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Our Favourite Fictional Bands: Barry Jive and his Uptown Five from ‘High Fidelity’

Our Favourite Fictional Bands: Barry Jive and his Uptown Five from ‘High Fidelity’

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Though Sonic Death Monkey and Kathleen Turner Overdrive sound like equally brilliant band names, I would pay good money to see, the Jack Black led Barry Jive and his Uptown Five who left it all on the floor in the closing moments to High Fidelity. Roger Ebert said it best about Black’s performance: “Jack Black is himself from this world; he’s the lead singer of the group Tenacious D, and it is a measure of his acting ability that when he does finally sing in this movie, we are surprised that he can.” His dynamic, instantly quotable work throughout the film is the kind of star-making role that realized itself perfectly, and it coalesces perfectly in a Marvin Gaye cover of “Let’s Get it On” that is just the right blend of tender, surprising and kooky.