Tenacious D in their own movie, with mostly positive results

Rating: 7/10 (31 March 2011)

I first heard of Tenacious D, the musical duo consisting of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, years ago, finding articles on them in music magazines. This would have been around the time their self-titled debut album came out. I then saw Black play the starring role in the 2003 film, "The School of Rock", which made me become a fan of him as a comedian. To this day, I still haven't seen much of the "Tenacious D" TV series (though I did see part of an episode which I thought was very funny), but in late 2006, when I saw the trailer for the duo's then upcoming movie, "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny", it certainly did catch my attention. It took me over four years to get around to watching this fictional biopic, but I was still expecting to get lots of laughs out of it when I finally did see it, even if it wasn't great, and fortunately, I did.
In his childhood, JB lives in Kickapoo, Missouri, and has a passion for rock music, but this kind of music is forbidden in his strict religious household. Following the instructions of Dio, who comes to life on JB's poster of him, the young boy runs away and sets out on a journey to Hollywood to fulfill his rock dreams! After traveling around the United States and going through more than one other Hollywood, a now grown up JB finally arrives in the most famous one, in California. Here, he soon meets a guitarist named Kyle Gass, and is amazed by his skills, but this man doesn't seem to want anything to do with him. That night, JB is attacked by a masked gang, and Kyle pretends that he saved him from them. The guitarist then takes the aspiring rock star to his apartment. While training JB to be in his band, it is revealed that Kyle has been lying. He actually doesn't have a band, and has been living off rent checks sent by his mother, which she has just decided to stop sending! Kyle is about to leave his apartment and move back in with his parents, but when JB sees the guitar Kyle has just bought him with the last of this rent money, he convinces him to stay, and together, they form Tenacious D. The two of them set out on a quest to find a very powerful guitar pick known as the Pick of Destiny, as it appears that every rock legend has used it!
Troy Gentile plays Jack Black's character as a kid at the beginning of this movie, just like the actor did in "Nacho Libre". He was an excellent choice for this, as not only does he resemble Black, he can also really nail the comedian's facial expressions! I was already laughing during parts of this opening sequence, and found many more big laughs, plus some smaller ones, throughout the film. The part where JB and Kyle first meet is one of these memorably funny parts, especially when JB makes up lyrics to the classical pieces Kyle plays on his guitar! The two co-stars help carry the film with both their comedic and musical talent. They deliver lots of funny lines and play some good songs as they go on a quest full of mishaps, on which they don't always get along and don't always have the same attitudes. One really silly and over-the-top but still funny segment is JB's mushroom trip, caused by some mushrooms he finds in the forest and eats, not thinking about what they could do to him! The funniest bits of this sequence are that ones that show what's actually happening! There are some pretty weak gags, such as the "ear p%#@*^s" one, but this is far from a constant problem.
This feature film starring the renowned Tenacious D duo bombed at the box office, but has still gotten a decent cult following. Many may criticize it for its lowbrow humour, and there's no denying that it has a lot of that, but that's not a bad thing for everybody. Since this is an R-rated movie, I really don't think I have to point out that it's obviously not for kids, but there are also many adults who should stay away from it as well. If you're offended by the F word and/or by Satan (played here by former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman and guitarist Dave Grohl) being portrayed in a humorous manner, then you certainly should NOT watch "Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny"! I'm sure there are other things in the film that could easily offend as well, so you should be aware of that. However, if you're not offended by this sort of thing, you're a Tenacious D fan or maybe just a fan of Jack Black as a comedian, and you can take the film's tastelessness, then I can recommend it for you.