- Title: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
- IMDB: link
Last year the combination of writer/director Jake Kasdan and writer/producer Judd Apatow produced one of the best parody films in recent memory, and one of my favorite films of 2007. Although the film received generally favorable reviews it struggled at the box office. Those who missed out on their opportunity to see the film in theaters can finally check it out on DVD.
The film centers around the fictional life of music legend Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly). The script, which parodies a variety of music biopics including Walk the Line, Ray, Great Balls of Fire!, Beyond the Sea, and others, is filled with the clichéd moments these films have been known for: tragic childhood, bad parents, drug use, affairs, etc. For more on the film check out my original review.
A great movie supplemented with oodles of terrific featurettes, commentary, and more. What more could you want. Although I still prefer the theatrical version to the extended cut it is worth watching, as are the other bonus features you get with the two-disc set (some retailers are even packaging them with extra goodies – mine came with a Walk Hard t-shit!). All the featurettes are terrific, but my favorite has to be the extending musical performances of the great, and very funny, music of the film including the longer version of “Walk Hard” performed by Jackson Brown, Lyle Lovett, Jewel, and Ghostface Killah. I give huge props to them for taking part in the insanity, especially Jewel whose performance includes an extended yodeling sequence!
One final note. I cannot recommend the DVD highly enough. I will say the more music biopics you have seen the more you will get out of this parody. If you haven’t seen the likes of Walk the Line and Ray I think you can still enjoy the film, but will have more fun knowing the many issues these films attempted to present seriously which this film so magnificently parodies.