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| Cast and Credits |
| Cast: |
John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Tim Meadows, Kristen Wiig |
| Director: |
Jake Kasdan |
| Writer: |
Judd Apatow, Jake Kasdan |
| Rating: |
Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language. |
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Reviewed By: Brendan Cullin
Rating: 6/10
"Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox" Story stars John C. Reilly as the immortal Dewey Cox, a farm boy who, at a young age, accidentally murders his own brother and then goes on to become one of the great musical sensations of his time. His life story is almost a mirror image of the life of the legendary Johnny Cash - a dysfunctional childhood, the women, the drugs, the alcohol, the love affair with the beautiful female performer (played by Jenna Fischer). It all culminates for Dewey with an unforgettable return to the stage at the Grammy Awards. A much older but still remarkable Dewey Cox gives a performance that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
The hard sell behind Dewey Cox is that the movie is brought to us by the people who gave us "Knocked Up" and "Superbad", two of the summer's big box office hits. I can assure you that Walk Hard ain't no "Knocked Up" and it ain't no "Superbad". Yeah, it's a funny movie at times. It does a good job of poking fun at Johnny Cash, Elvis, The Beatles and a bunch of other big music acts. There is a handful of laugh-out-loud moments. Most of the cast, like John C. Reilly and Tim Meadows, are fairly humourous. And the scene with The Beatles is simply priceless (Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman play the Fab Four).
I guess I just found that in "Walk Hard", there was too much time between laugh-out-loud and subsided giggling. There were moments where I swear I heard crickets in the theatre. There were too many over-the-top and ridiculous moments that might work in "Date Movie" or a Farrelly Brothers flick but they just didn't seem to do it all the time in "Dewey Cox". That's not to say that it's a horrible movie because it's not. It's a pretty damn amusing spoof on the life of Johnny Cash and a few others. But if I told you that it's the funniest movie of the year I'd be lying. That title probably should go to one of Judd Apatow's other masterpieces. If I told you to run out to the theatre this weekend to see it, you may never take my advice again for the rest of your life. And if I told you John C. Reilly deserved to be nominated for a Golden Globe, well, I'd really have to look at a list of all the possible candidates but just off the top of my head, he certainly wouldn't come to mind. Hell, McLovin' probably deserves it more that Reilly does. The four boys playing The Fab Four even deserve a group nomination, if that were possible.
It seems like I'm sitting here ripping Dewey a new asshole but I don't mean to come off like that. It is a funny movie with a handful of classic moments. I think all I'm trying to say is don't expect great things from "Walk Hard", despite the great self-promotion it's getting. I'd rate this movie more in the good category rather that the great. I'm sure there are people out there who may think that "Dewey Cox" is the next coming of "Animal House" or something like that but the average movie fan will probably find it to be mildly entertaining - not the type of movie I would suggest that you walk hard to see. A leisurely stroll would be more like it.
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