Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
(2007) dir. Jake Kasdan
viewed: 05/04/08
On a whim, a need for some mindlessness, I hit the video store wanting something not challenging to watch and decided on a lowbrow comedy double feature. It’s not that I thought that this film was going to be good, but I read about star John C. Reilly performing here in character, singing all the songs from the movie, and there was some charm there. Director and co-writer Jake Kasdan, son of director Lawrence Kasdan, actually had directed a film that I recall having liked pretty well back in the day, Zero Effect (1998), an oddball comedy with Bill Pullman as a private detective with psychological issues.
So, my expectations were not high.
And it’s not a great film, though it has some laughs. Spoofing primarilly Walk the Line (2005), the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk Hard actually takes goofball potshots at a whole spate of musicians and periods and films. He’s a musical chameleon who lives through the entire span of music between the 1960’s and the 1980’s, and it’s a roundabout on everything.
Ultimatley, though, it’s not pure parody. There is a genuine liking and charm about the character of Dewey Cox and the film ends up playing out the types of endings that these musical biographical films end up with…on an up note.
The film has its fair share of double entendres and occasional crassness, but that is not what makes it float. Every once in a while there will be a gag or a joke that will make you laugh, or make me laugh, as I so often note what a lack of humor I have for comedies in general.
I would rank this film on the lower side of decent. Take that for what you will.
on October 16th, 2008 at
Some laughs is true. One of my faves was when the wife says the ubiquitous line again near the end. Reminded me of when Leslie Neilsen kept coming into the cockpit in Airplane and says his line for the fourth time. It got funnier. I don’t care for Johnny Cash too much.