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Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a slightly over-the-top but still very amusing lampooning of a movie genre that is relatively new to this kind of spoof: the musical biopic.
Though the primary inspiration for this movie appears to be the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, I also noticed brief winks to Coal Miner's Daughter, Sweet Dreams, and Ray as well.
The 2007 film follows Dewey from a childhood tragedy that left him and his father forever estranged to his first appearance at a talent show and the two ladies in his life (Kristin Wiig, Jenna Fischer), his discovery of drugs, and a journey of self-discovery leading that leads our hero back to a possible comeback.
Director and co-screenwriter Jake Kasdan has done his homework here...every scene you have ever seen in a musical biopic is accurately spoofed here...from the childhood incident that haunts our hero to the "rise to success" montage to the hero's first discovery of drugs, to his lesson that love and family are more important than fame. Kasdan and co-screenwriter Judd Apatow have constructed a laugh-filled screenplay that gets a little too silly in points but delivers.
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John C. Reilly is energetic and sincere in the title role and proves to be a strong singer as well, which was documented five years earlier in Chicago. Also loved Tim Meadows and Chris Parnell as members of Dewey's band and Raymond Barry as Dewey's father. There are also a slew of cameos including Jackson Brown, Jewel, Morgan Fairchild, Patrick Duffy, Cheryl Ladd, Lyle Lovett, and Cheryl Tiegs. There's also a hysterical cameo appearance by Jack Black, Justin Long, Paul Rudd, and Jason Schwartzman as the Beatles.
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This spoof of the musical biopic works because it is played with a straight face by the cast and those straight faces manage to bring the laughs.
Though the primary inspiration for this movie appears to be the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, I also noticed brief winks to Coal Miner's Daughter, Sweet Dreams, and Ray as well.
The 2007 film follows Dewey from a childhood tragedy that left him and his father forever estranged to his first appearance at a talent show and the two ladies in his life (Kristin Wiig, Jenna Fischer), his discovery of drugs, and a journey of self-discovery leading that leads our hero back to a possible comeback.
Director and co-screenwriter Jake Kasdan has done his homework here...every scene you have ever seen in a musical biopic is accurately spoofed here...from the childhood incident that haunts our hero to the "rise to success" montage to the hero's first discovery of drugs, to his lesson that love and family are more important than fame. Kasdan and co-screenwriter Judd Apatow have constructed a laugh-filled screenplay that gets a little too silly in points but delivers.
John C. Reilly is energetic and sincere in the title role and proves to be a strong singer as well, which was documented five years earlier in Chicago. Also loved Tim Meadows and Chris Parnell as members of Dewey's band and Raymond Barry as Dewey's father. There are also a slew of cameos including Jackson Brown, Jewel, Morgan Fairchild, Patrick Duffy, Cheryl Ladd, Lyle Lovett, and Cheryl Tiegs. There's also a hysterical cameo appearance by Jack Black, Justin Long, Paul Rudd, and Jason Schwartzman as the Beatles.
This spoof of the musical biopic works because it is played with a straight face by the cast and those straight faces manage to bring the laughs.