Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny is the movie musical that dared to ask: what if Jack Black and Kyle Gass went on a quest to steal Satan’s guitar pick? The answer, surprisingly, is one of the most entertainingly stupid films of the 2000s—a rock opera about friendship, destiny, and the power of being genuinely extra.
Jack Black plays JB, a naive Midwesterner who arrives in Venice Beach with dreams of rock stardom. Kyle Gass plays KG, a local slacker who knows just enough guitar to be dangerous. Together they form Tenacious D, “the greatest band in the world,” and embark on a quest to steal the Pick of Destiny—a magical guitar plectrum made from Satan’s tooth that grants musical genius to whoever wields it. The plot is absurd, the songs are ridiculous, and the cameos are legendary.
Tenacious D works because Black and Gass commit completely. They never wink at the audience or apologize for the stupidity. When they sing “Master Exploder” and literally blow someone’s mind with the power of rock, they sell it like Shakespeare. When they encounter Sasquatch played by John C. Reilly in an acid-trip sequence, they treat it with the gravity of a religious experience. The film understands that the best comedy comes from taking ridiculous premises absolutely seriously.
The music is genuinely great, which helps. Songs like “Kickapoo,” “The Metal,” and “Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)” are catchy enough to exist outside the film, and Black’s vocal performances are legitimately impressive. Dave Grohl plays Satan, because of course he does, and the final battle between Tenacious D and the Prince of Darkness is the kind of set piece that only this film could pull off.
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny was a box office disappointment in 2006, but like many cult classics, it found its audience on home video and streaming. It’s the kind of film that rewards repeat viewing, that generates quote-along screenings, that makes you want to learn guitar just so you can air-strum more convincingly.
Stream Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny and let the D rock your world, one ridiculous song at a time.
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