Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
March 31, 2022 9:00 AM - Subscribe

Satirical biopic in which singer Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) overcomes adversity to become a musical legend.
posted by brainwane (11 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Per this list, it leaves a streaming service at the end of March - I believe Amazon Prime.
posted by brainwane at 9:04 AM on March 31, 2022


I really liked the Dylan song, "Royal Jelly".
posted by fleacircus at 9:46 AM on March 31, 2022


I personally can't stand coke people, but the 'it turns all your bad feelings into good feelings!' scene still cracks me up just thinking about it..
posted by FatherDagon at 11:49 AM on March 31, 2022 [3 favorites]


My six-year-old was very confused when my spouse asked whether the new Girl Scout cookies were any good and I immediately said "Get out of here, Dewey! You don't want no part of this stuff!"
posted by Etrigan at 12:18 PM on March 31, 2022 [15 favorites]


I liked it, mostly, but it was such an odd comedy--there were bits of over-the-top, kind of cartoonish comedy (the guy who was cut in half, the scene where some guy's junk is in frame for the entire scene), mixed in with the more deft moments (the aforementioned recurring "you don't want no part of this stuff" bit, the songs--a lot of the songs were venturing into Rutles territory, where they weren't parodies so much as alternate universe versions of the original inspirations). I wouldn't say that it's one of my favorites, but it's got some brilliant bits in it. Here's an oral history, in which I learned that most of the songs were co-written by the incredible Dan Bern.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:55 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]


Oooohhhh, thanks for that link to the oral history, Halloween Jack! I think it's particularly interesting that the writer's strike ---> no talk shows ----> hard to explain to audiences what kind of movie this will be ---> poor box office.
posted by brainwane at 2:27 PM on March 31, 2022


Have any of you seen the extended director's cut that has like 30 more minutes of material?
posted by brainwane at 2:27 PM on March 31, 2022 [1 favorite]


I love that this film was so good at its job that it killed the biopic for years. Tim Meadows is underrated—"He never once paid for drugs. NOT ONCE!" gets funnier every time.

Should have also won awards for costuming, the variety show stuff is great.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:03 PM on March 31, 2022 [2 favorites]


That oral history is fantastic. It's wonderful to read about how much fun so many people had making the film.

"Walk Hard" is delightful because there's clearly so much love for the source material being parodied--both the music and the biopics. Each time I watch it, I'm amazed at how much better it is than it had to be. They could have executed this premise with one-eighth the attention to detail, but it seems like everyone chose to give 110%.

The musical instruments are dead-accurate for their eras. Several earnest rock biopics weren't as particular. The musical performances are top notch. And the anecdote in the oral history about building multiple historically accurate replicas of recording studios? There was just total commitment.
posted by DeWalt_Russ at 6:26 AM on April 1, 2022 [6 favorites]


It’s me, John Lennon, from the Beatles
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:40 AM on April 4, 2022 [1 favorite]


I watch this amazing movie a few times a year. Yes, the extended version. Don't sleep on the end credits scene. No, I'm not joking.
posted by joelhunt at 10:17 AM on April 5, 2022 [1 favorite]


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