A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I couldn't stop laughing when I listened to the "Fresh Air" interview with John C. Reilly and Jake Kasdan about the rock biopic parody "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story." The interview first aired in December 2007, but I didn't hear it until it was rebroadcast in honor of the movie's DVD release in April. I moved the DVD to the top of my Netflix queue, and we watched it over the weekend. It was hilarious.
Take "Walk the Line" and mix it with "Ray" and you'll get an idea of what genre this movie aims at. Not a single stereotype or cliché is overlooked: a rural childhood, a tragic family death, a first wife left at home to take care of all the babies when the second wife comes on the scene, drug problems, etc. John C. Reilly is terrific in the lead role—and does all his own singing too, copying everyone from Roy Orbison to Bob Dylan.
Although there's a ton of slapstick and rude jokes, co-writers Kasdan and Judd Apatow obviously have a soft spot for these music movies, because there's a tenderness about the humor—and some of the songs are pretty good! It reminds me in that respect of "A Mighty Wind," which also poked fun, but never poked too hard.
All in all, an enjoyable—if really silly—movie.
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