"Walk Hard" clip, mini-review

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Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow's Walk Hard (Sony, 12.21) is my kind of genre spoof -- dry, smart, referenced. I chuckled here and there but mostly I smiled at it, and that's not a bad thing. I absolutely love that this film doesn't pander or wallow. It's not trying to make eight year-olds or the ding-dongs who loved Are We Done Yet? roll in the aisles. It's into the old-time spirit and attitude of SCTV.

John C. Reilly in Walk Hard

Here's that clip from the first ten minutes of the film.

Truth be told, Walk Hard is one of those comedies that plays a tiny bit funnier when you're thinking about it the next day than when you're sitting there in the seat. You know it's a clever, high-end thing, but at the same time you're not exactly howling. I'm not much of a laugher at anything, but I love comedies aimed at people who've graduated from high school with at least a B-minus average. Either you're on the wavelength or you're not.

The only question I have about the box-office is whether star John C. Reilly has the magnetism to bring in the big crowds.

Nobody would ever mistake Nikki Finke for a cineaste, but she was wrong when she wrote yesterday that Walk Hard "spoofs just about every music biopic ever made." It mainly spoofs one movie -- Walk The Line -- with some Ray gags sprinkled in.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on December 9, 2007 at 9:19 AM

comment #1

Craig Kennedy says ...

Somehow this review is more encouraging than if you'd said you'd peed yourself laughing.

Everytime I'm told I'm going to see the funniest movie ever, it never is. Those movies are always trying too hard and stooping too low.

This one seems to be striking the right attitude.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at December 9, 2007 9:31 AM

comment #2

Mike Ock says ...

There's nothing smarter than the scene where the little boy gets chopped in half. Actually, no. The scene where Dewey's on the phone and a few flaccid penises walk into frame, made me thank God I went to college, and got higher than a B.

Clearly those 10 uneducated philistines who walked out halfway into it, were in over there heads on this one.

Posted by Mike Ock at December 9, 2007 9:37 AM

comment #3

AJW says ...

"Nobody would ever mistake Nikki Finke for a cineaste, but she was wrong when she wrote yesterday that Walk Hard "spoofs just about every music biopic ever made." It mainly spoofs one movie -- Walk The Line -- with some Ray gags sprinkled in."

I've only watched the first ten minutes (thank you, Sony, for ensuring I do not pay to see your movie), but you didn't get any "Buddy Holly Story" out of it? Obviously "Walk the Line" is the main movie it's parodying, but there aren't other movies tossed in?

Posted by AJW at December 9, 2007 9:47 AM

comment #4

Gus Petch says ...

Just watched those first ten minutes. This has "wait for video" written all over it.

Posted by Gus Petch at December 9, 2007 9:49 AM

comment #5

Mike Ock says ...

Homie # 1: Yo dawg this shit is too smart for us, let's get the fuck outta here and sneak into the ending of No Country For Old Men, playing in the next auditorium.

Homie # 2 (terrified): Are you kidding dawg, we didn't even get our EGDs. There's no way we could handle that!! Besides, sneaking into a theater without paying would be unethical.

Homie # 1 (struggling with the meaning and pronunciation of that last word): That's right. It would be menthol..cigarettes.

Homie # 2: Let's go home and watch our Are We There Yet bootleg DVD!!

Posted by Mike Ock at December 9, 2007 9:52 AM

comment #6

iamjoe says ...

I saw Walk Hard hard on Thursday, and I liked it a lot. It was completely serious in not being serious at all. And don't underestimate John C Reilly, people do know who he is, and he's loved for his past performances in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Chicago, and even Talladega Nights..but I am biased.
Reilly was at the screening, and performed as Dewey Cox afterward...

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31510383&blogID=335723994

Posted by iamjoe at December 9, 2007 10:41 AM

comment #7

Jack Price says ...

Just watched the first ten minutes. That HAS to be the most beautifully shot spoof in history.

Also, I laughed pretty regularly throughout.

"You know who else has hands? The Devil! And he uses them for holding!"

Posted by Jack Price at December 9, 2007 10:50 AM

comment #8

Daviddb says ...

SCTV? Great show, except those skits were short and to the point. And as I remember, they did a musical bio parody on Evita with Slim Whitman. Hilarious. And only 4 minutes. More laughs in that than this overlong unfunny movie. BTW, I graduated with an A- average.

Be careful when you're spoofing something that, in the end, is still way better than your parody.

Was there really a need to spoof musical bios in the first place? It's one thing to mock bad or mediocre films, it's quite another to try and mock something that is pretty good or excellent to start with. As a result, Walk Hard resorts to penis jokes and chopping kids in half gags. Pretty desperate.

Posted by Daviddb at December 9, 2007 10:51 AM

comment #9

le corbeau says ...

"SCTV--"

Sold. I'm there.

Posted by le corbeau at December 9, 2007 10:51 AM

comment #10

Spicer says ...

Even though it's a spoof, I'll bet Walk Hard has more insight into Dewey Cox as an artist than Walk the Line had about Johnny Cash.

Posted by Spicer at December 9, 2007 12:02 PM

comment #11

BurmaShave says ...

Well said Spicer. The biggest selling point for me is, from what I heard on iTunes the songs are actually quite good. Reminds me in many ways of SPINAL TAP. They didn't skimp and just make dumb music. Especially enjoy 'Royal Jelly' his Bob Dylan like song which is so accurate it's frightening.

Posted by BurmaShave at December 9, 2007 12:27 PM

comment #12

Spicer says ...

Burma: I believe Marshall Crenshaw wrote the title song and an army of songwriters contributed to the film. There's a song called A Life Without You that is a dead on Orbison tune.

Posted by Spicer at December 9, 2007 12:35 PM

comment #13

le corbeau says ...

I heard a radio commercial for a credit card or something the other day that used "Gimme Some Money" as its theme. Spinal Tap is as real as any other band now.

Mgmax,
still waiting for "Cheese and Onions" to turn up in a Chili's ad

Posted by le corbeau at December 9, 2007 1:48 PM

comment #14