Walk Hard

With three R-rated comedy mega hits under his belt, it would appear that Judd Apatow could do no wrong. With co-writer and director Jake Kasdan, Apatow takes a stab at the spoof, which has become the lowest form of cinematic “comedy” these days (see DATE MOVIE, EPIC MOVIE and the upcoming MEET THE SPARTANS). Deriding the recent wave of musical biopics, WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX story is only moderately successful. It’s side-splittingly funny in parts, but 96 minutes spent spoofing two or three movies leaves the viewer with a rather empty feeling.

Taking mostly from WALK THE LINE, the film tells the epic life of music superstar Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly), a Johnny Cash-like guitar man who rises to fame in the early 60s, falls in the 70s when he interacts with drinking and drugs, and finds redemption just in time to receive a lifetime achievement award. After losing his prodigal brother in a machete accident, young Dewey channels his inner guilt and rage at his father’s alienation into a new kind of music that angers elders and drives youngsters to grinding dances. He quickly rises to fame, despite being stuck with a skeptical and usually pregnant wife (Kristen Wiig). He goes through the roller coasters that seem to strike every musician; his band members introduce him to drugs and later desert him. He meets his true love (Jenna Fischer) while still married, though he doesn’t quite realize how that system works.

Most of the jokes are based on 2005’s WALK THE LINE, and the main storyline is a near copy; there are a few dashes of RAY thrown in (Dewey suffers a lost sense of smell). The problem is that with a spoof, making fun of only one film quickly grows tiresome. What made early spoofs like AIRPLANE successes were the amount of films referenced in them, no matter whether they had anything to do with the plot or not. There are a few related bits that remain funny throughout; machete motifs and the constant references to characters’ ages are a few. But the more successful bits are actually the raunchy R-rated jokes that hold no bearing on the plot. The film’s many songs are likely its greatest attribute. Performed wonderfully by Reilly, they display the writers at their most creative and cleverest. From the innuendo-filled “Let’s Duet” to the catchy title song to the genuinely affecting “A Life Without You”, the songs quickly become the most memorable thing about the film.

Unfortunately, star Reilly doesn’t bring much to the table. Playing basically the same character he did in last year’s TALLADEGA NIGHTS, his comic abilities seem to have lessened in the transition from supporting role to leading. He sings admirably, but the “aw, shucks” dumb guy shtick grows as tired as the jokes. His other bits seem taken directly from his past co-stars, the most notable being his Incredible Hulk-fused version of the running around in underwear made, Will Ferrell style. Wiig and Tim Meadows come off with the best gags in the film; Wiig manages to make her one-joke character humorous throughout while Meadows’s spirited protestations against the effects of pot and cocaine are probably the funniest thing in the film. In the end, however, WALK HARD isn’t as funny as its spoof predecessors, though it is mercifully a step above recent offerings. The musical biopic genre is ripe for parody, but every spoof requires a wider eye to keep from growing stale or repetitive.

**/****