Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Jake Kasdan, 2007)

[Belmondo]

The horror ... the horror ... and a real tragedy to let this thread slip to the bottom of the page so fools like me don't think to check it and instead run out to see one of the most aggressively unfunny comedies of recent memory.
Subtle it ain't - Ray Charles loses his sight in "Ray", so Dewey loses his sense of smell here. Fortunately, I still have mine which now allows me to report that the movie stinks.
When I got the close up frontal male nudity; I thought (for a moment) that the movie was showing me that it really had a pair, but when they did it again, it was strictly peanuts causing me to envy the wise viewers in the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" theater next door.
I assure you this is true - there were only eight of us in the theater; five adults and three kids. The stadium seating allowed the kids to slide down the bannister for most of the movie - we adults didn't notice because we were too busy climbing the walls.

[domino harvey]

omg Peter Travers posts here!

[tavernier]

Actually, Travers uses this line in his RS review:

How lucky that when the jokes do hit, they kick major ass.

He is without a doubt the most cutting-edge of our "major" "critics."

[Antoine Doinel]

The record covers of Walk Hard.

[Joe Buck]

Once again, I must object. I don't know what picture you guys saw, but the one I saw was brilliant, inspired satire. I feel bad that the movie has not found its audience. It deserves better than this. I hope when it's released on DVD it's given a fair chance.

[justeleblanc]

Once again, I must object. I don't know what picture you guys saw, but the one I saw was brilliant, inspired satire. I feel bad that the movie has not found its audience. It deserves better than this. I hope when it's released on DVD it's given a fair chance.

JB, I think you're right. We surely saw different films. Mine was ghastly. I'm jealous, I was in the mood for a good satire.

[Magic Hate Ball]

Just got back. I thought it was very funny, but not hysterically "I'm going to shit myself" funny. I reacted to it like I react to Mel Brooks movies: it was well-made, and the jokes I didn't laugh at were still amusing because they were clever. It's a great mix of American music history and goofy spoof jokes. And it works, too. The fact that it's actually heartfelt really adds to it. There aren't any distasteful jokes, and the music is actually really good. When it comes out on DVD I'll defenitely get it. I was surprised I actually liked it; usually, Judd Apatow and Co. fall flat for me, but this was great.

A good waste of 90 minutes, a lot of good jokes ("OH GOD THE TEMPTATIONS"), and a great soundtrack. Not the best movie of the year, but not godawful, either.

[Joe Buck]

=D>

Glad you liked it. The DVD will be released March 24. Hopefully more people will give it a chance then, and we'll be able to see the "Patrick Duffy taking a beating" sequence shown in the trailer.

"I've had it with all this crap! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS FRUIT AND TOUCHING YOURSELF!"

[domino harvey]

NewsRadio/Futurama writer Lewis Morton is on the commentary for this film, I wasn't aware he was involved? IMDB comes up empty as well.

[DrewReiber]

Wow, talk about extremely different opinions. And here I thought it was just ok. I thought a lot of jokes worked, but it was still a mess and the ending was a bore.

[milk114]

I'll be the guy having this movie on in the background at parties.

When I first heard about Walk Hard so long ago I thought it sounded exciting. Then came the many, many trailers, posters, etc which, coupled with no one seeing the movie in theaters, led me to not watch it. Till now.

I really enjoyed this movie. I am not a fan of the musician biopics and typically avoid them. The fact that I understood all the beats of the movie despite never having seen Walk the Line, Ray, etc shows (to me at least) how generic the genre is. But I liked how the references I caught were played out.

I was impressed by the music in the film,and readily identified the source material yet feel the music stands on its own. More than the boobs, dick, and running around in underwear, the music is why this'll be on tonight for New Years Eve.

Most of the acting was great. I didn't know so many great comedians were in it, including Jane Lynch and Craig Robinson. The only role I found suspect was Kristen Wiig's. I found her character funny but have come to expect the actress to play the dry, deadpan humor as opposed to the shrill, screeching given here. I don't watch SNL, so don't know how much airtime she was getting when they filmed Walk Hard versus Knocked Up, but it was good to see her in the John Hodgman half hour "The Last Word" special on the dvd, where she provides more of the expected humor. And that extra was well worth the 2-disc set. Hodgman gets some great lines as well as more Robinson, Wiig, and something about making up words.

All told, I bought the movie with low expectations. It was much better that I had hoped, even though it was The Unbearably-Long, Self-Indulgent Director's Cut.

Anyone else revisit this lately?

[brendanjc]

Strange coincidence that someone bumped this thread the same day I finally cracked this disc open. I got the Blu-ray for free from some Sony promotion a year ago but hadn't bothered to watch the film till now, having skipped it in theaters.

Overall, I thought it was enjoyable, but only as a parody; it's not an all-together successful comedy. The film hits all the musician biopic beats and those tend to be the funniest parts of the film for me (the intro leading up to his brother's death, the first rehab trip, the drug progression, the self-referential quips like "This is a very dark period!", the sink destruction). The production is also very good, from costumes to cinematography and, of course, the songs themselves. However, far too many of the jokes just didn't work for me (the Jews, the constant barrage of obvious jokes about his name), the constant cameos are more annoying than entertaining (especially the Superbad kid who is flat-out terrible here), and the film runs out of steam towards the end and takes too long to wrap up. It almost feels like it isn't even trying to be funny any longer because it hits the last few biopic beats in an almost completely painfully non-satirical way (playing with his kids, reconciliation, the dull awards show), though the last montage is funny.

Ultimately, I feel almost exactly the same way about this as I did about Tropic Thunder from this year - it really nails the look and feel of the films it mocks and it features some solid-to-good performances, which together is enough to make the whole thing watchable and somewhat endearing, but it's not nearly funny enough to become a classic comedy I'd want to see time and time again. Also, for both films, the special features and excised footage included on the extra discs almost overshadowed the films themselves for me - the John Hodgman interview alone probably packed as many laughs as the extended cut of Walk Hard did.

[menthymenthy]

For what it was, and for how long it was (the Extended cut, however, is far too long, and negates its Theatrical version), but it was very beautiful to me.

[royalton]

Cosign. I loved it.

[oh yeah]

Unfortunately I only saw the extended cut, which was way too long. It was occasionally hilarious, though.

[Adam]

The only role I found suspect was Kristen Wiig's. I found her character funny but have come to expect the actress to play the dry, deadpan humor as opposed to the shrill, screeching given here. I don't watch SNL, so don't know how much airtime she was getting when they filmed Walk Hard versus Knocked Up, but it was good to see her in the John Hodgman half hour "The Last Word" special on the dvd, where she provides more of the expected humor. And that extra was well worth the 2-disc set. Hodgman gets some great lines as well as more Robinson, Wiig, and something about making up words.

General question (and I haven't seen this movie yet). Is the "shrill screeching woman" part ever funny? I mean literally, has it ever been funny in the whole history of cinema?

[Mr Sausage]

The only role I found suspect was Kristen Wiig's. I found her character funny but have come to expect the actress to play the dry, deadpan humor as opposed to the shrill, screeching given here. I don't watch SNL, so don't know how much airtime she was getting when they filmed Walk Hard versus Knocked Up, but it was good to see her in the John Hodgman half hour "The Last Word" special on the dvd, where she provides more of the expected humor. And that extra was well worth the 2-disc set. Hodgman gets some great lines as well as more Robinson, Wiig, and something about making up words.

General question (and I haven't seen this movie yet). Is the "shrill screeching woman" part ever funny? I mean literally, has it ever been funny in the whole history of cinema?

Two words: Una O'Connor.

[DarkImbecile]

Least likely thread bump of the day: A Giant Oral History of Walk Hard, featuring Reilly, Kasdan, Apatow, Hill, Fischer, and about a dozen other participants.

[domino harvey]

I must have blocked out the existence of a three page thread for this movie, especially considering I posted several times in it!

[black&huge]

This movie is the Apatow magnum opus as far as I'm concerned. Almost every single joke/gag hits a bullseye.

[tenia]

Discovered the movie 2 months ago and it's indeed tremendous. Plus, the OST is very good too and stands perfectly on its own.

[Monterey Jack]

Been thinking of giving this a re-view in the wake of Bohemian Rhapsody and with Rocketman hitting tomorrow. I remember thinking it was hilarious back in the day.

[John Cope]

Guess I'm going to have to check this out. I swear by Kasdan's TV Set for all eternity (that's the one that really, desperately needs a reappraisal).

[tenia]

Been thinking of giving this a re-view in the wake of Bohemian Rhapsody and with Rocketman hitting tomorrow. I remember thinking it was hilarious back in the day.

I've seen it after watching Bohemian Rhapsody and it felt quite on topic (sadly for BR).

[schellenbergk]

Been thinking of giving this a re-view in the wake of Bohemian Rhapsody and with Rocketman hitting tomorrow. I remember thinking it was hilarious back in the day.

Weirdly - Rocketman was playing locally in Arlington VA yesterday (before opening?!?!?). I saw it last night at the 7pm show. Evidently the early opening (without an MPAA rating?!?!? "This film is not yet rated"?!?!?!) was not widely announced - the theater was almost empty.

I rather liked it - "8 1/2" crossed with the Baz Lehrman "Moulin Rouge"

Which sounds horrible from the description - but was actually quite enjoyable.