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Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story |
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Written by James Rachlin
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Jul 01, 2008 at 01:37 PM |
Title: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Release Date: 04.08.2008
Studio: Sony Pictures
Rating: 7.5 of 10
Judd Apatow, co-writer on this film, has proven yet again that he has the
Midas touch when it comes to creating absurdly hilarious comedy while
simultaneously developing an original and enriching story that tells the
tale of characters the audience can care about.
John C. Reilly, a veteran "Apatow-ian" actor (Talledega Nights), stars as
fictitious singer/songwriter Dewey Cox, an innocent southerner with a gift
for the blues who pursues his dream of making it in "the big time" against
the wishes of his discouraging father and first wife which takes the
audience on a musical tour through the decades. His music reflects the
changing styles of American pop music as does his personal conflicts. The
soundtrack features everything from a sappy, gag inducing 50's doo-wop
serenade to a trippy LCD-induced mish-mash of instrumentation complete with
African tribesman and didgeridoos (perhaps a jab at Sgt. Pepper's). The Dewey
Cox story is funny because the audience and writers are well aware of these
trends in music and bad habits of the musicians that made them popular over
the years, however the characters are not. Much of the humor revolves
around this "self-reflection" kind of comedic parody. In one example, after
Dewey describes to Darlene his feeling that in the 60's something "is
happening", she replies "Yes, the 60's are an important and exciting
time!"--a truth that we as the audience know all too well from what we know
about the music in the 60's, it’s charming and funny to watch the characters
make this obvious discovery.
And yes, before you cry foul on my claims of the movie being original, I'll
acknowledge the elephant in the room. Yes, the "Cox" saga is woven with the
same fabric as "Ray" and "Walk the Line", but it would be unfair to dismiss
Walk Hard as a mere parody of these films. Walk Hard carves its own unique
place as a film that aspires to be better than something the Scary Movie
creators would create, perhaps "Music Biopic Movie"?. This is noticeable
especially in the music of Walk Hard, which feature all original songs
inspired by various decades in which the movie takes place. A memorable
duet (a la Johnny Cash & June Carter) features Reilly's Dewey singing "In my
dreams, you're blowin me...some kisses" as Dewey's love interest Darlene (a
hilarious and attractive Jenna Fischer) responds "That's one of my favorite
things to do". It should be noted that Reilly did all of his own singing, a
result of his previous Broadway training ("Chicago"), and honestly, he's
pretty good.
The casting also plays a part in what makes Walk Hard rock hard. Broadway
trained actor Raymond Barry gives an ominous, darker overtone to Dewey's Pa
who perpetually claims that "the wrong kid died" after a ridiculously absurd
opening scene featuring child actors playing Dewey and his brother. Saturday
Night Live alums Chris Parnell and Tim Meadows are especially funny as
Dewey's band mates as is Kristin Wiig as Dewey's nagging, dream-killing
first wife. The biggest laugh of the film comes when Meadows' character
essentially denounces anything that could be wrong with smoking marijuana
after Dewey refuses an offer for a hit of a joint for the first time. Its
funny because his argument is actually convincing and made me go "hmm...that
doesn't sound so bad". A real treat comes about 3 quarters of the way
through the film when Apatow favorites Justin Long, Paul Rudd, Jason
Schwartzman, and Jack Black make their appearance as the Beatles.
Walk Hard's achievement can most likely be found in a large group viewing.
When the movie ends, about half the people in the room will be quoting it
and laughing again, the other half singing or humming the songs. The film
hits a power chord of humor, charm, absurdity, and musical catchiness that
is a refreshing as it is endearing.
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