A Chuckler

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2007)

It's a hit-and-miss comedy. There's a few laugh-out-loud moments, but mostly you'll only be chuckling or going "Was that meant to be funny?"
John C. Reilly is not naturally funny and is NOT good to look at in close-up. In one scene a man's naked tackle appears next to his head. I didn't know where to look! EW! (Naked guy was no Dirk Diggler.)
I think Judd Apatow is going "I got away with a closeup of a vagina giving birth in 'Knocked Up'. Time for a closeup of male genitalia!" (And there were lots of drawings of penises in "Superbad".)
Did you notice that "Walk the Line" and "Ray" were practically the same movie? I'm guessing Judd Apatow and Jake Kasden did and set out to write a movie spoofing the formulaic musical biopic. This starts out looking like "Walk Hard" but then veers into a trip through popular music history -- which is sometimes fun. I enjoyed the Bob Dylan and Glen Campbell phases of Dewey's career.
The most delightful scene to me was when they were in India in 1967 with the Maharishi and the Beatles (finishing with a "Yellow Submarine"-like cartoon).
The guys playing the Beatles were hilarious (and dirty -- that's why you only see the briefest snippet in the TV commercials.) Jack Black is Paul and Paul Rudd is John and their bickering is hysterical. Justin Long ("Mac" on the PC vs. Mac commercials) was George and Jason Schwartzman ("Rushmore") is Ringo. This scene was far too brief. If only the whole movie had been this funny. I think they need to get these guys back together and make a whole movie about the Beatles!
There are lots of delightful cameos from your favorite comedy actors. The songs seem to be clever, well-written parodies -- I'll have to hear them another way and read the lyrics to fully "get" them.
But it's not as sharp as "A Mighty Wind" or "Spinal Tap".
Reilly is a good character actor and a fine singer -- but he is not the guy to carry a comedy. He doesn't have the "funny bones" of Will Ferrell, Jack Black or Jim Carrey. You start laughing the second those guys appear on screen.
It reminded me of "Blades of Glory" or "Talladega Nights" -- some wonderful moments, but a lot of dull or mis-fired ones. Gags that are repeated till they become annoying.