I am not what you would call an avid follower of The D, but I do enjoy the hell out of the Tenacious D CD and the passion with which they bring the worlds of metal and comedy together. Jack Black is absolutely hilarious, and with Kyle Gass at his side the laughs only increase. This is their big screen debut as a team, and the results are rather satisfying.
The Pick of Destiny is a film that is definitely targeted at the fans of the pair, and many among the uninitiated will probably miss out on a lot of the movie. It plays like the melding of fact and fiction, telling the origin of Tenacious D and their journey towards becoming the greatest band in the world.
The highlight is definitely the music. The emotion and sincerity combined with the energy is downright infectious. Black, complete with his parody of metal-god swagger, leads the pair with his maniacal presence and his soaring metal voice. I swear, if he wasn't in comedy, he would be fronting a first rate metal act. At Black's side is Kyle Gass, supplying the metal riffs and solos, while also playing the quiet straight man to Black's in your face comedy.
We start with a pre-title sequence in which a young JB (the perfectly cast Troy Gentile) rebelling against his by the book Christian father, played by Meat Loaf (I knew I recognized that voice). He has a vision of real life metal god Ronnie James Dio who urges him to travel to Hollywood to find fame. So young JB grabs his axe, jumps out the window, and sets off for the land of Fallen Angels.
Following the opening credits the story picks up in Hollywood. JB, now in the body of Jack Black, meets KG playing classical music on a guitar on the sidewalk. The meeting shows the potential they have, but it takes an attack by some A Clockwork Orange extras to bring them together in a Kung Fu-like relationship.
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