarded brothers who die horribly at the hands of a bizarre religious cult. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/50 "2011-02-03T17:43:30Z")
He may be a one-trick pony, but so are a lot of comedians - it might be true of almost all of them. It seems like Black has been mostly making movies for kids these days, which is not a bad fit for his manic persona. It sounds like most of the recent ones haven’t been any good, though. Too bad. He was great in High Fidelity. School of Rock was OK. The problem for me was that Black’s character was very passionate about rock music but when he talked about it, he didn’t know very much about it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/51 "2011-02-03T18:03:09Z")
The thing about **School of Rock** that makes him watchable (I think he’s best in small doses) is his absolute dedication to the role. I can’t think of anyone who would have actually made his antics believable. ---
**Author:** ![DemonSpawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@DemonSpawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonSpawn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/52 "2011-02-03T18:51:03Z")
Seems to me that he’s doing alright. He has not yet achieved the mega-stardom that would even make a real “tanking” possible, IMO. I like him in some movies, I really like his singing voice. Also, his line “Aha! You died! You OD’d!!!” when the fruitbat that stole his bag of drugs dropped dead from the sky right in front of him, was the one line in TROPIC THUNDER where I had to laugh really hard. It was just so perfectly delivered. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/53 "2011-02-03T19:19:52Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Oddly enough, if Black were to take on a serious fitness regimen and lose 60 or so pounds, he would be able to reinvent his career in the Ryan Reynolds direction He has lost a lot of weight already, hasn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/54 "2011-02-03T19:37:36Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > The thing about **School of Rock** that makes him watchable (I think he’s best in small doses) is his absolute dedication to the role. I can’t think of anyone who would have actually made his antics believable. He does seem to work well when he’s playing a role related to rock music. Not necessarily as a band member, but as a metalhead, record store employee, roadie, that kind of thing. I don’t think they could have found a more suitable voice for Brutal Legend, ferinstance. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/55 "2011-02-03T19:38:52Z")
[Re: Black vs. Zach](http://celebs.icanhascheezburger.com/2011/02/02/funny-celebrity-pictures-zach-galifianakis/) ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/56 "2011-02-14T10:40:25Z")
I reserved judgment until I saw “school of rock,” which was just on. I swear, he’s the worst actor I’ve ever seen. In nearly all his films, he’s quoting other movies, songs, etc. Or, he’s replicating a scene from a much better film. He even made an entire film of jack black doing shitty versions of better films. In kung fu panda, the biggest joke in the film was when he was impersonating another character. All he does is ape, mimic, and plagiarize. He’s got one facial expression that he uses for all emotions. So I ask you: is there any actor who is worse yet continues to get leading roles in big budget films? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/57 "2011-02-14T10:51:02Z")
_Nacho Libre_ is a work of beautiful art. Don’t you dare disagree unless you want an anaconda squeeeeeze or a nipple tweeeest. _Kung Fu Panda_ was great, but his character, the titular panda, was my least favorite in the film. The rest I could do without. I really don’t expect it to go on much further. He’s got _Gulliver_ coming up next and it looks like shit. Don’t worry about it too much. He’s a white star headed for a black hole. That’s physics. It’s inevitable. ---
**Author:** ![Hallucinex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba9def/32.png) [@Hallucinex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hallucinex)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/58 "2011-02-14T10:59:33Z")
He seems to need to play every role with a massive wink to the audience: “Hey, look! It’s me! Jack Black!” ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/59 "2011-02-14T10:59:50Z")
He’s not a bad actor, he just lets his real life character dominate a bit too often. He was really good in _King Kong_. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488/60 "2011-02-14T11:28:50Z")
Like any other actor who is also a comic with a schtick, when he is hired on a project for the specific purpose of doing schtick _he does schtick_. If he’s doing schtick where schtick is inappropriate it’s the fault of the producers and director. He was excellent in _King Kong_. In, what was a very small role, he was very good in _Cradle Will Rock_. Can someone refresh my memory of his appearances in the other Tim Robbins movies? I didn’t know who he was when I say _Dead Man Walking_ or _Bob Roberts_. Small roles, no doubt, but there’s no way Robbins allowed him to do schtick in _Dead Man Walking_. _The Holiday_ wasn’t a very good movie, but he handled a poorly written role about as well as anyone could have. And he certainly did it without schtick. _High Fidelity_ was a great opportunity for him to do a real and interesting character while incorporating his schtick. And, when his schtick is put to good use it is awesome: Tenacious D (yeah, the movie was a disappointment, but the T.V. Show was awesome and as a live act they are top notch) As talented as I think he is, I do tend to avoid movies where he has top billing. There are far too many Jack Black schtick movies, but these are not projects that he is spearheading- he’s on as a hired gun, doing exactly the job he’s been hired to do. The bad call is on the part of the producers and directors. I could get on board with a Thread about Jack Black making horrible career choices. It would be nice, now that he doesn’t need the payday, if he would say “no” every once in a while to the requests that he mug for the camera to help producers obscure sub-par material. I would love to see him take on more parts that are not based on schtick. But, still he is very talented. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-jack-blacks-career-tanking/569488.md?page=4)