It’s not that often when metal creeps its way into mainstream pop culture. So when metal/hard rock acts do actually pop up in beloved sitcoms, dramatic films, cartoons or even reality series, it’s kind of awesome. So in the weekly column Remember When, Metal Insider recalls the most random instances of metal’s elite appearing in front of the camera.
In the early ‘90s, The Jerky Boys gained quite a huge following for their albums of vulgar prank phone calls. So much so that in 1995, the comedy duo were given their own movie, where essentially they were chased by the Mafia following a prank call gone wrong. If you don’t remember The Jerky Boys’ movie, don’t worry, not many do. It may have become a cult hit amongst die hard Jerky Boys fans, but the critically panned film is an example of how weird the ‘90s (a time where two guys who recorded albums of prank calls could get their own movie) really were.
However, if you did see the film, then you may recall the part when The Jerky Boys slip into a music club (hiding from a few wise guys) where they trick a band’s manager into thinking they’re part of the road crew. As you can imagine, they end up screwing things up for the band playing the club that night. Well, not only does this scene feature none other than Ozzy Osbourne playing the band manager, but also features Helmet as the performing band.
Granted, Ozzy is absolutely no stranger to the world of cinema and TV (we all remember The Osbournes and the damage it did impact it had). He’s even returning to the small screen with his son Jack for a new series on The History Channel. However, there are still a few things that make this cameo particularly awesome:
1) We get to hear Ozzy scream “The Fucking Monkees?!” upon hearing that two guys from his road crew supposedly left for a better gig.
2) The fact that Page Hamilton and co. (who had just released the album Betty a few months prior) appeared in any sort of film is spectacular in and of itself. However, this movie finds them performing a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Symptom of the Universe,” which is very fitting given who was portraying their manager in the film.
3) Thanks to The Jerky Boys, we can now say that both Ozzy and Helmet were in the same film as Tom Jones (oh yeah, he was in it as well… seriously, the ‘90s were a weird time).
Watch clips of Ozzy’s and Helmet’s appearances in The Jerky Boys movie below.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/QmXlwSI2DKw[/youtube]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/Je-UbyqgtcI[/youtube]
