Hilarious parody (Walk Hard -The Dewey Cox Story (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Walk Hard -The Dewey Cox Story (DVD)
Date:	04/09/09 (2 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great songs and cast

Disadvantages: None

note: also appears on The Student Room and Flixster

Walk Hard is a rather amusing parody of the cliched "inspirational" musician documentaries that tend to ignore a lot of a person's personal foibles in favour of their finer qualities, or make their struggle out to be more than it actually is. A lot of the elements directly lampoon the brilliant Johnny Cash film Walk the Line, and whilst I love that film, I must admit to finding their mickey-take rather hilarious. What's more, the film finally makes a star out of comedian John C. Reilly, who is one of the funniest guys in Hollywood without a doubt.

Dewey Cox (Reilly) is a poor young boy living on a farm when, after a very strange accident, he accidentally slices his brother in half, killing him, and hoping to get the approval of his distraught father, decides to transition into a musical career to be successful enough for both himself and his departed brother. Along the way, Dewey meets Darlene Madison, (Jenna Fischer) a beautiful country girl, but this comes into conflict with the fact that he already has a wife and kids, and also a drug addiction encouraged by Drummer Sam (Tim Meadows). From here, Dewey goes through one insane situation after another, including meeting the Beatles (played by the likes of Paul Rudd and Jack Black), and transitioning into old age.

The film so wittily and accurately captures some of the pomposity of biopic films of musicians, showing how so often they are little more than vanity projects used to provide a fairly false confirmation of events for the families and persons involved. Reilly is a great lead, and the film has some legitimately great songs too.

With its offbeat brand of humour, its wonderful performances and rousing songs, Walk Hard is one of the most enjoyable comedies of the year. A hilarious, surprisingly poignant comic gem.

Summary: Gut-bustingly funny