The legendary band AC/DC once sang, “For those about to rock, we salute you.” In which case, allow us a gesture of respect to Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.
JB (Jack Black, Nacho Libre) and KG (Kyle Gass, Elf) are two slackers looking to form the greatest rock band of all time. Their ambition, however, is an uphill struggle to say the least, until they discover an ancient secret that could make all their dreams of greatness come true—the fabled Pick of Destiny, which was fashioned from the tooth of Satan himself (played by Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl, in his big screen debut).
Modelled after classic rock operas such as The Who’s Tommy and Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but with a riotous and irreverent comical spin on it, this movie seems to be designed solely as a love letter to the hardest kind of music there is. It’s even littered with a couple of riotous cameos from rock icons—aside from Grohl, look out for Meatloaf (Fight Club) as JB’s dad and former Black Sabbath lead singer Ronnie James Dio (in his big screen debut) as JB’s voice of reason.
While anyone who digs their tunes with growling guitars will be raving about it for a long while after the final credits have rolled, those who aren’t such hard rockers may still find The Pick of Destiny worth a couple of laughs—but little else. There are a few rather unfunny moments, like JB’s tedious mushroom trip, which drag the film down a little. And anyone who didn’t expect a rock opera might actually get turned off by the musical numbers after a while.
Essentially, if you’re a rock fan, you’ll absolutely love The Pick of Destiny. And for appealing to that crowd alone, it’s already earned its place as a cult classic. But if you’re not keen on rock music, then it may be entertaining in bits, but is certainly not the funniest stuff you’ve seen this year.