Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny

In my review of The Marine last month, I opened by saying every once in a while a movie comes along that pretty much tells you what you're in for the second the studio logo fades away. Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is the very same way, but fortunately, these opening moments are much more promising than that dead on arrival action flick. The opening moments of the film cover a young man's desire to rock and rock hard. His name is J.B., and he will very soon grow up to be Jack Black, but for now he is played as a child by Troy Gentile, who seems to be making a career out of playing Jack Black as a child, as he also played the child version of his character in Nacho Libre last summer. Despite J.B.'s passion to rock like the greats, his stern Christian father (played by rocker Meat Loaf in a brilliant decision of casting) is against it, as he believes rock music is the tool of Satan. The argument between father and son is played out in the grand, overblown rock opera style that Meat Loaf is famous for, and is quite frankly, fall-down hilarious. I don't think any comedy has opened as strongly as Tenacious D does, and although it never quite tops the inspiration of the first five minutes, the overwhelming sense of fun carries throughout.

Young J.B. leaves home that same night to begin a quest for Hollywood, a quest that will take him 20 years or so, because he stops in every city called Hollywood in the U.S. before he finally arrives in the right one in California. Now played by Jack Black, J.B. has a fateful meeting with a fellow rocker named K.G. (Kyle Gass) shortly after arriving. The two know that it is their destiny to join together and form the greatest rock band in the world, because they both share a matching birthmark tattoo on their rear ends that when joined together form the words "Tenacious D", inspiring the name of their band. Unfortunately, despite our two heroes passion to rock, they can't come up with a masterpiece song that will turn them into the gods they feel they are destined to become. While looking through old magazine photos of past great bands like The Who and Van Halen, they happen to notice that they all have one thing in common - they all used a green guitar pick in the shape of a demon. A burned out guitar store employee (Ben Stiller) informs them that it is the legendary Pick of Destiny, and that it holds the power to make anyone who possesses it into a Rock God, since it apparently holds supernatural powers due to the fact that it was forged from the tooth of Satan himself. The Pick is currently residing in the Rock 'n Roll History Museum, and so J.B. and K.G. make it their mission to steal it so that they can win an open mic night, and begin their road to superstardom.

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is a high energy bolt of comedic lightning that often had me holding my sides with laughter throughout. Director Liam Lynch (Jesus is Magic), who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jack Black and Kyle Gass, seems to know exactly what the fans of the duo want, and what has made them a hit over the past couple years with a series of CD albums and TV episodes. However, the movie reaches beyond the usual fanbase, and hits just as hard with the non-fans. I had very limited experience with Tenacious D walking into the movie, and still was able to enjoy myself fully. The movie is so energetically silly, I can't see how anyone in the right mind set cannot have a good time. (Unfortunately, at my screening, I was literally the only person in the theater, so I had no outside audience reaction to judge.) The movie throws just about every rock and roll and heavy metal cliche in the book, and skewers it hilariously. You laugh first out of recognition, and then you laugh even more at the spin this movie puts upon it. With so many recent comedies failing due to the fact that they have funny ideas but no funny pay offs, it's a wonderful change of pace to come across a movie that actually knows how to carry out a gag. This movie is filled with so many wonderful moments that they could almost stand on their own as short comedic films, and still get the same response.

Some of the more memorable moments include J.B.'s mushroom-influenced visit with Sasquatch, the break-in attempt at the Rock 'n Roll History Museum, J.B. being mugged by some goons who walked out of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, and a visit from a mysterious crippled man (who is listed in the credits simply as The Stranger) who gives our heroes vital information for their quest. I was shocked to discover in the credits that this character was played by Tim Robbins, who is almost unrecognizable in this film. After seeing him in Catch a Fire last month and now this, it's certainly nice to see Robbins pursuing some very diverse roles, and that he is highly skilled in both performances. And then there is the climax, which depicts a grand rock and roll duel between Tenacious D and Satan. In this film, the Devil is played by David Grohl, former drummer for Nirvana and lead singer for the Foo Fighters. He kind of looks like a cross between the villain Tim Curry played in the 80s fantasy film, Legend, and every depiction of Satan to ever grace an 80s heavy metal album. The rock battle is just as hilarious as the opening rock opera moments, and certainly show off how much this material meant to everyone involved.

It's easy to see while watching The Pick of Destiny why fans are so devoted to both Jack Black and Kyle Gass as a pair, as they have a natural chemistry together on the screen. Of course, it certainly helps that the two have been lifelong best friends in reality, but they still have an ease in performing off one another that all comedy duos need. Jack Black is the obvious star of the film, as his character carries most of the story, and he also gets a little more screen time. He may be playing the same "rock is everything" character that he played in School of Rock a couple years ago (albeit a bit more hard edged and raunchy, giving this film its R-rating), but he still seems to be having the time of his life, and it carries out into the audience. Kyle Gass doesn't leave as strong of an impression as Black, but he still seems to be having fun nonetheless. The rest of the cast is mainly made up of cameos by comedians and legendary rock artists, many of them of the "blink and you'll miss it" variety. This movie plainly belongs to Tenacious D, and they have more than enough charisma, energy and humor to carry an entire movie.

If there's any fault to Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, it is that it ends too soon and that the ending comes rather abruptly and without warning. Maybe this was intentional, but I was left wanting more when the credits started to roll. There are also a couple stretches where the laughs don't come as fast or as hard as other sequences, but they usually don't last too long. In the end, all I ask is that you do not let the extremely lame and laugh-free trailer that the studio has been running the past two months or so turn you away from this very funny film. I have a feeling that this movie is well on its way to rightfully earning the title of cult classic, so see it while it's still in theaters. Tenacious D is a great alternative to the family films and big budget spectacles that usually clog the multiplexes during holiday weekends, and should be given a chance.

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