"Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story" is a good parody of musician bios like Walk The Line. It's not the greatest comedy ever made, perhaps, but it has a lot of good points and solid lines. It particularly skewers the sentimentality such movies sometimes veer into.
And it has this too-short appearance of Jewel. I had no idea anybody could put so much beauty and sex-appeal (and humor) into one sung word!
(I'm amazed at the quality of this clip, not the least the sound. I filmed it off my HD TV, hand-held! (Ooh, short clip and part of a review, hope this comes under "fair use"...). It was filmed with Panasonic GH2, which is particularly aimed at being a good video camera, and it seems they succeeded very well with the built-in mics.)
One of my favorite movies! Certainly it's a little uneven...like couldn't you skip the first 15 minutes?
ReplyDeleteThe Beatles scene slays me. ("You guys are almost as good as The Monkees.") ("I wrote a song about an octopus.")
It's a pretty note-for-note sendup of Walk the Line, but it also draws inspiration from Ray. And a nice nod toward musical biopics in general.
John C. Reilly can sure sing...he played a small tour of club gigs in advance of the movie's release. The original songs are fantastic.
Love how they skewer LSD-era Brain Wilson. Love the scene where he tries pot for the first time. Jack White's Elvis is funny, too.
Lots more to love, too...thanks for bringing this up, 'cause I'm going to watch it again soon.
Yes, I've often wondered how come music films often has outstanding original music. How can this be when all I hear on TV/radio is dreadful?
ReplyDeleteThat's too much Jewel, actually. They could have got someone better, but I guess the point is that Dewey's not a top level star, so they got some D-level singers.
ReplyDelete@emptyspaces: Was 'Ray' good? Been wanting to see that.
ReplyDelete@Anon: who would you have suggested?
Here's a longer version of Jewel for you, Eo. Hope you enjoy! :-D
ReplyDeleteThe movie Ray is brutal but definately worth the watch. World class performance too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dissonance. "Brutal" in what way? The lifestyle? Honesty? Language, etc? I heard Foxx did a really good job in it. I've never been much of a fan of him but...want to "give him a chance" and...I like Ray's music. :-) I'm interested in the backgrounds of where people come from and what "makes" them who they are. :-)
ReplyDeleteRay is a terrible movie. It's the kind that actors want to do because they know that Oscar loves that kind of role.
ReplyDeleteIt's part of the reason Walk Hard is so funny. For example, when Dewey walks in on people doing drugs it's always the same people - they got that from Ray.
Mainly it's based on Walk the Line and Ray but there's also some stuff from The Buddy Holly Story and Great Balls of Fire.
Love the clip! Very cool chord progression. And yes, Jewel is amazing!
ReplyDeleteTCgirl - Ray is worth watching, Jamie Foxx really nails it. The film as a whole is kinda plodding and overlong, but hey, it's a biopic.
ReplyDeleteWalk Hard does do a nice job by placing Dewey on that Elvis/Jerry Lee Lewis/Buddy Holly tour. It's solid.
And I'm not a big fan of Jewel, either - cute girl, but the bad poetry and yodeling ruins it for me. Different strokes.
Lol funny, I was just thinking about this movie today, and I have no idea why. I do stuff like that all the time.
ReplyDelete"Yes, I've often wondered how come music films often has outstanding original music. How can this be when all I hear on TV/radio is dreadful?"
I think it's mostly cause the music industry has mostly turned its back on good music. They know they're on their death bed, so they just put out whatever's safe. And they're not involved with the making of movies, so there ya go.
I didn't and don't know Jewel. I just responded pretty hard to the way she sang "hard". Um.
ReplyDeleteI didn't and don't know Jewel. I just responded pretty hard to the way she sang "hard". Um.
ReplyDeleteShe was pretty big about ten or so years ago.
emptyspaces said...
ReplyDelete"TCgirl - Ray is worth watching, Jamie Foxx really nails it. The film as a whole is kinda plodding and overlong, but hey, it's a biopic."
Thanks! I'll watch it! :-D
@Jes: "And they're not involved with the making of movies, so there ya go."
and
@Eo: "I just responded pretty hard to the way she sang "hard". Um."
FUNNY YOU's!! :-D (Did you take a listen to the song I linked to, Eo?)
Yep. Cute pop song, but not sure it's my style.
ReplyDeleteemptyspaces said...
ReplyDelete"And I'm not a big fan of Jewel, either - cute girl, but the bad poetry and yodeling ruins it for me."
What you said, here, made me crack up when I heard a line in this. HILARIOUS!