Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story

Rating: 7/10 (14 April 2013)

I knew this film was a film about the music industry, and I knew the leading actor, but that it is really, it sounded like a biography kind of film, maybe with some laughs in it, but I was pleasantly surprised when I watched and found out it was both. Basically singer Dewey Cox (Golden Globe nominated John C. Reilly) since childhood has no sense of smell, this is due to the trauma of accidentally cutting his brother Nate with a machete, and since then his father Pa Cox (Raymond J. Barry) constantly tells him "the wrong son died", but one day sent out by his mother Ma Cox (Margo Martindale) he finds something to aspire to. Meeting an Old Bluesman (David 'Honeyboy' Edwards) he plays a guitar and is a natural, and he wants to be a professional singer, at fourteen years old he gets his first break with a controversial song outside of Springberry, and he meets twelve year old girlfriend Edith (Kristen Wiig). The couple soon marry and have a baby together, she criticises Dewey that he will not achieve his dream to make it big, but he gets his chance when replacing singer Bobby Shad (Craig Robinson) at the last minute on stage, and he meets Hasidic Jewish record executives who want him to join them. He records a rockabilly version of "That's Amore", but one of them brands him talentless, but he has a brainwave when having a conversation with Edith, and he writes and performs his own song "Walk Hard", and it quickly becomes a big hit, and he enjoys the newfound rock and roll lifestyle. Dewey does also get introduced to marijuana by drummer Sam (Tim Meadows), and every time we see him with a new drug that he says he "doesn't want to be part of", he takes it, and through his excessive drug taking his attitude changes, and he is unfaithful to his wife, and worse comes when his Pa tells him that his Ma has died, and he gets him to believe it was his fault. He still has his personal demons to battle with, including cocaine consumption, and tries changing music styles, but then he meets backup singer Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer), and together they make songs that become big hits, and in the process that become attracted to each other, and still married to Edith the new couple marry, of course this makes women leave him. Dewey ends up arrested for the purchase of drugs from an undercover cop, serves his time in jail, and goes through rehabilitation, and reformed at the beginning of the 1960's he starts making protest songs for campaigns such as the discrimination of dwarfs, and his new style is compared to Bob Dylan, he angrily denies his. Visiting India Dewey and his band take LSD with The Beatles - John Lennon (Paul Rudd), Paul McCartney (Jack Black), Ringo Starr (Jason Schwartzman) and George Harrison (Justin Long), which causes Dewey to experience a Yellow Submarine style hallucination, and he becomes obsessed with creating a music masterpiece, and the others despise his consistent abusive behaviour, so they break up, and Darlene leaves him again. He goes through rehab again, and there he is visited by the ghost of his brother Older Nate (Jonah Hill) who tells him to stop pitying himself and write songs again, and in the 1970's hosting a variety show, and doesn't get on with writing any songs, but Nate returns to tell him he needs to tell Pa he loves him. Pa and him look like they are reconciling, but it turns into a fight with machetes, and his father ends up cutting himself in half, but he forgives his son before he dies, and the death causes a breakdown, but when he gets over it he knows he must spend time with his numerous children. In 1992 Darlene returns to Dewey, and realising the importance of family rather than musical success he suddenly gains back his sense of smell, and moving to the year 2007 he has gained a new fan base with "Walk Hard" being sampled by a rapper, he is at first upset by this, but he is made with receiving a lifetime achievement award, and he finally fulfils his dream of a masterpiece song, "Beautiful Ride", apparently Dewey died three minutes after performing it. Also starring Harold Ramis as L'Chaim, Chris Parnell as Theo, Jack White as Elvis Presley, David Krumholtz as Schwartzberg, Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly, The Hangover's Ed Helms as Stage Manager and Jane Lynch as Gail the Television Reporter. Reilly gives a really funny performance as the up and down and up again singer in numerous genres, mostly country, folk and rock, but he also proves he can actually sing and belts out some catchy tunes, the supporting cast members mock the stereotypical characters well also. This was obviously made after the last few years bringing out well received and awarded music based biopic films, such as Ray and Walk the Line, so this both celebrates and mocks those true life based stories, with some jokey songs and a well-crafted script mocking typical dialogue and moments in those dramas, a really funny and enjoyable musical comedy. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for the title song, also nominated the Grammy for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Very good!