Slight but occasionally hilarious

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2007)

After seeing The TV Set earlier this week, I was especially interested in seeing the followup film from director Jake Kasdan and producer Judd Apatow. The biopic is definitely a genre in much need of a spoofing, and I figured Kasdan and Apatow, with the often brilliant John C. Reilly in the lead, would produce a spoof with perhaps a little more depth than other films of the genre. But, alas, Walk Hard walks about the same line as the Hot Shot movies, somewhat below The Naked Gun and somewhat above Scary Movie. It's funny for the most part, but painfully two-dimensional. It does have some nice jokes concerning the history of pop music that might bypass the younger generations. I especially loved when Dewey Cox went through his Brian Wilson period. The recording session of his Pet Sounds-like album is just great. "I need an army of didjeridoos!" Perhaps the funniest joke of the film are the various music stars of the era whose personae are occupied by celebrities in cameos. I actually wish they had gone even further with this, covering as many musicians as they could. The moment of the film that made me laugh the most is when Frankie Muniz, the kid from Malcolm in the Middle, appears as Buddy Holly. The casting is truly inspired, and I just love the way every phony celebrity is called by both their first name and last name every time they are mentioned, like, "Well hello, Buddy Holly" or "How are you doing, Paul McCartney?" The entire sequence where Cox meets The Beatles in India had me holding my sides. That could have gone on for longer. There are a lot of other jokes that cracked me up, as well. The entire first sequence, where we see the obligatory tragedy that sets Cox's life in motion, is hilarious. The recurring joke where, whenever Dewey gets especially upset, he finds the nearest bathroom sink, rips it out, and smashes it on the ground is one that is close to my heart. It seems that there are at least two Oscar clips of actors or, more commonly, actresses, smashing dishes on the ground when they are angry. And, if you want to see something extremely rare, Tim Meadows is hilarious in another recurring joke, where Cox walks in on him doing drugs in a back room (a direct parody of Ray) and then joins him. So, yeah, there are some great gags. But then there are long dry stretches. And, as I said, the film is very shallow. It's content to be just a spoof, so, in the end, it's not all that memorable. But it's well worth watching if you're looking for some quick, easy laughs.