With films like Epic Movie and The Comebacks clogging up theater space this past year, it's hard not to think that the parody genre is all but dead. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story doesn't exactly bring it entirely back to life, but it proves that there's at least a spark left. Co-writer and director Jake Kasdan (Orange County) knows that it's not enough to just reference as many movies as you can, hoping you can make your audience laugh out of recognition. There is a delightfully silly and often inventive sense of humor to the screenplay, and although it has its share of misses, there's always another laugh waiting in the next scene. Like only the best comedies can do, Walk Hard made me forget about my problems, and just made me laugh for a good 95 minutes or so.

A blade-sharp parody of recent music biography films like Walk the Line (Johnny Cash) and Ray (Ray Charles), we follow singing sensation Dewey Cox from his humble beginnings as a young boy being raised in the shadow of his multi-talented brother, Nate (Chip Hormess). The brothers are enjoying a "perfect day" of messing with rattlesnakes and enraging bulls, but the fun comes to an abrupt end when Dewey accidentally cuts his brother in half with a machete in Dad's barn. Dewey's estranged father (Raymond J. Barry) bitterly turns against his son, telling him "the wrong kid died". (A fact the father is all-too willing to remind him every time Dewey sees him.) A chance encounter with some men playing Blues music at a local store makes Dewey realize he has a gift for music, and thus begins his road to destiny, as Dewey grows from a local sensation, to a world-wide phenomenon. Portrayed from Age 14 and up by character actor John C. Reilly, Dewey's road to stardom is paved with many obstacles along the way, including many failed marriages and a drug problem that will take him in and out of rehab numerous times throughout his life. His second wife and back-up singer, Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer), tries to stay faithful to Dewey, but the allure of the evils of fame may be too much for both of them to handle.

Walk Hard hits all the usual notes that we would expect in a bio-pic about a famous music legend, and then skewers them with an inspired sort of lunacy not seen since the days of the Zucker Brothers (Airplane, Naked Gun). The opening moments, detailing Dewey's childhood, literally had me forcing back tears of laughter as it expertly parodies the "childhood trauma" moment that always haunts the lead in these kind of films. Kasdan and co-screenwriter Judd Apatow (Knocked Up) have studied the structure of these movies well, and know just how to play off of our expectations. I liked the way the characters would constantly name drop other artists' names in the dialogue to the point that it becomes intentionally and hilariously awkward. When Dewey meets with The Beatles, their dialogue consists mainly out of saying their full names, and what band they belong to over and over again. I also enjoyed the running gag about Dewey getting addicted to various drugs throughout his career due to the "help" of one of his bandmates (Tim Meadows), who constantly urges Dewey not to get involved in drugs, while at the same time going on and on about the advantages of getting high. Looking back at my attempts to describe these highlights, I'm quite sure I have not done justice to them. The performances and the writing are so sharp and satirical, it's really something to appreciate. It's the kind of movie where you laugh first at the joke, and then you laugh at yourself for laughing, since the joke is usually pretty stupid to begin with.

Unlike numerous other failed spoof movies, this movie is smart enough to know that its funnier when the actors pretend they don't know they're supposed to be in a comedy. The actors treat the material like it were a true drama, and these are characters we're supposed to care about. Surprisingly, it does lead to that very effect. As ridiculous as his situations frequently got, I found myself caring about Dewey Cox. A lot of this has to do with the lead performance by John C. Reilly, who plays Dewey not as a mugging for the camera buffoon, but as a real person who doesn't even realize how absurd his story truly is. This, I feel, has always been an essential ingredient to parody. Your actors have to act like they're not in on the joke. That's half of the joke in the first place. If parody is played broadly, such as in The Comebacks, it falls flat on its face and we don't laugh. The entire cast shares Reilly's attitude toward their performances, so everybody's on the same level here. It's rare to see a comedic cast come together this well. Even when the jokes don't work (such as an animated sequence where Dewey has an acid trip with The Beatles, or a running gag involving Dewey shattering sinks whenever he's in a fit of anger and sadness), the actors still give it their all, and never once dip in their performance.

The thing that is perhaps most surprising about Walk Hard is its soundtrack. While many of the songs are intentionally bizarre (I particularly liked Dewey's 1960s protest song about the rights of midgets), they are well-composed, smartly written, and actually entertaining to listen to. The soundtrack covers a large variety of genres representing Dewey's 50-year career. John C. Reilly has to perform a majority of the songs himself, and does a fine job fitting his voice to music ranging from country, cheesy 70s pop, blues, and rock. It's rare that I walk out of a movie and think of immediately going to a nearby store to seek out the soundtrack, but it happened here. I've heard some people say that should Reilly's acting career ever hit the rocks, he could easily make it as a singer. Watching his performance here, I'd have to agree with them. Though the songs are often goofy, you can tell that just like the movie itself, some genuine care has been put into the music to make them not only funny, but genuinely good to listen to. I'd be thrilled to see Reilly singing one of the songs from the film at next year's Oscar ceremony. Here's to hoping the Academy can look past the usual ballads and pop songs they nominate without fail, and give one of the film's many deserving songs a nod.
Walk Hard is not exactly a great movie, and it has its share of dry spots, but I don't remember laughing this much or this hard at a comedy since Hot Fuzz earlier this year. Mostly, I was simply happy to be watching a parody movie that remembered that it's more than just referencing movies, while throwing in some urine and fart jokes. The filmmakers have studied not just the films they are spoofing well, but also the past great spoofs for inspiration. The way it treats Dewey Cox as if he were a real person instead of as a joke is commendable. The way that it is actually funny is even more so.

0 comments