1/25/09
Oh great, another John C. Reilly comedy. It's just gonna be full of try-hard immature humor that is more crass than funny. The characters will be enigmas only in the sense that you wonder how they can possibly be that stupid. It will deliver nothing except a fun way to kill an hour and a half.
Not so with Walk Hard. It expertly parodies the music biopic (Ray, Walk The Line) and even popular music of each decade (never have I heard such a dead-on Dylan satire, both lyrically and vocally). The humor is not very intelligent or fulfilling, but there's no denying that the movie has laughs, although I think we could all do with less penis shots. The dialogue is quick and the callbacks to the tragedies in Dewey's life are always funny.
The casting is perfect. John C Reilly plays Dewey as humanly as allowed for a comedy film. Jenna Fischer gives the performance of her career as Darleen. Kristen Wiig excels as a "supportive wife" who has more children than she knows what to do with. The cameos, however, are even better. The funniest part of the film isn't even the writing, but the collection of hilarious(ly stupid) celebrity cameos as famous musicians, parodying another facet of the musician biopic. Jack White steals the show as the surprisingly violent Elvis and a slew of currently popular comedians immitate The Beatles... poorly, I might add (they are constantly letting on the fact that they are, in fact, The Beatles which only makes their subpar performances funnier).
The thing that makes this movie excel is its soundtrack. "Black Sheep" was written by none other than Van Dyke Parks (the composer for the classic album Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys) and it shows. The songs all have integrity, both structurally and lyrically. Some silly lines grace a few of them but they don't take away from the soundtrack and only serve to strengthen their role in the film.
Dewey Cox is a likeable enough character whose struggles parody that of several other troubled musicians. Even though we grow to enjoy Dewey, there is still not much in this movie that makes us root for him or hopeful that he can turn it around. That kind of character development is a lot to expect out of a comedy, but I guess I aim high. Still, there is some genuine emotional impact when he performs "Beautiful Ride" to close the movie (especially the closing shot of him as a young man coinciding with the final notes of the song).
Closing note: The best moment (musically) in the film is definitely "A Life Without You (Is No Life At All)." As a huge Roy Orbison fan, this song is the closest thing I will ever hear to a new RO song (rest in peace). His trademark sound is replicated perfectly on this track as its emotion bleeds through the crystal clear and subdued vintage production. This song is just fantastic and whoever wrote it should be proud. It satirizes but also respects and pays loving tribute to Roy. John C Reilly also performs the song beautifully with his impersonation being jawdroppingly convincing and his stage presence having a totally oldschool frontman vibe. I get shivers everytime I watch that part of the film (especially in the two hour cut which is much better than the theater version).
Theatrical: 7.5/10
Extended: 8.5/10
Extended: 8.5/10
Soundtrack 9/10
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ya same only prob i hav wit da movie iz the overdone humor. it gets annoying and some of the acting performances of cameo or supporting cast members are abysmal. but the leads are great and it's got enough good humor to mostly make up for the spots it falls flat.
i give your review a 10.1 out of 10
10.1? Darn.
I think the horrible cameos serve to make it funnier. Jack Black was horrible.
By the way, the fact that this movie has Jack White and Jack Black in it makes it awesome by default.
heh so true. i just watched it last night and i gotta say that probably the thing that most pissed me off was Apatow's portrayal of LSD. and the Beatles. lol and also how the black dude said that weed isn't habit-forming (that makes it sound like it's not psychologically addictive). And how it's the cheapest drug there is. and also how there was no alcoholism or heroin use. i don't know why he had Dewey get addicted to acid and PCP either. it's like Apatow has a thing against hippies. although the PCP scene was funny. but ya there were a lot of bad annoying lines in the movie. then again it was good overall.