Tenacious D: The Pick Of Destiny [2006]

Comedy, Music

Colin Hanks
Meat Loaf
Kyle Gass	KG
Ben Stiller
Tim Robbins
Jack Black	JB
Jason Reed	Lee
Ronnie James Dio	Dio
Paul F. Tompkins	Open Mic Host
Troy Gentile	Lil' JB
Ned Bellamy	Security Guard #1
Fred Armisen	Security Guard #2
Kirk Ward	Car Chase Cop / Gang Leader
Amy Poehler	Truck Stop Waitress

Director	Liam Lynch
Producer	Jack Black; Stuart Cornfeld
Writer	Jack Black; Kyle Gass; Liam Lynch

You don't have to be a munchie-loving stoner or an aspiring rock god to enjoy Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, but it helps. A dozen years after they introduced their mock-rock power duo on the Los Angeles club scene, Jack Black and Kyle Gass finally got the movie showcase (a partial spinoff from the D's short-lived HBO series) their fans had been waiting for, and it's a rockin' romp with plenty of crude laughs that will hit home for anyone who's ever played air guitar to Meat Loaf's "Bat out of Hell." It's a Beavis and Butt-head-like origin story, recalling the legend (ahem) of how JB (Black) and KG (Gass) met, bonded over bong-hits and rock-operatic guitar licks, then set out (on a tip from a crazed guitar-store clerk played by Ben Stiller) to find the mythic pick of destiny, used by all guitar gods and said to be fashioned from the tooth of Satan. Their quest includes a variety of well-cast cameos (including Tim Robbins, Meat Loaf, and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl as Satan himself), and there's plenty of flatulence, drug humour, at least one hilarious fantasy sequence, and outrageous sight gags too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say, it's about 90 minutes of lowbrow indulgence, and some of the jokes fall flat, but if you're a headbanger at heart, you'll know what Tenacious D is riffing on, and the sweet licks will sound that much sweeter. If you're not ready to RAWK, this potential cult favorite may not be for you... but give it try anyway. It may not be better than Citizen Kane, but if you're properly stoked, it comes close to rock & roll heaven. --Jeff Shannon