Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story / Ranylt Richildis
Why do some dumb comedies work for you, while others fail? I don’t think there’s a quantifiable formula to eke out, or even a consistent x-factor to put under the microscope—I think it often comes down to mood as much as taste or expectation. There is no rational reason why the same person who laughed herself to jelly over So I Married an Axe Murderer, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Kingpin, Old School, Borat, and even Dodgeball should be left lukewarm by There’s Something About Mary and Wedding Crashers; or turned off Talladega Nights before the first hour was out; or wished that the talent involved in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story had wound up in collective traction before the project got off the ground. This phenomenon—call it the Law of Inconsistent Reception—seems to affect everyone who’s ever watched more than three comedies that rely on slapstick, sight gags or gross-out humor to elicit a good chunk of the funny. Despite similar tones, shared talent and—frequently—even kindred punchlines, these comedies succeed randomly rather than causally on an individual basis. The whole thing is completely without matrix. So, while I may have thought Walk Hard was a brutal ninety-odd minutes to sit through, I know enough about the vagaries of humor not to discredit the charms it may hold for the next viewer in line. In cases like these, all a reviewer can do is supply factual information about said potential charms, and move the fuck on.
Look at the players: we have a script co-written by Judd Apatow of The 40 Year Old Virgin, and direction by Jake Kasdan, who surely has much Pajiba cred as a Freaks and Geeks lenser. That pairing alone is enough to earn Walk Hard a serious look by our readers, who’ve repeatedly expressed admiration for these works while pointing out all the elements that set them apart from the general raft of consumer comedy (from what I’ve seen of current and upcoming Apatow movies, though, the whole thing’s turning into a bit of a factory). We have John C. Reilly in the lead role, propped up by a legion of comic soldiers that includes Harold Ramis, Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office, nearly unrecognizable under all that drag) and the newly-minted Apatow stabler Jonah Hill (Seth from Superbad). We have a few pieces of semi-inspired stunt casting: Jack White as Elvis, Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly, and Jason Schwartzman as Ringo Starr. We even have a couple of celebrity self-whoring walk-ons courtesy of Lyle Lovett, Jewel and Eddie Vedder. All of which ought to add up to something worth writing Pajiba about, and no doubt will for some of you. Like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Freaks and Geeks (and Office Space and most Christopher Guest productions), Walk Hard should have either transcended the Dumb Comedy category altogether and attained Intelligent Satire, or at the very least been a fucking awesome Dumb Comedy in its purest, barest, poopiest form. I would have so been there even for the latter (and be warned: style-wise, Walk Hard is more Naked Gun than Superbad, for those of us who’ve never been fans of the Leslie Nielsen school of comedy).
In case the movie’s title and poster art didn’t tip you off, Walk Hard spoofs the music biopic genre, most especially Walk the Line and Ray. But Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and Jim Morrison are only three of the film’s targets (their stories are kid-gloved with love, to be sure, but targeted all the same); by my count, Walk Hard also tweaks Dylan, The Beatles, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, the Elvises Presley and Costello, and even The Partridge Family. Dewey Cox is a small-town Southern boy whose more talented brother, Nate, was cut in half in the Darwin of his youth during a playful machete fight in the family barn. This event injects Dewey with a wicked streak of the blues and inspires him to musical greatness. He emerges as a doo-wop favorite, goes platinum with a country-blues single, suffers through a dark, drug-addled “middle period” that produces coked-up proto-punk riffs, finds his inner hippy in the 1960s, sinks to variety show lows in the 1970s, drifts into family-focused obscurity in the 1980s, then emerges once again thanks to the Ironic Comeback cards MTV started handing out to the likes of Tony Bennett and William Shatner in the 1990s.
Walk Hard does an adequate job of mining musical genres, eras and egotism, and has a few moments that were livened by a quickness of wit I found absent in 95% of the film (if you like the extended, obvious, wink-wink-it’s-coming set-up to a tepid joke that wasn’t worth the wait, step right up). I appreciated the variety show spoof, which was a slam-dunk on has-been filler for the supper hour (and featured what I believe is an uncredited Jane Lynch as a mercenary fluff reporter). I also appreciated Paul Rudd as John Lennon, and Jason Schwartzman as Ringo Starr—they provided one of the few moments that didn’t completely bomb for me (despite being saddled by Jack Black’s cringe-worthy attempt at spoofing McCartney). The other moment that didn’t completely bomb was Dewey’s foray into the Dylan protest song; when he sings about “the mouse with the overbite” and “the toaster of his life”, I definitely tweetered.
As for John C. Reilly, the guy who’s been working hard at memorable minor roles since before Misery, reviews are mixed. From where I sat, he was serviceable but not outstanding in a comedy that suffered from poor timing and mediocre repartee. It’s not enough to get all the references right—that much is quantifiable about the Dumb Comedy, and it’s something that SNL has been relying on, to its detriment, for too long (Apatow modeling his work off bad SNL formula is something to worry about). You can’t roll without the wit, and on a pain scale, I would ten times rather sit through a bad action or horror movie than a comedy that doesn’t do for me. I’m still smarting a day later.
Due props, however, to the spoof subject. The most worthwhile element of Walk Hard isn’t so much the way it takes on the musician biopic film, but how it exposes the clichéd architecture of the musician’s actual rise and fall independent of any biographical re-telling: the grass roots, the storied success, the drugs, the orgies, the failed marriages, the attempts at refashioning, the fading into memory, and—if they’re lucky—the unexpected recognition by new generations decades after they’d been counted out of the picture. It’s all so typical and, while we can thank the (auto)biography and biopic for familiarizing us with the structure, these are the patterns many musicians actually lived; I can appreciate a film that gently pokes at the way these guys and their admirers often take their histories as so terribly significant and unique. It’s a shame the comedic power behind Walk Hard couldn’t muster up something more to my liking, considering the rich subject matter. But rather than insist that Walk Hard sucks the Mighty Unfunny (which, in my inconsistent little world, it does), I’ll simply state that my relationship with the movie sucked. Dewey and I just didn’t work out, but he seems to be damned popular in the schoolyard, and he’ll probably make a great boyfriend for someone else.
Ranylt Richildis lives in Ottawa, Canada. She can usually be found sneezing in college libraries or dropping chalk in lecture halls, but she’s somehow managed to squeeze in a film or two a day for the last decade.
Atonement | | Alvin and the Chipmunks
Comments
Hehehe another Richildis review, get ready for the incoming barrage of hate from the special-ed set.
OT: Uuuuh I think Apatow, and his whole crew, need to take a break.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 22, 2007 12:45 PM
Apatow is still fifty times better than any other crap going on and if they have started churning them out in earnest, then we are all richer for it
Posted by: Thaf at December 22, 2007 12:56 PM
According to who? I agree with BarbadoSlim - Apatow and crew need to step away from the stoplight for a minute.
I'm just glad this is finally out. The promotion overload for this movie was grating. Maybe it'll just go away - quickly! I feel bad for John C. Reilly, though - I like him.
Posted by: Daphne at December 22, 2007 1:14 PM
Apatow and crew need to step away from the stoplight for a minute.
Hee - I meant:
Apatow and crew need to step away from the spotlight for a minute. Not sure where stoplight came from.
Posted by: Daphne at December 22, 2007 1:17 PM
Actually a friend of mine said "you said this was funny, what gives?" after I'd recommended it following a sneak I attended last week, and, like Ranylt said, I couldn't explain it into *becoming* funny, just mention what I liked and apologize that it didn't do it for her.
For me, it worked where the series of "_____ Movie"s don't, whereas "Airplane!" following "The Concorde" *did* (seriously, go back and watch "The Concorde". Amazing that it was made seriously). It got the already overblown details just right and tweaked them into absurdist comedy, along with a few meta lines of dialogue that made me cackle madly. It's not stupid shot-to-the-balls comedy, but it *is* very silly. I'd still recommend it, but I guess it's gonna be one of those movies that works or doesn't. Also, there's one more Dylan song at the end of the credits worth staying for.
Posted by: Jay at December 22, 2007 1:24 PM
Great review Ranylt! You just confirmed my suspicions about this movie and I really hope that I don't get forced to watch it, especially since it is not my turn to pick the movie! Although I think I should get a bonus turn because I picked No Country for Old Men for the last movie date.
Posted by: Zanna at December 22, 2007 1:39 PM
Actually I think the grouphate'll probably be against Judd.
Posted by: Jay at December 22, 2007 2:11 PM
Having seen the trailer while waiting for I am Legend to start, I thought it looked very funny. I had planned on seeing it this friday. So I purchased my ticket and waited for the movie to start. But before the movie started, I said to myself fuck it, and went home.
Posted by: Pookie at December 22, 2007 2:21 PM
Apatow and his "crew" are vastly overrated. The fact is, most of his "work" is ad-libbed which accounts for why everything is so hit and miss (plus it's why most of his associated films are pushing 2 hours+, you need those long scenes to make the ad-libbed crap work itself out).
But aside from hating, the truth is, no film comedian has an extended high-quality career. Because just about everyone in Hollywood is a one-trick pony, what was funny the first time is tired and stale the third or fourth time through. Name any comedian - Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Jack Black, Will Ferrell - once you've seen 'em do their schtick, they repeat their success until the audience is sick of it and moves on to someone new and "fresh." Same with Apatow and his crew. "Virgin" was funny, "Knocked Up" & "Superbad" so-so, and anything that follows (unless the premise is awesome) will be tepid at best. Just wait.
Posted by: B-Unit at December 22, 2007 2:26 PM
Great review; the last sentence summed it up nicely! I know exactly what you mean about comedies that should--but don't--click for the viewer. For me, 40 Year Old Virgin and Borat are two prime examples...much to my disappointment, I just didn't dig them.
However, I adored Knocked Up, and I'm hoping it'll work out for Dewey and me. I do enjoy both John C. Reilly and Jenna Fischer. Here's hoping...
Posted by: MO at December 22, 2007 2:28 PM
"...once you've seen 'em do their schtick, they repeat their success until the audience is sick of it and moves on to someone new and "fresh."
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You are wise. The "one trick rule" pretty much applies to everyone, in every field. The trick is to not make people sick of your ass. Bill Murray, in my opinion, is a good example. He's not out there in every other movie hyping his "genius" or "craft."
What Apatow's bunch did was shoot their wads and then just kept pulling on that thing until each subsequent ejaculation diminishes until it just has nothing coming out, it is in fact, painful.
Ben Stiller is guilty of this too.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 22, 2007 2:41 PM
Although the diminished ejaculation might indeed be painful. The prize is in the run-up to the ejaculation. Sometimes, BSlim, the journey is better than the destination.
Posted by: Pookie at December 22, 2007 3:01 PM
How's that 4000th rape reference, Case? And Slim, another ejaculation joke? Way to go? And Pookie...well, being Pookie.
Just our luck, we get to see an example of diminishing comedic returns in the comments section themselves.
Posted by: Vermillion at December 22, 2007 3:42 PM
"Hehehe another Richildis review, get ready for the incoming barrage of hate from the special-ed set."
I think that was a one-time event. This review is not nearly so...overly-eloquent. Props to Richildis for toning it down for this stupid/silly movie. That last review that stirred up a shit-storm was for a much more intelligent movie so the dense vocabulary was more appropriate.
Posted by: the_Wakeful at December 22, 2007 3:43 PM
Just our luck, we get to see an example of diminishing comedic returns in the comments section themselves.
Posted by: Vermillion at December 22, 2007 3:42 PM
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Yeah I can see that, I'll try to work in some edgier stuff, maybe some erectile dysfunction.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 22, 2007 4:49 PM
i want to see this movie and will see this movie (i see everything jason schwartzman is in--good or bad), but i totally appreciate the review, because i'm hoping this is one of those movies that i think will suck and i end up having a great time!
here's hoping...!
Posted by: maxpurr9 at December 22, 2007 4:54 PM
This thread is rapidly turning into a Dave Attell comedy sketch, now all it needs is some pedophilia jokes.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 22, 2007 5:51 PM
Dave Attell? Really? Out of all the crappy, trying to be shocking, comedians out there you picked Dave Attell? Interesting.
Posted by: the_wakeful at December 22, 2007 6:22 PM
Vermillion, you are not the only one trying to break into show bidness. And speaking of pedophilia, what do Michael Jackson and J.C. Penny's have in common?........They both got boys pants half off. Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week.
Posted by: Pookie at December 22, 2007 6:39 PM
Oh yay, is it Michael Jackson joke time? What do Michael Jackson and McDonalds have in common? They both stick their meat into 13 year old buns.
Posted by: Chantelle at December 23, 2007 12:19 AM
you can just go out and say it- this movie sucked ass.
Posted by: jordan at December 23, 2007 12:57 AM
I too would rather sit through a bad action or horror movie. I'm always very disappointed with a bad comedy that should have been good. I felt that way with Superbad. I waited forever to see it, and finally did just a couple of weeks ago. I had hyped it up in my own mind, and to the Mr., that it would be the funniest movie ever, and I only laughed a couple of times. I also didn't think Knocked Up was as great as it should have been. This is the path I took with Will Ferrell movies. First they were so great, had to see them, funniest ever, and then they rapidly sunk to avoid at all cost. Very very sad.
Posted by: katy at December 23, 2007 1:14 AM
Sometimes if you don't like it the first time, it helps to watch it a second time. And a third time. And then high. I came to love Anchorman and even Austin Powers in the same way.
Posted by: racheee at December 23, 2007 1:39 AM
Terrific review-I've always felt some of the Pajiba reviewers were too busy being stuck in Appatow's ass-not that I hate him,in fact his comedies are quite awesome but sometimes,here,people praise him like a bloody God and that's just.not.right.I don't mean religion-wise or any of that shit-just,it sucks to read something and feel fair about it when the reviewers throwing in all these crazy adjectives and sorta begging you join the Trendy Appatow-Loving Gang.
Again,nice rev.
Posted by: Daniel at December 23, 2007 1:50 AM
I caught a screening a few weeks ago. I laughed my ass off. The "Beatles" scene had me in stitches. But I also noted that I was one of few folks who seemed to enjoy the flick. Everyone else seemed underwhelmed, and even tho' I liked the movie, I can totally see why it didn't work.
Posted by: ciji at December 23, 2007 2:08 AM
I honestly liked it. I thought John C Reilly was good. some parts did not work though, like his father just wasnt funny. It takes like twenty minutes for it to get going. but I dont think Judd Apatow is wearing out his act. this really didnt come across like anything he's done before its nothing like knocked up or 40 year old virgin, humor wise. so if apatow has some formula to his stchick I havent caught it yet.
sounds to me like this blog has jumped on the I never believed in this movie bandwagon, before seeing for themselves, to me at least.
Posted by: c at December 23, 2007 4:49 AM
That was a really nice review. I've often been stumped trying to figure out why I liked one dump comedy and hated another.
Posted by: EricD at December 23, 2007 9:14 AM
That's sad...I wanted this movie to be good...before I saw the trailer, then I realized that this was a Will Ferrel movie rather than a Judd Apatow one (I don't like Will Ferrel).
Posted by: Radlum at December 23, 2007 12:28 PM
I haven't liked an Apatow movie yet, but for some inane reason, I like spoofs so I'm giving this one a chance. My girl crush on Jenna Fischer is also a factor. The best spoof of the rock bio-pic ever: The Life and Times of Guy Terrifico, check it out!
Posted by: agente provacatrice at December 23, 2007 12:30 PM
So I guess I'm not allowed to tell any more jokes?
Posted by: JP at December 23, 2007 12:40 PM
So I guess I'm not allowed to tell any more jokes?
Posted by: JP at December 23, 2007 12:40 PM
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Apparently all jokes have to be cleared with Vermillion aka Old man Jenkins.
I kid, I kid, because I love...in fact, maybe too much.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 23, 2007 1:34 PM
Yes, by day he's a mild mannered college student, by night he prowls the pages of pajiba as a crusty old man thwarting black nationalism at every turn. To the world he's affectionally known as Claude, to pajiba he's known as Vermillion, but to all his enemies he's known as Old man Jenkins.
Posted by: Pookie at December 23, 2007 2:17 PM
I'd like to see a Phil Hendrie movie.
Posted by: Rex at December 23, 2007 4:12 PM
I saw this last night(Charlie Wilson War night before).
It was funny. It was silly. It wasn't as good as Superbad or Knocked Up, but I didn't find it as awful as some(including the reviewer) are thinking it is.
The Beatles scene was great(minus Jack Black). Seeing Harold Ramis, the many references, the many various cast members...
Tim Meadows was excellent. The audience I saw it with loved it, almost packed theater, late night showing.
I'm also a fan of Will Ferrell...
Posted by: WhoWhatWhere at December 23, 2007 4:59 PM
Get offa my goddamn lawn, ya punks! With your hippity-hops music and your penny candies. Why in my day, a man didn't go on about his bodily functions and further more...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....
Posted by: Old Man Jenkins at December 23, 2007 5:58 PM
Apparently all jokes have to be cleared with Vermillion aka Old man Jenkins.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 23, 2007 1:34 PM
________________________________________________
Now I know how Seinfeld felt. Tell a harmless joke about...(the following content was censored by Chancellor Sutler).
Posted by: JP at December 23, 2007 6:37 PM
I liked it, I really did. It just sort of clicked for me.
Posted by: comicGenious at December 24, 2007 12:36 AM
I liked it, it was OK. I don't get the disappointment, though. It's just a movie. Not important enough to get your hopes up. I wasn't as funny as I thought it would be, but I laughed enough and enjoyed myself.
I was in the mood to have fun and I did. I got the jokes some were funny, some were just OK. I thought some of the timing was off and the movie was a little long, but there are some scenes I still think about and laugh.
If I went to see it in an angry and critical mood, I wouldn't have liked it. But going to a comedy in a critical mood is like going to a restaurant went you're not hungry.
Sometimes it pays just to play along. If you don't want to play along, don't watch the movie. It just not that serious. Comedy is an aquired taste. It's never the same for everybody.
Posted by: Libressa at December 24, 2007 9:01 AM
Caught it last night and laughed myself silly.
It's not highbrow comedy. It's a parody. A damn good parody. Which isn't as easy to do, as can be seen in the trailer for "Meet the Spartans"
Reilly was hilarious as the "14 year old sophomore" who carries the demon of having chopped his brother in half. And everyone else was willing to come along and go as batshit crazy as he was.
I loved the "Dark Period" and every drug encounter with Tim Meadows, Jack White's Elvis and the "record company executives".
Is it great comedy? No. It's not on the level of Apatow's Knocked Up or Superbad. Even as a parody, it's behind "Hot Fuzz" (which managed to play with its conventions even as it made fun of them). But it's funny. And we need funny.
Like we need the monkey to lend us money to pay the mortgage.
Posted by: Fredo at December 24, 2007 11:05 AM
The trailers don't do anything for me, so I think I'll give this one a miss. Really I'm just popping in to say this is shaping up to be one of the best comment threads ever. Twenty-three skiddoo, Old Man Jenkins!
Posted by: alanna at December 24, 2007 2:19 PM
I just saw this movie last night, and Apatow's stock has risen in my books. I haven't really been a fan of any of his movies so far, probably because I don't have a penis, but I really liked this movie. I found it hilarious, it has heart and it was very well executed for a spoof movie. It didn't spend the entire time appealing to the lowest common denomenator like the Scary Movies did. I'm biased though, since I have an inexplicable soft spot for spoofs in general. Also, I loved the cameos and that there were three actors from The Office in it!
Posted by: agente provacatrice at December 24, 2007 5:37 PM
One last thing, if you like this movie, I strongly recommend you see "The Life and Times of Guy Terrifico". Classic.
Posted by: agente provacatrice at December 24, 2007 5:39 PM
It really is a matter of mood and expectations with comedies like this. My girlfriend and I laughed throughout the whole thing. Riley impressed me as a leading man, he carried the film well and did really strong impressions of Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, etc throughout the whole thing.
I think it helps this movie if you've seen a fair amount of the music biopics they parodied, and if you have an above average knowledge of rock music history. For instance, I don't think anyone else in the screening I saw understood the whole bit where he basically became Brian Wilson.
But yeah, we laughed through the whole thing, loved it, sat through the credits and laughed at all the songs ("Hey! Have you heard the news! Dewey Cox died!")... I'll definitely check out the DVD when it hits.
Posted by: Mitch Clem at December 24, 2007 9:37 PM
Comedies are definately hit or miss - - and for me, it is all about my mood and my company. If I'm with the right people and in a silly mood (or drinking), I can laugh and enjoy just about anything. For example, I saw Borat in the theatre with some good friends who were all excited to see it and I was a little buzzed. The result was that I laughed pretty darn hard. Then I rented it with someone who preemptively decided they didn't like it, and I was tired. The result? It absolutely did not work for me. The same things that made me laugh the first time were falling flat. I barely cracked a smile and shut it off about halfway through. A few rare comedies will work for me regardless of how I'm feeling (for me...Anchorman or Old School would qualify here), but most...it just depends. I will say, however, that the preview for this one made me cringe - not giggle.
Posted by: Kristin at December 26, 2007 10:27 AM
I haven't seen this movie because I'm so "meh" about the previews, but I would just like to commend Ranylt for a fantastic, spot-on review of comedy and the dynamics of audience relatability. A couple of weeks ago I watched Superbad with my sister and we HATED it. I mean loathed and detested it. It was painfully unfunny to me, and yet there are all sorts of silly, inane, stupid comedies that I love. I had never thought about it much before, but this review was wonderfully insightful about why a movie can be terrible for you, personally, without necessarily meaning it's a bad movie altogether.
Posted by: Sarina at December 26, 2007 2:15 PM
I LOVED this movie! Saw it last night- it was smart/funny and not stupid. Stay for the last 3 songs while the credits show...It's a new cult classic!
Posted by: Stanley at December 27, 2007 8:01 AM
What is wrong with you people? This is a great funny/stupid movie. Proof? Throwing lines out at the person you saw it with and both of you cracking up. ("You don't want to try none of this shit.")...And Eddie Vedder. Brilliant.
Posted by: biscuits at December 29, 2007 1:00 AM
Apatow said it best on NPR...
Ray Charles, Johnny Cash and Elvis came from totally different backgrounds and had different experiences, but yet the movies of their lives are all EXACTLY the same! That in itself inspires parody.
The mere mention of the name "Dewey Cox" sets me to a-gigglin'. One for the Netflix list.
Posted by: numchuck at December 31, 2007 12:46 PM
I'll stick with Kasdan's second to last movie. The TV set, so much Duchovny-filled goodness.
Posted by: Kevin Longrie at December 31, 2007 2:12 PM
My husband and I both contracted pink-eye last week. When on the phone w/ our doctor to acquire prescription eye drops, our doctor said, "2 drops in the eye 4 times a day, when it gets better (I was waiting for him to say 'call in to the office to let us know')...go see Walk Hard." Hmmmm.
So we did and found it amusing, but not a good as 40 Year Old Virgin or even Knocked Up. Thankfully we did not contract pink-eye via the same mode of transmission as the boys in Knocked Up.
Of course, this doctor's instructions on how to use an inhaler were, "do it like a bong hit." So maybe he knows the boys from Knocked Up and felt an instant affinity for Walk Hard. Who knew?
Posted by: louise at January 1, 2008 12:07 AM