Product Description
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One of the most iconic figures in rock history, Dewey Cox (John
C. Reilly) had it all: the women (over 411 served), the friends
(Elvis, The Beatles) and the rock 'n' roll lifestyle (a close and
personal relationship with every pill and powder known to man).
But most of all, he had the music that transformed a dimwitted
country boy into the greatest American rock star who never lived.
A wild and wicked send-up of every musical biopic ever made, WALK
HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY is gut-busting proof that when it comes
to hard rocking, living and laughing, a hard man is good to find.
.com
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The Pixar-like roll of Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
Knocked Up, Superbad) continues with another sure-fire hit. In
charting the meteoric rise, catastrophic fall and Lazarus-like
rise of rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard parodies the classic
Hollywood bio-pic, cashing in mostly on Walk the Line. John C.
Reilly, one of Hollywood's most solid character actors, makes the
most of his Golden Globe-nominated star turn as Dewey, whose road
to stardom is paved with a childhood tragedy that cls the life
of his prodigiously talented brother ("The wrong kid died," is
his her's mantra), instant stardom (his first record is a hit
just 35 minutes after it was recorded), sex and drugs, and the
inevitable "dark (effen) period" that leads him to rehab. Reilly
gets solid backup from current and former Saturday Night Live
alumni, including Kirsten Wiig as his incredibly fertile first
wife who has no faith in his musical aspirations ("You're never
going to make it," she cheerily ends one phone call); Tim
Meadows, never better, as Dewey's drummer, who, in one of the
film's best scenes, does a poor job of dissuading him from trying
marijuana); and Chris Parnell as his bass player. Jenna Fischer
leaves Pam back at The Office as Darlene, Dewey's virtuous duet
partner. Hilarious cameos give Walk Hard a great "Hey!" factor:
Hey, that's Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly. Hey, that's "Kenneth"
from 30 Rock. Hey, there's Jack Black and Paul Rudd as--no
kidding--Paul McCartney and John Lennon revealing "a rift in the
Beatles." Some of the jokes are obvious (come on; the guy's last
name is Cox), others inspired. But the decades-spanning music,
echoing the styles of gritty Johnny Cash, romantic Roy Orbison,
obtuse Bob Dylan, trippy Brian Wilson, and even a bit of
anachronistic punk rock, is as pitch perfect and affectionately
observed as in The Rutles, This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind.
Walk Hard earns its R-rating, particularly for a
sure-to-be-talked-about scene of hotel-room debauchery. But:
Hilarious? Outrageous? Twisted? To quote the title of one of
Dewey's hit songs, "Guilty as Charged." --Donald Liebenson
On the DVD
Though an unaccountable box office disappointment, Walk Hard is
poised for discovery and cult status on DVD. You'd think the film
had pretty much exhausted all the puns and double-entendres you
could get out of Dewey Cox's last name, but the Elvis-inspired "A
Christmas Song from Dewey Cox," the "Cox Sausage Commercial" and
"The Real Dewey Cox," which are among this two-disc set's extra
features, manages to get even more mileage out of that juvenile
joke. Speaking of which, there is a "cockumentary" devoted to
actor Tyler Nilson, who provides the film with its most shocking
laugh during the hotel orgy scene, The Unbearably Long,
Self-Indulgent Director's Cut contains, ahem, extended footage of
that scene and features the deleted setups for some of the
theatrical cut's more inexplicable gags (a deleted montage
reveals just how Dewey and band member Theo wound up in bed
together). Better than a gag reel is the "Line-O-Rama," a
hit-and-miss compilation of improv outtakes. Full song
performances give this film's O-worthy music its due. The
Daily Show's John Hodgman gets "The Last Word" in a celebrity
profile spoof that was originally broadcast on Comedy Central.
With a more traditional "Making of" featurette and entertaining
audio commentary by writer Judd Apatow, director Jake Kasdan, and
star John C. Reilly, Walk Hard walks even harder on DVD. --Donald
Liebenson
Beyond Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
On Blu-ray ( /gp/product/B0012IWRDC/ref=d_ap_DeweyCox_1 )
The Soundtrack ( /gp/product/B000XCZD5C/ref=d_ap_DeweyCox_2 )
UMD for PSP ( /gp/product/B0012IWO08/ref=d_ap_Deweycox_2 )
Stills from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (click for larger
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