Movie Review: Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
By Purple
"Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny" isn’t just some half baked idea full of smug Hollywood cameos in heavy metal haircuts, no the "Pick of Destiny" is fully baked. The kind of ultimate rock and roll fantasy imagined while you inscribed the Dio logo into the pages of your algebra book during in-school suspension. If you went to Junior high school in the mid-eighties as Jack Black, Kyle Gass and I have, then you’ll recognize the characters as older versions of the kids hanging out in the smoking section.
"The Pick of Destiny" opens strongly with a brilliant rock opera musical explanation of the origin of JB, the singing half of Tenacious D. The tarot themed title sequence gives way to this ridiculous stoner story of how JB and KG meet and become Tenacious D. During their adventure JB and KG have run-ins with a diverse cast of celebrity cameos such as Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins who appear to be having too much fun portraying crazed ex rockers and the unaccredited Meatloaf who as JB’s oppressive dad sets in motion the events that lead up to the creation of the greatest rock band in the universe.
And while Amy Poehler’s distant waitress is funny, the Foo Fighters Dave Grohl as Satan himself steals the show.
Parts of the movie plays like a grander version of the "Tenacious D" television show, and includes familiar faces like Jason Reed as Lee, the D’s biggest fan, and Paul Tompkins as the host of the open mic night where the D begin their career. The rest of the film sloshes around taking viewers on a trumped up quest to recover the Pick of Destiny, a guitar pick forged from Satan’s chipped tooth. The road trip takes many paths which includes college keg parties, the day glo realm of magic mushroom land, and wraps up with an extreme car chase through the streets of LA. All of this sort of gets acted out on stage in the current Tenacious D live show, as seen in San Francisco last week.
Initially the whole Tenacious D thing appears to be a new slant on the "Spinal Tap" rock parody thing, but Jack Black and Kyle Gass seem to mean it too much to be mocking rock. It’s more of a funny tribute and them following through with their hazy daydreams from high school. It’s stupid fun, and will hopefully spawn numerous Tenacious D protégé’s appearing at open mic nights in a town near you.
Spending an extra ten minutes in the parking lot for this one, for Movie Magazine, this is Purple.
"The Pick of Destiny" opens strongly with a brilliant rock opera musical explanation of the origin of JB, the singing half of Tenacious D. The tarot themed title sequence gives way to this ridiculous stoner story of how JB and KG meet and become Tenacious D. During their adventure JB and KG have run-ins with a diverse cast of celebrity cameos such as Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins who appear to be having too much fun portraying crazed ex rockers and the unaccredited Meatloaf who as JB’s oppressive dad sets in motion the events that lead up to the creation of the greatest rock band in the universe.
And while Amy Poehler’s distant waitress is funny, the Foo Fighters Dave Grohl as Satan himself steals the show.
Parts of the movie plays like a grander version of the "Tenacious D" television show, and includes familiar faces like Jason Reed as Lee, the D’s biggest fan, and Paul Tompkins as the host of the open mic night where the D begin their career. The rest of the film sloshes around taking viewers on a trumped up quest to recover the Pick of Destiny, a guitar pick forged from Satan’s chipped tooth. The road trip takes many paths which includes college keg parties, the day glo realm of magic mushroom land, and wraps up with an extreme car chase through the streets of LA. All of this sort of gets acted out on stage in the current Tenacious D live show, as seen in San Francisco last week.
Initially the whole Tenacious D thing appears to be a new slant on the "Spinal Tap" rock parody thing, but Jack Black and Kyle Gass seem to mean it too much to be mocking rock. It’s more of a funny tribute and them following through with their hazy daydreams from high school. It’s stupid fun, and will hopefully spawn numerous Tenacious D protégé’s appearing at open mic nights in a town near you.
Spending an extra ten minutes in the parking lot for this one, for Movie Magazine, this is Purple.
© 2006 - Purple - Air Date: 11/29/06
More Information:
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
USA - 2006
