Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny review plus trailer
The D in action
If shredding monster jams, screeching in an offensive falsetto and kicking holes in amplifiers floats your boat, then Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny is the movie you’ve been waiting for.
For those who are unaware, Tenacious D is the rock duo of Jack Black (Shallow Hal, King Kong, Nacho Libre) and Kyle Gass (not much really), stars of the short-lived HBO series, “Tenacious D” and hit singles “Tribute” and “Wonderboy”.
There are mixed reviews floating around this movie, which was directed by fellow comedic musical act, Liam Lynch (who directed some of Tenacious D’ film clips), and was co-written by Lynch, Black and Gass.
Some are won over by the sheer melodramatic idiocy and charm of the D, whilst others are put off by a loose story and too much toilet humour.
Personally, I think expecting too much from this film will douse the experience, and if you approach it without hoping for a delving plot or ingenious direction, you will find this to be one of the funniest movies ever to rock the stage.
While The Pick of Destiny may be one of the best mock-rock flicks since This is Spinal Tap, any other comparison would be unfair to each movie.
While Spinal Tap was dressed up as a documentary that emphasised the silliness of actual famous rockers such as Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend and others, Tenacious D hails the awesomeness of such legends, in a silly way.
Tenacious D
OD rather aligns itself with the Wayne’s World movies, where it the fan rather than the star that is parodied.The movie opens with a rather brilliant musical intro where a young Jack Black (played to alarming perfection by Troy Gentile) seeks an escape to rock nirvana, away from his bible-bashing father (Meatloaf).
Lucky for JB, rock deity Ronnie James Dio descends from a poster on the wall to direct the young rocker to Venice Beach (or in Dio’s words “a city of fallen angels, where the ocean meets the sand”) to meet with busking slacker, Kyle Gass.
The two meet, and a before long, JB is taken under KG’s tutelage of rock.
A few bongs, power-slides, gig simulations and unorthodox push-ups later, JB and KG decide that in order to fulfil their desire to be the ‘greatest rock band on earth’, they must travel to the rock museum in Philadelphia in order to obtain a mythical guitar pick that according to a former roadie (Ben Stiller) was fashioned out of Satan’s tooth, and gives the holder ethereal musical powers.
So, the story isn’t exactly rock solid, but what makes this a winner is the clever, and rather unexpected use if satire, as well as brilliant (if sometimes esoteric) parody and the scarily real performances of wannabe rockers Black and Gass.
Black calls upon the inner-superstar rocker performance that drove School of Rock to such success, and amps up the melodrama to great comedic effect, while Gass plays the role of the straight man to great effect.
While Black offers some great visual-acting, it is his and Gass’ vast musical talents that offer the provides the film’s most salient asset.
The D performs almost all the movies soundtrack and score, and there are some truly impressive tunes along the way.
The film is book-ended as a musical with the great aforementioned opening with Meatloaf and Ronnie James Dio, and then the climax scene, where the D face Satan (played by Foo Fighter and Tenacious D drummer, Dave Grohl) in a hard-rocking showdown that will arouse fans of the genre.
The cameos of rock icon from past and present, proves that Tenacious D: POD has the approval of the rock community, and adds strength to the film’s overall appeal.
The only thing that could hinder this film’s overall appeal is that some of the gags might only tickle the fancy of the hardcore fans of Tenacious D’s cult TV series.
This relatively small fan-base will no doubt appreciate the inclusion of Lee (Jason Reed), Sasquatch (John C. Riley) the open mic setting, and several offhand gags but it’s reasonable to believe that newcomers to the world of Tenacious D won’t feel alienated.
So if you enjoy the odd dosage of eardrum-rupturing power rocks, whack on your faded AC/DC T-shirt, slip into your dirtiest jeans and prepare for 90-odd minutes of sheerly entertaining, amplified mayhem.
Highlight: Jack Black’s mushroom-induced adventure with Sasquatch.
TRAILER:
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Not really ME, but I think they're clever but I think they'd be more clever if they left that word out.
Just a bit like the Mikado.
Well I guess for me it's an education. I'd be bleeping all over the place, if only I could.
Good post, you've obviously put a lot of time into it.
katyzzz
If you want inspiration there's a stack of youtubes out there, it's just a matter of finding them and most are not burdened [from my point of view] with expletives.
Formula 1
The Social Centre
Sorry about the vulgarity of the clip, but there wasn't much choice.
Black does enjoy a liberal delivery of some choice curse words, but if you can overlook such things then the charm of the D shines through.
Thanks for stopping by
Chris
Enviro Warrior
An Extra Ordinary Life
Dream Herald
I have this movie and .. it is out there, truly *lol* If half the rock stars could sing like this guy?
Wow : that'd be really good...
I just saw Nacho Libre night before last and laughed my head off. My children didn't get it, nor my husband, but I just roared.... ((hillarious)).
Lilla ...
I am looking forward to his "straight" role against Cameron Diaz (can't think of movie title)... new one coming soon (Maybe on now)...?