Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny
Rating: Hell No
I was concerned that I would not be able to review this movie objectively. From the previews, it seemed like something that would only truly appeal to big fans of Jack Black and Tenacious D. To combat my lack of perspective, I went to see Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny, with a friend who IS a fan of the band. He didn’t like it either. The phrase, “Worst Movie I have ever seen” was used. I wouldn’t have gone that far, but he admitted he’d never actually seen Catwoman. Клиника лечение варикоза лазером Ховрино.
Therein lies the problem with this film: it constantly makes you think of other, better movies. Every time Jack Black overused the work f@*k, I was reminded of The Boondock Saints, where a character illustrated the diversity of that particular word with amusing results. Black is more like a twelve-year-old who has just learned to swear, and thus says it over and over, the results being both not funny and boring. During a completely unnecessary mushroom-induced trip sequence, all I could think about was how hilarious it was when Kitty on That 70’s Show was stoned and couldn’t stop giggling because everyone had enormous heads.
Pick of Destiny can never figure out what sort of movie it should be. It starts like a rock opera – Meat Loaf cameos (fantastically) as young JB’s (Black) conservative Christian father – and sings his entire rant against his son’s love of rock. Had the movie continued in that vein, it might have been really amusing. Then it switches gears, becoming a quest story, where JB runs away and discovers his personal guru in guitar-playing Kyle Gass (himself). This has hints of mocumentary great This Is Spinal Tap, or perhaps a biopic along the lines of Walk the Line, or more accurately, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Had it been able to commit to a style, perhaps it wouldn’t seem so disjointed, with crude humor that is more stupid than funny linking moments of true enjoyment.
The plot is almost nonexistent, the search for The Pick of Destiny, fabled to have been made from a piece of Satan’s own tooth, is not introduced until more than halfway through the movie. Ben Stiller narrates the tale of the Pick, in another excellent cameo (I don’t even like Stiller, and I found it entertaining) while the confrontation that led to the tooth chipping is illustrated Monty Python style. JB and Kyle only go searching for the Pick because they want to win an open-mike contest, which is only introduced as a plot point so they will discover the existence of the Pick. This sort of circular reasoning operates throughout the movie. They’ve set up a pot joke at the end, so there must be four confusing and unfunny bits about drug use during the movie to justify the joke at the end.
The film is littered with references to their music and the Tenacious D television show that aired on HBO that anyone unfamiliar with said show wouldn’t catch. They don’t confuse the audience, but even my friend who recognized them wasn’t amused. The ending makes less sense if you have never heard of “The Greatest Song in the World.” The best parts of this movie about Tenacious D are sadly most often cameos by other people. Tim Robbins is hilarious in an uncredited cameo, Paul F. Tompkins gets a laugh with a heartwarming speech about finding the Devil inside you, and Dave Grohl is fantastic as The Devil.
The “rock-off” between Tenacious D and Satan at the end was the best part of the movie, it’s a shame it was given such short shrift. Had the rest of the film been on par with that five-minute sequence, I would be able to say that everyone should give it a chance.
