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Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
New Line Cinema

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 55 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.5 out of 10
based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 73 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for pervasive language, sexual content and drug use

Starring Jack Black, Kyle Gass, Jason Reed, Ronnie James Dio, Paul F. Tompkins, Troy Gentile, Tim Robbins, and David Grohl

The legend of the fabled "Pick of Destiny" infuses every page of rock history. Since the dark ages, this supernatural pick has been passed down through many hands. Now, the time draws nigh when the pick will be passed to the next generation of rock - the ones they call Tenacious D. This is their tale of a friendship that would last through the ages and a musical and spiritual synergy so strong that it would reshape our very understanding of the concept of rock. This is the story of Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. (New Line Cinema)


GENRE(S): Comedy  |  Musical  
WRITTEN BY: Jack Black
Kyle Gass
Liam Lynch
 
DIRECTED BY: Liam Lynch  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: February 27, 2007 
Theatrical: November 22, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Film Threat Mark Bell
In the end, Jack, Kyle and director Liam Lynch ("Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic") have created more than just a low-brow comedy, they've created a comedic saga, a film more rock show than movie.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
Comic gold for anyone who is currently stoned, has been stoned in the past or spends a lot of time around stoned people.
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70
The Hollywood Reporter John DeFore
Sticks to formula but delivers some seriously dumb laughs.
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70
LA Weekly Scott Foundas
"The Blues Brothers" it is not, but in its best moments, the movie feels like a comic exaggeration of the real hardships that a couple of average, decidedly unhip guys went through on their unlikely way to the top.
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67
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
In a world in which "Borat" is a global brand, there's certainly a place for Tenacious D -- who, after all, are merely the greatest band in the world: Just ask 'em.
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67
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Works just like a Tenacious D song. The movie feels giddy and eruptive, dopily enthralled with itself, and more or less made up on the spot.
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67
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
From the looks of it, a good 90 percent of The D's creative juices were expended on The Pick Of Destiny's brilliant opening sequence.
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67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
It's colorful and determinedly kooky, with "Kung Fu" references and an H.R. Pufnstuf interlude between performances.
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63
USA Today Claudia Puig
The movie is spotty. The short films, essentially comic sketches, were more consistently funny. The movie lags on occasion, but it also has quite a few laughs.
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63
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Ultimately, Tenacious D is a sight gag -- two unprepossessing, chunky dudes rocking out like wiry guitar gods -- supplemented by spot-on digs at the macho bombast and Dungeons & Dragons silliness that drives heavy-metal mania.
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63
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Proudly, and often hilariously, juvenile, "Destiny" is packed with typically grandiose Tenacious D anthems - the sort that thrill 15-year-old boys listening alone in their bedrooms.
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63
New York Post Kyle Smith
The beginning and end are classics.
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63
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
As a movie, it’s a mess — and lazy, too.
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63
Miami Herald Connie Ogle
The Pick of Destiny is fast and funny, and you can't beat the songs (especially the not exactly heartwrenching Dude I Totally Miss You).
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63
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Baked and half-baked, Tenacious D does manage to give the term potty humor a new meaning. That's some kind of genius, right?
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60
Variety Brian Lowry
Not surprisingly, the pic struggles at times to flesh out even its relatively brief 90-odd-minute duration, but it delivers some genuine if generally low-brow laughs along the way.
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60
Empire Simon Crook
For fans, a crowd-surf over Tenacious D’s best bits. For the unbaptised, a novelty movie of a novelty band, big on spirit but in search of a script.
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50
The New York Times Stephen Holden
As it wobbles from one episode to the next, The Pick of Destiny is a garish mess, and some of it feels padded. But it has enough jokes to keep you smiling, and the spirit Mr. Black brings to it is a fervent (and touching) affection for the music he spoofs but obviously adores.
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50
ReelViews James Berardinelli
In the end, you have to possess a sweet spot for Black and his antics to find Tenacious D more than barely watchable.
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50
Village Voice Robert Wilonsky
Tenacious D is utterly harmless and totally pointless. Black and Gass have been at this so long their dirty little joke has all the punch of a Catskills routine.
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50
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's stoner comedy of the most absurd kind, part fryboy mental drizzle, part wink-wink audience baiting, and wholly, utterly funny.
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50
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
A large amount of dope is smoked in The Pick of Destiny, perhaps the most since the salad days of Cheech & Chong. This may be the problem. Pot rarely helped anybody's comic timing.
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50
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
No matter how "mock" this epic gets, it isn't mock enough. The "D" in the title must stand for dead weight.
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50
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
Most of the movie, about the search for a magical guitar pick, farts along at the level of a "Wayne's World" sketch.
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50
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Jack Black and Kyle Gass bring characters they created for the HBO program "Mr. Show With Bob and David" to the big screen with mixed success, depending on the age, gender and degree of inebriation of the filmgoer.
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50
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
A movie for people fascinated by toilets and Sabbath.
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50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
As it exists, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny is strictly for the tenaciously devoted.
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50
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Black and Kyle Gass started their acoustic/heavy metal rock music comedy act back in the late 1980s. Gold albums and HBO shorts followed, now this. Still, any movie featuring Jack Black with an appearance by Sasquatch is not a total loss, and, for those who care, we learn the origin of the group's name.
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40
Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
Not only screams out to be a midnight movie, but one in need of, shall we say, an herbal supplement, and we aren't talking ginkgo biloba.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 73 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it a10:
One of the funniest movies ever. All the songs are great and there is so many one liners that you can create a soundboard with them. Even the deleted scenes are great! Definite buy.

Iain F. gave it a10:
This film is a classic. Rock brilliance from earths mightiest band!

Niels P. gave it a10:
This is one of the few movies, that I have watched more than once. I love rock, especially hard rock, and this movie was just the greatest ever, and when I'm not watching the movie again and again, I'm listening to their music. Great movie, I remembered JB from School of Rock, which was also a good movie.

Steven L. gave it an8:
I'm rating it an eight. I enjoyed it up to ten though. I realize that it lags at times and it really should be a 7, but i enjoyed it so i bumped it up to 8. But the song's Kickapoo & Beezleboss are 10's all around. Jack Black is money as usual, that warrants and eight.

Jim M gave it a10:
You people are all nuts! This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Genius comedy! I loved every minute of it. You people take life WAY too seriously if you hate this fun movie.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
This movie was not made to win awards or get good reviews. it was made to have fun with it and hopefully entertain people along the way. This movie fulfills its function completely and you either hate it or you love it, but for what it is it's awesome.

Adam H. gave it a7:
Some good laughs... I have a feeling if you are high you will really enjoy it though.

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