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Rated: R
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig, Tim Meadows, Raymond J. Barry
Directed by: Jake Kasdan
John C. Reilly is a hoot in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox
Story. Much like his
characterization of Cal Naughton, Jr. in the comedy Talladega Nights: The
Ballad of Ricky Bobby, in his first starring role Reilly proves to be the next
big star of comedy. Move over Vince
Vaughn and Will Ferrell, because here comes Johnny.
From humble and very weird beginnings, Dewey (Reilly)
discovers his purpose in life when he finds out he can play rock ‘n roll guitar
like no other. On the way to the top of
his game, the naive young man sleeps with women (a lot of them), takes illegal
drugs (all of them), gets married (several times) and fathers 22 children. Finding himself on the same stage as the Big
Bopper and Elvis one night, Dewey takes on the challenge of a lifetime. When he meets Darlene (Fischer), however, his
life starts on another roller coaster ride.
The winner here goes
beyond the fine acting ability of Reilly, it’s in his singing. The film’s soundtrack features at least 20
original songs, that although the verbal communication is sometimes wacky, the tunes
are catchy and even reminiscent of Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys and
other rock ‘n roll greats.
Tunes like “I
hate you Big Daddy", “Farmer Glickstein", “Hole In My Pants", and “Hey Mr. Old
Guy", are off-beat, yet fit into the realm of the Dewey Cox rock ‘n roll
genre. Topping my list of favorites,
however, are two absolute winners, “Walk
Hard” (taking a lot of liberties with ‘I Walk The Line’) and “Let’s Duet". Both could probably make it to the country
charts, and probably will.
Direction by Kasdan is right on the
money, providing a good show with this very difficult-to-produce comedic
script. Kasdan moves the story at a fast
clip, taking us from Cox’s early boyhood to his final concert at age 70. Incorporating some fine aging make-up and
special effects, the filmmaker is able to use Reilly as Cox from teen to
elderly.
There are a lot of good actor
cameos in the film, including Jack White as Elvis, Jack Black as Paul McCartney,
Jason Schwartzman as Ringo Starr, Justin Long as George Harrison, Paul Rudd as
John Lennon, Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly, John Ennis as the Big Bopper, and
Harold Ramis as L’Chai’m. Although I
had fun picking them out, it did become a little distracting.
The
drug use and abuse in the film is nonchalant and even decadent. The nudity and sex in the film should also be
a concern when choosing this film with young people in tow.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a
fun film for the guys and a tolerable flick for a date. But, between you and I, you may want to get
your best dudes together so you can yuk it up without the fear of letting your
girlfriend know your ‘unsophisticated’ side.
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