"Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny" would be a great little movie — well, it could have been — if the rest of the film were as funny as the rock-opera sequence that kicks it off. Or as crudely amusing as an animated spoof of THX ads that precede the film.
Instead, however, things go downhill pretty quickly. And it's a long wait between those two initial laugh-worthy moments and the next inspired bit of business. Even a promising end sequence with Dave Grohl playing Satan falls flat.
Still, fans of the fictional heavy-metal rock duo Tenacious D — and fans of Jack Black — may get more out of this crude musical comedy than casual viewers.
"Pick of Destiny" presents the "untold history" of Black's musical side project, which was also featured in a short-lived HBO TV series.
These fictionalized events follow Black and his music partner Kyle Gass as they try to find a fabled pick that contains magical powers — and which will help them realize their dream of becoming the world's most popular metal act.
To be fair, there are a couple of chuckles here and there. A fantasy sequence featuring John C. Reilly as Sasquatch is goofy, but it goes on too long. And worse, too many of the songs sound the same.
The painfully unfunny cameos — from executive producer Ben Stiller, Tim Robbins and others — are no help, either. Aside from Reilly, the other notable exception may be Meat Loaf Aday, who plays Black's father in the rock-opera opening.
"Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny" is rated R for strong sexual profanity and humor (references and gags), as well as crude flatulence bits, scenes of comic violence (slapstick and some vehicular violence and assorted mayhem), drug content (marijuana use and references), partial male nudity, and some brief gore. Running time: 93 minutes.
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