Who are we to meddle with metal? To second-guess the sound and furious celebration of true rock love?
Enjoying the guitar-shredding comedy “Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny,” one wondered if it shouldn’t be the fans of Jack Black and Kyle Gass’ band, Tenacious D, that decide how much to celebrate the goofball pleasures and overindulgences of this rock fable about how the band came to be.
While there are enough easy gags for the non “D”-votee, one imagines the movie becomes funnier by half (a star) for knowing the back story and music of the popular band. Gass and Black met at Tim Robbins’ Los Angeles theater troupe and launched the band in 1994. Over the years, Tenacious D has opened for Pearl Jam and Beck. In 2001, it had a platinum CD.
“Pick of Destiny” begins in a pious household in Kickapoo, Mo. While his folks and brother gather around the table, long-haired Lil’ JB thrashes and trashes all dining decorum with a song fit for a stevedore.
You will not confuse this moment with “School of Rock.” This 10-year-old headbanger, Troy Gentile, is a delirious sight, lip-syncing Black’s screeching blasphemies.
After a hide-tanning, JB beseeches a poster of singer Ronnie James Dio, who has worked as lead shrieker for Black Sabbath and Rainbow. Dio answers his entreaty. Soon, the boy is headed for Hollywood. On Venice Beach, JB (Black) discovers his spiritual guide: Kyle Gass.
The pudgy, disdainful sidewalk busker tries to shake off his new fan. He’s a fool to do so, especially after JB creates a wickedly amusing song to accompany KG’s strumming of Bach’s Bourree in E Minor. But thanks to a “Clockwork Orange”-inspired gang, the two become acolyte and guide.
You’ve guessed it: “Pick of Destiny” is a “kitchen sink with InSinkErator” comedy, throwing all manner of pop-culture morsels into its mix.
Black, Gass and co-writer and director Liam Lynch lavish affection on the subcultures that bubble up around heavy metal. Eric Clapton might be god to some, but metal comes from a shadier place. With the help of a Ben Stiller cameo, they tease the relationship between the music with the darker arts. Tarot cards introduce different moments in JB and KG’s sojourn, one that leads them to the Rock and Roll History Museum.
Yet, for all its satanic verses, “Pick of Destiny” hasn’t a mean moment in it. Just the opposite, even when the beast tries to reclaim the guitar pick that many legendary rockers have handled.
Not only does director Lynch allows his stars their excesses, he has fun of his own. A magic-mushroom sequence is as surreal and colorful as a Teletubbies frolic.
“Pick of Destiny” has cameos galore: Starz Denver Film Festival award recipient Tim Robbins has demented fun playing a crucial role in the guys’ quest. Meat Loaf’s turn as the young JB’s righteous dad is clever casting. Of course, the singer’s fire-and-brimstone rail against metal is one of the rockingest moments in the movie.
Alas, there is enough ribald rhyming of the word “rock” to earn the movie an R rating. Too bad. There’s nothing heavy about this metal-loving comedy, and there’s a lot that is good-hearted.
Film critic Lisa Kennedy can be reached at 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com.
“Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny” | **1/2 RATING
R for pervasive language, sexual content and drug use | 1 hour, 37 minutes | ROCK COMEDY | Directed by Liam Lynch; written by Jack Black, Kyle Gass and Lynch; photography by Robert Brinkmann; starring Jack Black, Kyle Gass, JR Reed | Opens today at area theaters.
