The story of a singer's life and hard times, played for laughs.

Rating: 8/10 (1 January 2008)

The show has a number of mild to moderate laughs--not enough to be rated hilarious by any means, but enough to keep me smiling through most of it. On the basis of the rather predictable script only, I'd rate it as about a 6, but the script isn't the chief charm of this movie. It's the strong and subtle performance of John C. Reilly, one of those anonymous character actors whose name you never remember but whose face you recognize instantly. Another actor might have been tempted to take the farcical elements of the script and run with them, playing the role manically from top to bottom. Reilly is talented enough to seek out the quieter moments and build his character around them. This gave the film's wilder moments more credibility than if he had played the role full bore. It's on the basis of the performances--his and the ensemble's--that I rated it as an 8.