Review - Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)

      Hey guys, Chuck here, and to celebrate 4/20, I thought it would be fun to discuss the 2006 rock musical comedy Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny, directed by Liam Lynch, and starring Jack Black and Kyle Gass as, well, themselves really. In addition to Jack and Kyle, the movie also features JR Reed, Paul F. Tompkins, Meat Loaf, Ronnie James Dio, Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Ned Bellamy, Fred Armisen, Amy Poehler, John C. Reilly, Tim Robbins, and Dave Grohl. 

       The movie opens with a prologue set in the town of Kickapoo, Missouri, where we meet a boy named JB who, unlike his hyper religious and conservative family, is a major fan of rock music. And, one night, while rocking out to his family during dinner, JB's father finally get fed up, takes off his belt, drags JB to his bedroom, and spanks him with the belt. JB's father then berates the boy for his passion for rock music, tears down several rock posters, demonic toys, and grounds the boy for a week, remarking "Don't let me hear you cry, don't let me hear you moan! You gotta praise the Lord when you're in my home!" Now, this is obviously made up for the sake of the movie, as Jack Black's father, and mother, were highly supportive of his choices in life, such as acting and performing rock music. 

      Anyway, after his father leaves, JB prays to a poster of Ronnie James Dio for guidance, as he needs someone to teach him how to rock, and proclaims "I'll never rock as long as I am stuck here with my dad." Suddenly, the poster of Dio comes to life, and he instructs JB to escape his family home and traverse to Hollywood, where he'll meet someone with whom he'll form "the world's most awesome band." Dio sends JB off with these words: "To find your fame and fortune, through the Valley you must walk. You will face your inner demons. Now go, my son, and rock!" With this, JB takes his guitar, some cash, and a backpack, runs from home, and journeys all over the country, until he finally reaches Hollywood, California. 

      While traveling along Venice Beach, JB meets a guitar player names Kyle Gass, who tries to shoo him away, but to no avail. Eventually, JB sings along with Kyle's guitar playing, which draws a single onlooker in the form of a pizza delivery guy named Lee. Kyle, annoyed, flicks his guitar pick at JB and leaves. Wandering the streets that night, JB falls asleep on a public bench, only to be attacked by four men dresses up as the Droogs from A Clockwork Orange. And, fun fact about these guys, two of them are portrayed by John Ennis and Jay Johnston from HBO's Mr. Show, while the other two are portrayed by members of The Actor's Gang, and both are something that Jack and Kyle got there start with, along with the previously popular sketch comedy series The Ben Stiller Show. Well, after the four thugs run off, Kyle shows up and acts like he sent them away, and takes JB back to his apartment, where he agrees to train JB in the ways of rock. 

      What follows is a montage of JB learning the power slide, learning the "c*ck push-up, and cleaning Kyle's apartment, where he finds a check marked "I Love You, Pumpkin." Kyle brushes it off as a royalty check, but that's definitely a load of crap. Anyway, after earning ten bucks in mixed cash and coin, JB is instructed to pick up ten bucks worth of marijuana, and Kyle tells him to "Head over to Wake n' Bake Pizza, ask for Jojo, and tell him you want the 'Bob Marley, Extra Crispy.'" Soon after, JB is put through the "gig simulator," which acts as an over-the-top stand-in for a live stage with insults and boos prerecorded by Kyle, and JB breaks his guitar attempting a power slide after hallucinating his father speaking so cruelly to him. Kyle them cheers him up, and it's here we get the "liar revealed" moment. Apparently the "royalty checks were, in fact, rent checks sent to Kyle by his parents, and his mother called to say that they were cutting him off, and he needed to get a real job. Oh, and the long hair he had? It was a wig, and Kyle is, in fact, bald. JB, clearly pissed off at Kyle, watches as Kyle gets set to go back home, as he spent the rent money an a brand new guitar for JB. After seeing that act of kindness, JB decided the two of them would form a band named after a birth mark each one had on their respective asses. JB's birth mark says "Tenac," while Kyle's said "ious D," which when put together forms the name Tenacious D. 

      Some time later, JB and Kyle perform at a local Open Mic Night, where another performer is none other than Neil Hamburger. After a performance of their song "History," JB is advised to write some new stuff for the following week's Open Mic Contest, which has a cash prize. Unfortunately, JB and Kyle fail to come up with anything, but they look at magazine photos of bands like AC/DC, Van Halen, and The Who, only to notice each one had a very unusual guitar pick they utilized. 

      Heading to a Guitar Center, JB and Kyle meet with the store manager, who pulls them to the back, where he reveals that the guitar pick they're looking for is a mythical object known as the Pick of Destiny. According to legend, the Pick of Destiny was fashioned from the tooth of Satan himself, which was broken when a blacksmith tossed a horseshoe at the demon to save a wizard who summoned the beast. Upon the tooth being broken, the wizard recited the incantation "from whence you came you shall remain, until you are complete again," sending Satan back to Hell. To repay the blacksmith, the wizard fashioned the broken tooth into a guitar pick, which disappeared. But suddenly, it appeared in the American South, being used by Robert Johnson, which birthed both Blues and Rock music. As for where the Pick wound up? It was in the non-existent Rock and Roll History Museum in Sacramento. 

       So, JB and Kyle borrow Lee's car and hit the road to collect the Pick of Destiny. And, while on the road, JB dreams of playing a killer show at the Open Mic club, but is awakened by Kyle, who parked outside of a diner, suggesting they get something to eat. And, while Kyle orders fried chicken, steak, and chicken fried steak, JB decided not to get anything, as he's laser focused on getting the Pick. And, while he details a plan, Kyle is distracted by a group of sorority girls, who offer Kyle the chance to play at their party that night. JB, meanwhile, is approached by an old stranger, who shows him a sketch of two air vents on the roof of the Museum. Unfortunately, this leads to a rift between JB and Kyle, with the latter going to play at the college party, which goes poorly. JB, meanwhile, gets lost in the woods, eats some wild mushrooms, and hallucinates a magical adventure with Sasquatch. But he luckily finds himself a mile away from the Museum. 

       JB then slides down one of the air vents to get into the Museum, only to reunite with Kyle in the air duct. The two then fall into the Museum, pose as statues, and make their way to the room named "Guitar Gods," which is at the top of the "Guitarway to Heaven." JB slips past and deactivates lasers, and he and Kyle nab the Pick, escape two clearly high guards, and escape the Old Man, who wants the Pick for himself. The two return to L.A., wind up in a car chase with police, and escape through the sewers and emerge outside of the Open Mic club just in time for the contest. But, after bickering over who should use the Pick, they accidentally break it in two. But, after some encouragement from the Open Mic host, JB and Kyle go on to play anyway. 

        But, something unusual happens, as the Open Mic host collects both halves of the Pick, transforms into Satan, and restores the Pick as it reconnects to Satan's broken tooth. JB and Kyle see this, and challenge Satan to a rock-off, something Satan can't decline. The stakes? If JB and Kyle win, Satan is to return to Hell and pay the rent for JB and Kyle. However, if Satan wins, he can take Kyle back to Hell to "be your little bitch." Satan starts, and lets out a monster rock jam. Kyle gets skittish from it, but JB talks some sense into him, and they play their bit. However, Satan disapproves, remarking "You guys are fuckin' lame! Come on, Kage, you're coming with me!" And, JB blocks a lightning strike aimed at Kyle, and it breaks off a part of Satan's horn. Sensing an opportunity, JB grabs the horn, reciting the incantation "From whence you came you shall remain, until you are complete again." And, as Satan is dragged through a gateway back to Hell, he shouts "Fuck you, Kage! And fuck you, Jables! I'll get you, Tenacious D!!!!!" 

       Days later, JB and Kyle reminisce about beating Satan with the power of rock, but forgot the song they sang. So, they decide to take a hot using the "Bong of Destiny," which is a bong crafted from Satan's horn, and lay out a track. In an after-credits scene, JB and Kyle try to record a new song, but all Kyle can let out is a very loud fart, to which JB remarks "Let's play that back." 

      Now, something I need to make clear is this. Yes, I do have a bit of a bias towards this movie, purely based on how much of a fan of Tenacious D I am. Ever since I first watched this movie back in 2009, I became hooked on Tenacious D, to the point where I managed to acquire the band's first three albums: Tenacious D, The Pick of Destiny, and Rize of the Fenix, as well as a DVD of the Pick of Destiny movie, and a DVD of The Complete Master Works Vol. 2. Recently, I managed to replace my old DVD copy of the Pick of Destiny movie with a new Blu-ray copy. So, my love of Tenacious D runs deep. 

       All that out of the way, I think that this movie was a ton of fun, and incredibly funny. Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who are pretty much playing themselves, are great in this movie, which makes sense as they essentially wrote the movie themselves along with director Liam Lynch. The other performances from the likes of JR Reed, Paul F Tompkins, Meat Loaf, Ronnie James Dio, Ben Stiller, Amy Poehler, John C Reilly and so forth are all fantastic. And, aside from Amy Poehler, Amy Adams, Meat Loaf, and Ronnie James Dio, most everyone who has a role in this movie either was featured in the original HBO Tenacious D series, or were part of the Actor's Gang, or were part of the cast of Mr. Show. 

       The music? Well, there's a reason I picked up the Pick of Destiny album released alongside the movie. The songs, all written and performed by Tenacious D, were a ton of fun. Now, while most of my favorite songs by Tenacious D came from their self-titled album, Tenacious D, and weren't in this movie, there are still a number of song in the movie like "Kickapoo," "History," "Master Exploder," and "Beelzeboss" that rank among my all-time favorite songs by Tenacious D, and I have a lot of fun seeing them in context with the events of the movie. 

        At the end of the day, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny was a fun movie that acts as a fictional origin of Tenacious D, a road comedy, and a rock musical. And, of you're either into those kind of movies, or are a hardcore Tenacious D fan, then definitely give this movie a watch for 4/20. Or, just check it out whenever. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, Have a great 4/20, and I'll see you in the next review. As for right now, I'm gonna go play some video games and listen to my Tenacious D albums.