Pick of Destiny, A Must for Jack Black Fans and No One Else

If you've found yourself scratching your head at the appeal of Tenacious D or Jack Black, then the latest offering by rock 'n roll's premier underdogs, a feature length debut about a guitar pick that brings superhuman shredding abilities to all who possess it, will shed no light on the matter. You may still laugh your head off though.

Tenacious D's adventure begins with the first meeting of Jack Black and Kyle Gass (both playing themselves) on a beach, where Black, long disowned by his conservative, rock music-hating father, ends up while searching for his place in the rock world. Gass grudgingly takes the adoring Black under his wing and begins to train him in the art of showmanship. After a not-particularly-starting revelation about Gass (and his hair), Black and Gass become equals, but discover at the same time, in a way quite removing all doubt and that I will not spoil, that they were destined to form a band.

If you've seen the duo's latest music video, A Tribute, you'll get a fairly good idea of what you're in for. In fact, you may want to check that out first before plopping down the cash to rent Pick of Destiny. With many scenes undoubtedly improvised, Tenacious D certainly manages to keep things interesting most of the time. You'll find several stellar cameo appearances (Ben Stiller is the standout as the guitar store worker who knows the secret of the Pick of Destiny) and a musical number featuring a solo-shredding Satan that's quite a riot.

But there are only so many times Jack Black can thrash his head or say "dude" before you wonder why you're laughing, and you may walk out of the theater less than pleased with yourself. It is understandable that taking an act so well-suited for the five-minute music video format would be difficult to translate to the big screen. But alas, at an hour and 45 minutes, the act starts to wear pretty thin after a while, even if you're a fan of Tenacious D, and you may later find yourself nostalgically searching Youtube for their previous work (or wondering why you ever did like it in the first place).

If you want a poignant, hilarious rock 'n roll madcap, without excessive profanity and phallic references, check out School of Rock. If Tenacious D is your thing, well I can't give you any reason, barring an incredibly short attention span, not to check it out. Everyone else...well, just watch School of Rock.