Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
(New Line Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2006)
review by A.J. MacReady

Attention, D-Sciples!  The Greatest Band on Earth, Tenacious D, have come screaming out of the gate with their debut feature length film, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny!  Let us all bow down to the Majesty of Rock and give praise where it is most duly due!

WARNING:  If you want your asses blown out, continue reading this review.

I remember my first introduction to the D, around 1997 or so, and immediately realizing that I had stumbled upon greatness.  The HBO shorts were irreverent and cheerfully vulgar, simultaneously mocking rock n' roll cliches even as they gloried in them.  Soon I had taped every 9-minute blast of awesomeness I could get my hands on and spent a ridiculous amount of time watching and rewatching them, all the while showing them to roughly every person I knew, whether they seemed interested or not.  I take much pride in creating a small legion of D fans in my neck of the woods.  We marveled at the raw power that fairly oozed from every pore of the human force of nature that was the frontman, golden-voiced Jack Black (aka JB, Jables, and Jackalous McBlackelby).  Our faces were melted by the six-string virtuosity and silver-fingered skill of Kyle Gass (aka KG and Rage Kage).  Apart, they were formidable talents.  But together they were responsible for more than cream in your jeans; their hilarious yet completely realized rock nuggets had us singing along lustily, spilling beer and bongs alike in our frenzied devotion to the asskickery that was, and remains, The D.  Their self-titled CD a few years down the road only added to our love and insanity.

As you may infer from my comments, I was more than a little stoked to see their flick.

Tenacious D, in more ways than one, virtually define what is "cult."  Their relatively small but forcefully loyal legion of fans bestow upon them praise unending.  Unfortunately, that cult status also bled over into the theatrical release of their film, as it didn't even crack THE TOP TEN the week of its debut.  Upon reflection it would seem that many D fans had decided to wait for video, where they could rock it with impunity, and perhaps more than a little, um. . .recreation.  So one must assume that it shall do rather well on the DVD.  All I know is that I had my copy in my grubby little hands the very Tuesday morning it was released, promptly came home, threw it on, and awaited transcendence.

And behold, the filmed chronicles of the D did playeth out before me; and yea, for it was good. . .

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is pretty much an origin tale of how two strangers with an undying hard-on for all things rock came together to form what would come to be known as The Greatest Band on Earth.  The overall tone is that of a number of their famed HBO episodes played back to back with a through-line story arc prevalent in the last half of the flick.  Granted, there is a small amount of filler to wade through in spots, but if you're a fan, JB and KG will get you through it.

For the unitiated: a long-ass time ago, in the small Midwestern town of Kickapoo, there was a black sheep with a curse on his lips and rock in his heart, and they called him JB.  The young lad grew up in a strictly devout Christian household and his father (Meat Loaf. . .need I say more?) forbade any rebellion or listening to the Devil's music.  One fateful day, a prophet did speak the word to young JB, telling him to go forth to Hollywood, make his way and meet his destiny, which was to create "the world's most awesome band."  That this prophet is none other than metal legend Ronnie James Dio, speaking to Jack from the poster upon his wall, should explain better than anything where this movie is coming from.

JB heeds the word and sets forth upon his quest.  Many years later, after traveling to every Hollywood in the land except the right one, a now grown JB arrives in southern California, where he almost immediately meets a street busker who blows JB's rock-addled mind with some seriously tasty classical guitar licks.  An impromptu collaboration ensuses, and is rewarded with. . .exactly one adoring fan, a local pizza delivery dude named Lee.  The street musician introduces himself as Kyle Gass, and after some minor complications, agrees to mentor Jack in the ways of The Rock.

After much intensive training and many bong hits, the two discover that they are meant to go forth into the world as Tenacious D.  However, there is the small matter of the fact that KG is broke and living on his parents' monthly checks from home, which, in a case of excellent timing, they have just cut off.  A local talent contest at the D's favorite (okay, ONLY) performing venue is paying a cash prize they can use to pay the rent.  But how to reach the level necessary to rock the house, to rise to the level of that of their musical heroes?  And the legend of The Pick of Destiny is thusly introduced, the tale of a demonically powerful pick - fashioned from the tooth of Satan himself - which bestows upon those who use it the power to out-rock all others.  So the quest begins, and JB and KG head north to Sacramento, where the Rock N Roll Museum that houses the pick is located. . .

There is no point in praising this movie as great art; no one involved would make such a claim.  But the inescapable fact remains: this flick is a LOT of fucking fun.  Jack Black and Kyle Gass, as would be expected after all these years together, play off of each other perfectly, welding JB's manic hilarity to KG's more stoic straight-man yet oddball antics with gut-busting aplomb.  Director Liam Lynch is perhaps best known for his own rock novelty hit, "The United States of Whatever," as well as MTV's short-lived exercise in pants-wetting absurdity Sifl & Olly (also aired around the same time as the D shorts on HBO), where sock-puppets tickled the funny bone of the surrealist stoner within.  He is an inspired collaborator here, likely due to his similar worldview of The Rock and a so-stupid-it's-smart sense of humor.

An absolutely asskicking mini-rock opera starts the film off with a bang and admirably sets the tone for the rest of the flick.  The climax is much the same, as a rock-off of epic proportions sends us out into the world with a goofy grin on our face and an air-guitar solo from Hell in our hearts.  In between are all kinds of amusing set-pieces and guffaw-inducing comic gems, helped immeasurably by a little help from our friends in the form of cameos by the likes of Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins, and Amy Poehler.  Oh, and Doctor Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame as Satan.  Make of that what you will.

The DVD release looks great and sounds better; it is highly suggested that you turn this one WAY THE HELL UP for better household rocking.  The extras are pretty worthwhile as well; you get one fairly informative commentary by director/co-writer Lynch, and another featuring the tag-team greatness of Jables and Rage Kage in all their glory.  Behind the scenes featurettes about the making of the movie, as well as the recording of the soundtrack, are informative and welcome.  A number of deleted and extended scenes (including a sorely missed scene with David Koechner, comedic utility player extraordinaire, where the D perform "The Government Totally Sucks") round out the package.

In short, if you are a fan of the D, you should have already seen this; you'll totally dig it.  If you have no idea who the D are, but like Jack Black and rock and roll, check it out.  We'd love to welcome you to the fold and hope you can help introduce this awesome band to others of similar good taste.  And if you don't like rock or Jack Black, then what the hell have you been reading this far for?  Seriously, go away.  This flick is just a good time to be had by those who get the joke. To quote the almighty AC/DC (and JB himself in another quality film):  "For those about to rock, I salute you."