Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006)

Movie Info

They will rock you?

J.B. (Jack Black) grows up dreaming of rocking, but his father (Meat Loaf) tells him that rock is no good.  K.G. (Kyle Gass) has rock dreams of his own, but time is running out to achieve them.  When J.B. and K.G. meet, the electricity is there, but the money isn’t.  K.G. and J.B. uncover a secret…the Gods of Rock have one thing in common:  The Pick of Destiny!  Unfortunately, the Pick which is made from a tooth of Satan (Dave Grohl) has been housed at the Rock History Museum, but J.B. and K.G. will go on an epic quest to claim it for themselves…and forge their destiny in rock!

Directed by Liam Lynch, Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny is a musical comedy fantasy.  The film was written by Lynch, Jack Black, and Kyle Gass and bombed upon its release.  The film has become a cult classic since its release.

I like Jack Black and I like Tenacious D, but I had never gone out of my way to see Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny…it was a mistake that I finally remedied.

Up, up, and away on my beautiful Sasquatch!

The movie is a stoner type movie with lots of drug jokes and lots of rock…which is done with both reverence toward rock and also in tongue-in-cheek.  That is Tenacious D’s shtick.  They have all the elements of a metal rock band, but they do it with fun and a knowing nod to the humor of the rock stereotypes.  The plot evolves in the form of a quest with the Pick of Destiny as the Holy Grail…which of course in the end forges their friendship even tighter.  There aren’t really any surprises with the movie, but it is a fun ride.

The movie works because of the odd pairing of Jack Black and Kyle Gass who seem like a mismatch, but also the same person (if that is possible).  They both obviously have the same humor and the two look like they are having fun throughout the movie.  The movie is loaded with guest stars including Meat Loaf, David Grohl, Ben Stiller, John C. Reilly, Tim Robbins, Amy Poehler, Colin Hanks, Jason Segel, Fred Armisen, Troy Gentile, and a small blink-and-you’ll-miss-her appearance by Amy Adams

K.G. will be mine!!!

The movie has a lot of fun with the visuals.  It has some neat animations and works in a lot of Black and Gass’s fantasies which are fun (including Jack Black’s tripping with John C. Reilly’s Sasquatch).  It culminates in Dave Grohl as Satan in an epic rock battle…just what you need and expect from the film.

Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny isn’t something that will float everyone’s boat.  You have to be on-board with Jack Black’s style of humor and then crank it up a notch from his solo movie appearances.  It is an acquired taste that if you do acquire it, you can have a lot of fun with the movie…if only the film had succeeded so we could have had another movie of what comes next.  Maybe in another ten years, the duo will play even younger versions of themselves.