Apatow Feels Out America's Musical History

Rating: 7/10 (14 November 2008)

Film writer Judd Apatow has officially become synonymous with low-brow comedy. And low-brow can sometimes be pulled off to surprising acclaim. And such is the case with WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY.
With THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP firmly under his belt (as well as PINEAPPLE EXPRESS and YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN), Apatow has shown he knows how to tickle the funny bone of young and old alike ...but mainly the young. Deciding to test the waters of music history, Apatow jumped headlong into the tempest and came out of it looking fairly unblemished.
The main thrust of the film's success is undoubtedly that it centers on America's musical past, dipping us into Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan (big time), Jim Morrison (watch out for the penis shots), Elvis Presley (love the hair), Tim McGraw (country?) and even Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.
The other big draw is its title character/actor Dewey Cox played by the oft-underused comedic actor John C. Reilly (TALLADEGA NIGHTS). Reilly plays second fiddle to no one this time, and holds firm his grasp on the character. Completely ridiculous lines roll off his tongue in effortless fashion ("The Siamese cat is a symbol of mobility in Ancient Egypt."). He also is sometimes very physical in his comedy, running down the street in his underwear in true Jim Morrison fashion.
Other actors and actresses are fairly forgettable, however, with the notable exception being Sam (Tim Meadows, best known as a not-ready-for-prime-time-player on Saturday Night Live). Sam assists Dewey in his drug struggles, introducing him to the fairly benign (pot) to the deadly (Heroin). And watching Dewey go through withdrawals was hysterical from a medical standpoint ("I'm freezing!" "He needs more blankets." "I'm burning up!" "He needs less blankets.")
If you're an Apatow fan, you owe it to yourself to check out this musical farce. If you've been ho-hum on Apatow up until now, you still might want to check this one out.