Tenacious D are back and ready to rock

By Jim Feighan
Collegian Staff
November 15, 2006

As a junior in high school, I was blown away by Tenacious D’s self-titled debut album. Not only were the songs crude and funny, but surprisingly catchy; band members Jack Black and Kyle Gass could actually write good music. After the album was released, the duo attained commercial success with hits like “Wonderboy” and “Tribute,” and, as a result, rumors of a Tenacious D movie started to spread.

Finally, on Nov. 22, Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny will be hitting theaters, and while die hard fans couldn’t be more excited, aren’t the rest of us thinking, “This is just coming out now?”

The movie focuses on the first meeting between JB (Black) and KG (Gass), both unsuccessful musicians who want nothing more than to simply be the best band in the world. Upon meeting, KG must train JB how to master the qualities of a rock star, which include power slides, overcoming annoying fans and a certain type of genital push-up (in which a guy’s arms aren’t needed).

After playing their first open mic gig, the duo realizes that something’s missing from their act. They eventually learn from a crazy guitar salesman (Ben Stiller) that there is a guitar pick possessed by Satan that will instantly make anyone play amazingly, known as the “Pick of Destiny,” a.k.a. POD. The film follows them as they make their way from Venice Beach to the Rock and Roll History Museum where the POD is located, adding up to a 300-mile excursion full of run-ins with a psychotic one-legged stranger (Tim Robbins), drunken frat guys (including Colin Hanks) and Sasquatch (John C. Reilly).

One great aspect of Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny is that fans finally get new music from the band — 15 songs, to be exact. And while some songs like “The Divide” and “Destiny” are nothing more than short segue clips in the movie, hits like “Master Exploder” and “Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)” show promise for Tenacious D’s future music.

Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny received an R rating, and for obvious reasons. There are almost a dozen scenes with drug references, including depictions JB and KG smoking pot every time they record their music. These scenes are unneccessary, and if cut out, along with about 30 “f---”s, could have earned the film a PG-13 rating, which would make more sense, considering the jokes in the film were aimed at younger teenagers who would enjoy fart jokes and people getting physically hurt.

As for the cast performances, Black and Gass were hilarious, proving that they still have great chemistry together. Paul Tompkins as the Open Mic Host was also well-cast, throwing in one-liners when necessary. Meatloaf did a great job playing JB’s strict father, providing his own singing voice for early songs. A huge disappointment, though, was Jason Reed, who played Tenacious D’s biggest fan, Lee. Although he was only on screen for about three minutes total, Reed’s total lack of acting ability and poor delivery were more of a distraction than anything else.

Overall, Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny is a hit-or-miss comedy, employing a loose plot with funny visual gags and entertaining performances by slackers Black and Gass. It just seems that the movie, while exhibiting the duo’s new material, came out a little too late. I can only imagine the draw and appeal that this film would’ve had if it came out four years ago, as opposed to now, when Tenacious D has been out of the limelight for a bit too long.

feighanj1@lasalle.edu