Tenacious D in ‘The Pick of Destiny’Rating: * * MPAA Rating: Not yet ratedType: ComedyLength: 93 minutesDirector: Liam LynchStarring: Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Jason Reed, Tim Robbins, David GrohlStarts: Nov. 22, 2006Playing: N/A
If you like stupid movies, then you’ve probably already seen this movie, or are about to. In either case, I have come to terms with the fact that, much like Jackass 2, I can’t stop you.
Tenacious D, the band helmed by Jack Black on vocals and Kyle Gass on lead guitar, is a mix of rock, hair metal, folk metal, heavy metal and almost any other metal genre on the American market today. Tenacious D in ‘The Pick of Destiny’ is based loosely on the band’s formation in real life, as well as on their music video for the song “Tribute [to the greatest song in the world],” which involves a rock-off between the band and Lucifer.
Part of what distinguishes this film from the rest of the “stupid” movie genre is that the film is part rock opera, meaning that Jack Black will break into a musical number about power-sliding or eating mushrooms and riding Sasquatch down a river of strawberries.
That’s right, do not expect to see last year’s serious and composed Jack Black from King Kong, this is the artist at his physical and musical best, unlike Nacho Libre, which offered him far fewer opportunities to break into his own blend of rock-comedy. Fans of the band have plenty of reason to take a dip into Black’s psychedelic film. Even though some of the songs are voiced-over, it’s an excellent opportunity to watch the artist just being himself, a treat usually reserved among musicians, for concert settings.
Don’t expect any coherence in the film, though. While the plot does revolve around the duo attempting to attain the “pick of destiny,” the film is mostly about the band getting to run around and have fun, and if there’s any character development to be accounted for, it’s the almost sweet brotherly relationship between Gass and Black.
It’s not the year’s best comedy by any stretch of the imagination. The stupid movie trophy, while still in the air, won’t go to quite as forgettable an experience as this film. This is not putting the movie down, but we are all in on the big secret that most of the stupid movies we subject ourselves to are not something we often revisit, and many will forgo the whole “money” thing and see it on cable. If there are any movies that don’t make us care about putting money into the industry, it’s documentaries, followed by foreign films, followed by stupid movies.
But I’m just ranting it up. Go, have fun. You’ll laugh, you’ll have a good time and you’ll walk out of the theater, talking about the scene where Jack Black tries to lift his own body weight with his erection.