Filmic Friday 224: Walk Hard

By now, you've probably heard me complain about how I generally hate comedy films. I just... they don't generally appeal to me. What's funny to me is painfully un-funny to others, and vice-versa, but Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story hit pretty close to home.

If you've met me in real life, you probably know that I have an intense connection to music. I sing. I play instruments. I've been in a few community bands. I was in both Band and Chorus throughout my schooling.

Which means that I was also stuck in these classes when the flood of musician biopics crashed down in the 2000s.

Nothing like an overwash of very bad movies to stifle childrens' appreciation of music and the people who perform it.

If you, too, suffered through this bizarre period, you will almost certainly appreciate Walk Hard - an imaginary retelling of an imaginary musician's life and times.

Now that I think about it, though, there's a newer movie that tries something similar, but it plays it straight. Also it's a Christian movie, so... don't expect me to review The Identical at any point...

Anyway, let's talk Walk Hard.

Seriously, the whole thing is a ridiculous joke and I love it.

Walk Hard tells the tale of Dewey Cox, from his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise, his dramatic collapse, and his rebirth. It's also a huge middle finger to the overly-dramatized musical biopics from back in the day (like Ray, for instance).

I think my favorite jokes are the fact that, during his childhood, he's played by a child actor, but the second he hits 14, he's played by John C Reilly.

I've got all of my pictures out of order, so bear with me.

Dewey assembles a band after fleeing his childhood home (he did a bad, bad thing, after all), and they take on the world. I mean, this is after a shockingly stupid scene where, after a single half-assed lesson from a group of black men playing the blues, Dewey (still played by the child actor) masters the blues. The movie is rock stupid, but it's very aware of this.

I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be 15 years old in this shot...

 Speaking of how the movie treats black people (or rather, how it interprets the way African Americans have been treated in these kinds of biopics), it is, of course, the only black guy Dewey knows who gets him into drugs. Though, to be fair, he really tries to keep Dewey away from the stuff.

It's marijuana, btw. He's smoking reefer.
The scene goes on for like 5 minutes and he basically just busts myths for the whole time.
It rocks.

 As Dewey ages, he goes through time, starting as a kid in (I'm pretty sure) the 1940s and moving on through the years until he meets every major musical act of the 50s and 60s.

The part where they go to India and drop acid with possibly the worst representation of the Beatles ever is incredible.

 But why did Dewey have to leave home to begin with? What had he done that was so bad?

Well, he had an older brother who was super talented, smart, ambitious, and basically perfect. He made one mistake - he decided to talk Dewey into playing with machetes in the barn.

It went about as well as expected.

 So, since his brother was tragically cut in half in a machete accident, Dewey had to go on to be "double great" just for him. The whole subplot is stupid, hilarious, and perfect. Especially since the adult version of his brother (who never grew up, but it's a weird hallucination, so go with it) is played by Jonah Hill.

Tragedies aside, Dewey is introduced, after a short time, to the men who run the music industry.

I'm not kidding. A character legitimately turns around, points at them, and says "those Jews run the music industry"

 This subplot is also hilarious.

The whole film is hilarious.

I mean, this is his dad's entire character in one moment.
Some of his last words are "The Wrong Kid Died".
Before he, too, is accidentally cut in half with a machete.
Don't worry, the leadup is worth the spoil. Trust me.

Also, this is Dewey at 14, just before his father throws him out.

 So the movie is hilarious, there's a surprise buffalo shot at one point, and almost everyone gets naked at one time or another, so if you're into comedy, don't mind a lot of comedic sex, and you were annoyed by all of those stupid biopics in the 2000s (and possibly hated A Star is Born), you'll almost certainly get your money's worth with Walk Hard.

Also, that ending, though:

It's that dumb, guys.
It's actually that dumb.

Go Enjoy Something, you weirdos :P
FC