Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Jason Reed
Written by Jack Black, Kyle Gass and Liam Lynch
Produced by Stuart Cornfeld, Elaine Dysinger, Georgia Kacandes,
Steve Moramarco and Ben Stiller
Original Music by Andrew Gross and John King
Certification US R | UK 15
Runtime 93 minutes
Directed by Liam Lynch
Fan of Tenacious D? Then you'll like this film. Hate Tenacious D? Then you won't. Yes. We know. That's ludicrously obvious. However, given the number of thumbs downs this gloriously dumb movie is picking up elsewhere, we thought a sense of balance was necessary. Particularly as most of those reviews are from senior citizens, arthouse addicts and - there's no easy way to say this so we're just going to spit it out - women.
This is a dumb movie for dumb boys, of whatever age. Anyone else need not apply. Got it? Right. Let's carry on. The film focuses on the highly-fictionalised account of how Jack Black (JB) and Kyle Gass (KG, or Cage to his friends) met and formed the self-proclaimed Greatest Band on Earth. Following a rendition of a song of remarkable sweariness in front of his god-fearing parents, the 10-year-old JB finds himself banished to his room, and seeking guidance from the rock gods - in the form of Ronnie Dio - on the path his life must take.
Dio tells Lil' JB that Hollywood is where he must go. And, after several years of wandering around America's other Hollywoods, JB finally arrives on the west coast and runs, almost immediately, into the guitar god that is KG. After frosty beginnings, a unique partnership is formed and the band is unleashed. To, frankly, less than stellar effect. They've got the moves, the rock chops, the passion. Why can't they get a break?
And that's where the Pick of Destiny comes in. Noticing that all the guitar legends on their collection of Rolling Stone magazines are using the same guitar pick, the boys attempt to buy one - only to learn about the legend of the Pick of Destiny, a guitar implement fashioned from the tooth of Satan himself. Whoever holds the Pick of Destiny shall rocketh like no other. All they need to do then is steal it from the Rock 'n' Roll History Museum. Yes, it's virtually plotless. Yes, the humour is childish. Yes, toilet gags play a major part. But there's an early test: the THX-esque sound ad uses an animated farting KG to demonstrate the quality of the surround sound. If that makes you laugh, you'll chuckle for the next 90-something minutes. If it doesn't, go and find something subtitled. It really is that easy.