Movie Review: "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story"

Who knew John C. Reilly could do comedy? After seeing him in movies such as The Hours, Gangs of New York or Chicago (which he was nominated for an Oscar) one would think that he was only a serious actor. Then came Talladega Nights. Three words: "Shake and Bake!" Hahah, that 'stache makes me laugh every time. And did you see his trio with Will Ferrell and Jack Black at the Oscars two years ago? One can be funny and win awards at the same time!

I don't really like spoofs. I'm not a fan at all of the Scary Movie, Date Movie, Epic Movie, etc franchise. IMHO those are cheap shots at trying to get the audience's money. This movie however is more of a parody, a fake biopic. While some of the material is quite inappropriate, the humor is more grown up. There is actually a storyline, award winning actors and very good acting and singing throughout. If you've seen Walk the Line or Ray, you'll get the little digs throughout the movie. The songs in the movie are actually really good and quite catchy. The title song and "Guilty as Charged" actually sound like they are real songs from the 60s. Personally I think these should have been nominated for the Best Song Oscar instead of all those mediocre songs from Enchanted.

My favorite scene: when Dewey meets the Beatles. Paul Rudd as John Lennon is absolutely hilariously perfect. The accent is way over the top but it's still Lennon. I'm sorry but I kept seeing Jack Black and not Paul McCartney. Funny, but still Jack Black. Justin Long looks and sounds just like George Harrison. Also this may be the first time he actually looks his age and not like a cute teenager. Jason Schwartzman is just a hoot as Ringo. So adorable. I can't believe he's only 3 years older than me. Since I'm a huge Beatles fan, I was dying of laughter throughout the entire scene.

Of course not everything is glowing about this movie. Being rated R and created by the guys who did 40 Year Virgin and Knocked Up means there's a LOT of raunchy stuff. There's quite a bit of nudity (especially male nudity for no good reason) in the film. Curse words are rampant and drug use is shown throughout (there's a funny running joke involving Tim Meadow's character but it's funny for all the wrong reasons). Therefore I cannot recommend this for viewing unless you plan on using your fast forward button. But do download from ITunes Walk Hard and Guilty as Charged. Very fine singing right there.