Review of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

The wave of reverent, dramatic bio-pics of famous singers that has flourished over the last few years ("Ray," "Walk the Line" and others) gets a quirky skewering in this well-appointed lampoon. Reilly plays the title character, a young musician who is haunted (and blamed by his father) over the death of his promising and gifted brother. With the promise of success in the music world made clear after a successful local performance, he takes off (with his preteen girlfriend Wiig in tow) for a climb to the top. Naturally, it isn't long before all the clichés are trucked out including infidelity, drug abuse, discord with the band and so on. Various genres of music are explored as Reilly hits it big with rockabilly and then tries to continue to eke out a career in folk, psychedelia and even TV variety-level disco. Along the way, all conceivable incidents and situations happening with real life troubled artists arise in order to be parodied. Reilly, who plays his character from early teens on (a jab at those projects which expect audiences to buy middle aged stars playing their characters in youth!), is so committed to this characterization that it becomes realistic, despite all the silliness. Not only does he give his part all the passion, annoyance and stupidity that it requires, but he can also sing quite well and does so frequently! It's a rare starring showcase for him and he acquits himself admirably. Wiig, as his wife and the mother of (many of) his children, lends excellent support, though her character isn't particularly fleshed out or even interesting. Fischer fares better in a flashier role as a sultry female singer who joins with Reilly for a (hilariously entendre-filled) duet and ends up with his heart. Meadows has a role as one of Reilly's band-mates who introduces him to increasingly dangerous and addictive drugs despite protestations that he shouldn't be coming near the stuff. Sure to come off more amusingly to those who have seen real films of this type, it nonetheless stands alone, bolstered particularly by a raft of great original songs. It's shocking that none of the musical numbers from this film were able to land any Oscar nominations, especially in light of the utter garbage that seems to dominate the category each year. To go further, the numbers in this film are integrated into the film, not tacked on to the end credits in desperation for a nod, like a lot of others. Not as wild as, say, a Zucker Brothers parody, there's still a large amount of zaniness. One of the most outrageous sight gags includes Reilly talking on the phone to Wiig amidst the aftermath of an orgy as a frontally nude man stands next to him asking questions about where his belongings are! It's a taboo-breaking moment that may help get some squeamish folks past their body shame. Another enjoyable aspect is the wide variety of clothes, hairstyles and furnishings that denote the ever-changing eras of music. Several name actors pop up in cameos (some more successfully than others) including Paul Rudd and Jack Black as Lennon & McCartney, who take Reilly on an LSD-fueled "trip." Though the movie is not intended to be taken seriously, Reilly is solid enough with his character to at least allow a viewer to connect with the story while chuckling at the absurdities that pop up.