Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny - Horrible Movies

Squarely aimed at thirteen year olds who probably haven't been old enough to follow the entire history of this played-put mock-rock act, "Pick Of Destiny" is as rudimentary as modern cinema gets. As a critic, the positive side of the brain desires a more whimsical reading of the film, to establish that there's something charming about the fact the film looks like it cost $10 to make, including star Kyle Gass' lunch. Appropriately, it's from the mind of co-writer and director Liam Lynch, who last filmed the depressingly inert concert film "Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic" and is otherwise known for such minimalist tomes as the minor pop hit "My United States Of Whatever" and the ingratiating MTV2 cult hit "The Sifl And Olly Show". It would be charitable to say that, for the love of mankind, Mr. Lynch would best be suited to never pick up a camera again.

Jack Black and Kyle Gass, too old for this, play the titular band, a duo in love with themselves as much as they are worshipful of the likes of Metallica, Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio, who delivers the best of the film's largely unfunny cameos. A preamble finds little Black running away from home to avoid his pushy father (Meatloaf- a wasted opportunity if there ever was one) to arrive in Hollywood, where he and street guitarist Gass (it's never said, but I suppose it's implicit that these guys are playing themselves- I wonder if they ever went on to meet the guitar store clerk who looks like Ben Stiller again) develop the legend of the band. Meant to resemble folklore, with interstitials displaying the duo as mythical heroes, the journey these two encounter is only as wild and wooly as their budget allows (which is to say, not much).