[IMDB link] [Netflix link] I’m so happy I chose to see this! I was somewhat aware of this movie existing, due to my love of the Dr. Steve Brule character played by John C. Reilly in Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. (My thoughts were: “Wait… He’s a real actor, not someone brought in from public access, like many of the Tim & Eric characters?!?!”) … But it wasn’t until Jon B got me to watch a clip that I realized …. I need to watch this movie — NOW. (And in 720p HD!)
PEOPLE: John C. Reilly, as mentioned above, does an incredible job playing Dewey Cox. He was even nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe award (but lost out to Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd). Let’s also not forget that this is a comedy, co-produced by Judd Apatow (40-Year-Old Virgin, Anchorman, Superbad, Undeclared, Knocked Up). Also cast are Jenna Fischer (aka Pam from The Office), Kristin Wiig (aka the mom from The Brothers Solomon — a much funnier pregnancy movie than Knocked Up, which I/we also liked more than Juno), Frankie Muniz (aka Malcolm from Malcolm In The Middle), Jack Black, Tim Meadows (aka “the black guy from Saturday Night Live“), and a ton of other characters. This movie had a large cast.
QUIRKS: Dewey Cox lost his sense of smell as a child. Also: Most of the movie is a flashback…. Dewey Cox has to re-live his life prior to going onto stage, and the whole movie is simply him recalling his life. Lots of drug use (“You don’t want this!”). Lots of parody of the biopic / biography genre in general. Lots of awkwardness (a John C. Reilly trademark based on his performance in Tim & Eric).
BAD STUFF: Some criticize that this movie sticks too closely to the movies that it parodies (Don’t Look Back, Yellow Submarine, Great Balls Of Fire!, What’s Love Got To Do With It, Beyond The Sea, Ray, Walk The Line)… But if you’re like me, those movies have no appeal (being based on shitty music; I was born in 1974 and hate nearly all pre-1977 music and pre-1980 movies). Thus, if you are like me, you haven’t seen any of the movies it parodies, so this drawback is absolutely imperceptible. The movie is also long — clocking in at a full 2 hours. Most people consider that bad; I consider that good. It’s rather unusual for a comedy to be that long.
CONCLUSION: 5-star comedy; I rated this 9/10 on IMDB. I will definitely watch this again — sooner than 7 years (we have a house rule-of-thumb that nothing should be rewatched until 7 years later). I may watch it again in 2008; It’s one of our favorite movies out of the last 90 or so that we have watched. John C. Reilly plays his role so straight, that you actually have feelings for him. By the end of the movie I had some of the same emotions that I had from watching the excellent drama (something you’ll rarely hear me say) A Beautiful Mind (!!!!). Call me a softie, but you’d have to be a robot to not have some of these emotions. The story told would have stood up as a drama — but I probably wouldn’t have liked it. As a comedy/mockumentary, however, it was chock full of funny moments AND a good story. It was great. It may be our current title holder for best comedy watched in 2008.
RECOMMENDATION: See it, see it, see it!!!! There is also a bonus disc that I will be Netflixing, too!
MOVIE QUOTE: “I do believe in you …… I just know you’re gonna fail.” “This was a particularly bad case of somebody being cut in half.” “You know I suffer the same temptations you do. Sometimes when I’m lyin’ in bed, I ache for a man’s touch… and by a man’s touch, I mean a penis in my vagina. I know, it’s just so silly!”
COINCIDENCES: After watching the movie, we watched Human Giant — which had fake credits mentioning a death of a crew member in a plane with Buddy Holly & Big Bopper lookalikes. Buddy Holly & Big Bopper were characters in Walk Hard! Also, this movie also featured a group of 3 Jewish guys — just like My Big Fat Independent Movie, which we had watched in the same week.
FRIENDS’ RATINGS: Christian D & Benj really liked it. But Glen didn’t (of course). I assume Jon B liked it, because he was the one who told me about it.
Mood: sleepy
Music: D.I. – Shadow Of A Fool
June 1, 2008 at 9:15 AM
‘Walk Hard’ could have been so much better!! Ebert gave it **** I think. If I dropped off ‘SpinalTap’ would you watch it?
June 1, 2008 at 9:21 AM
Yea, I finally decided to give in and watch Spinal Tap. I made this decision yesterday, so funny you would say that.
June 1, 2008 at 3:38 PM
Having seen some of the movies parodied, (Ray, Walk the Line, and others that I can’t recall) I don’t think it distracted from the movie at all, but rather added to it.
My favorite song from the movie: “Let’s Duet”.
We listened to that one a few times over.
June 22, 2008 at 2:49 PM
I just got the bonus disc on netflix, and we’re gonna watch it sometime soon! It’s just hard to get motivated to watch 1.5 hrs of extras. This might be spanned over many meals instead.
March 17, 2009 at 2:44 PM
[…] Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story – amazing comedy / biopic spoof! […]
April 6, 2009 at 4:21 AM
[…] Randall from Clerks), Gerry Bednob (the hilarious old Indian guy also in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, Brutal Massacre:A Comedy, Friday, and Encino Man), Kenny Hotz of Kenny Vs. […]
May 13, 2009 at 7:10 AM
[…] Robinson (aka warehouse Daryl from The Office, Matheson from Pineapple Express, Bobby Shad from Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, Delaney from Zack & Miri Make A Porno, also in Prop 8:The Musical, Knocked Up, and even an …) […]
June 13, 2009 at 7:08 AM
[…] found out about the alien….err…I mean “visitor”. Jane Lynch (The L Word, Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, Fifty Pills, The 40 Year Old Virgin) as the uptight high-ranking female. Bruce McGill (MacGyver, …)) […]
January 27, 2010 at 9:11 AM
[…] John C. Reilly as #5 (Step Brothers, Dr. Steve Brule from Tim And Eric Awesome Show Great Job, Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, The Aviator), Crispin Glover as #6 (Grendel from Beowulf, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Wild At Heart…)) […]
March 15, 2010 at 7:09 AM
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March 21, 2010 at 7:10 AM
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March 28, 2010 at 4:22 AM
[…] Sarah Marshell, etc), and Justin Long (Zack & Miri Make A Porno, Drag Me To Hell, Funny People, Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, Idiocracy, Dodgeball, Happy Campers, Galaxy Quest…))) […]
April 8, 2010 at 7:09 AM
[…] movie, Van Wilder in Van Wilder, Just Friends, The Amityville Horror, Dick); Martin Starr (Walk Hard, Superbad, Knocked Up, Freaks And Geeks); Bill Hader (Year One, Tropic Thunder, Pineapple Express,…))) […]
April 29, 2010 at 7:07 AM
[…] people together, and it’s no surprise that they make a similar movie. It also reminds me of Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story (especially with John C. Reilly…)))) […]
May 5, 2010 at 7:09 AM
[…] 2 Fast 2 Furious) and David Krumholtz (aka Goldstein from Harold & Kumar, Schwartzberg from Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, also in other movies like How To Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog, Addams Family Values, 10 Things I Hate About You…)))) […]
August 28, 2010 at 4:21 PM
[…] (Darryl from The Office, Miss March, Zack And Miri Make A Porno, Pineapple Express, Fanboys, Walk Hard, Knocked Up), Rob Corddry (Lower Learning, Harold In Kumar 2, What Happens In Vegas, Blades Of Glory…))) […]
October 19, 2010 at 7:08 AM
[…] in this movie: Hugh Heffner and Craig Robinson (Daryl [the black guy] from The Office, Knocked Up, Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, Fanboys, Pineapple Express, Zack & Miri Make A Porno, Prop 8:The Musical) as a rapper named […]
January 5, 2011 at 4:22 PM
[…] and Jason Schwartzman [as Gideon] (Ash from Fantastic Mr. Fox, Funny People, Ringo Starr from Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, I Heart Huckabees, Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Spun, … ))) […]
January 29, 2011 at 7:09 AM
[…] by Jane Lynch (who’s been in some things we’ve watched recently, such as Fifty Pills, Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, the Area 57 failed pilot, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Lemony Snicket’s, and Role Models) and […]
February 10, 2011 at 7:07 AM
[…] American Summer, Zack & Miri Make A Porno, Spider-Man, The 40 Year Old Virgin), and Jane Lynch (Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, the failed Area 57 pilot, Fifty Pills, …)))) […]
April 23, 2011 at 7:11 AM
[…] Traveler’s Wife), Tina Fey as the teacher, Tim Meadows as the principal (Saturday Night Live, Walk Hard:The Dewey Cox Story, Lil’ Barack in Lil’ Bush, Wayne’s World 2, Coneheads), Amy Poehler as an […]
May 11, 2011 at 7:10 AM
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September 15, 2011 at 7:10 AM
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