Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Exploring every facet of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle, this biopic takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time.
- Released:
- Runtime: 120 minutes
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
- Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, Quinta Brunson, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Will Forte, Patton Oswalt, Michael McKean, Dot-Marie Jones, Jorma Taccone, Demetri Martin, Dean Sharpe, Paul F. Tompkins, Scott Aukerman, Akiva Schaffer, Conan O'Brien, Emo Philips, Nina West, Jack Black, David Dastmalchian, Julie Chang, Josh Groban, Seth Green, Arturo Castro, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Diedrich Bader, Richard Aaron Anderson, David Bloom, Thomas Lennon, Johnny Pemberton, Jonah Ray, Jeremy Bolm, Jack Lancaster, Spencer Treat Clark, Tommy O'Brien, Jacob Lawrence Kreiss, Keanush Tafreshi, Andrew Steven Hernandez, Paloma Esparza Rabinov, Eric Appel, Panuvat Anthony Nanakornpanom, Constantine Rousouli, James Brown III, Rocky Abou-Sakher, Chris Ryan, Mike Escamilla, Chad Guerrero, Cesar Ramirez, Omar Estrada, Cesar Chavira, Jimmy Walker Jr., Trenyce, James Preston Rogers, William Guirola
- Director: Eric Appel
Comments
- Pjtaylor-96-138044 - 16 June 2024
Walk weird.
What better way to celebrate a parody artist than by creating a parody picture? 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)' absolutely skewers the music biopic, representing the best - and most all-encompassing - poke of fun at the genre since 'Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)'. Satirising every trope it can think of, the movie makes use of satisfying deep cuts and an increasingly absurd sense of humour to subvert just about every real-life event it depicts. This isn't so much a story about what happened to the real Weird Al as to what didn't happen to him, mimicking the genre's typically egocentric outlook to literally depict the man as being the most famous and celebrated musician in the entire world. It takes even more bizarre turns than that but I won't spoil them here, as each new subversion provides more and more laughter and proves that the film's self-aware subject (who was heavily involved with production) has no problems poking fun at himself. At times, the feature is hilarious. Even when it isn't, it's a ton of fun. It knows exactly what it's doing at every turn, so much so that even its issues could be considered parodies of those same issues that appear in its inspirations. To be fair, it does start to stagnate slightly as it approaches its final third, spinning its wheels just a little before it shakes things up with a headfirst dive into all-out alt-history absurdity for a few scenes. Its aesthetic also seems somewhat cheap on occasion, with some of its in-universe oddball celebrity cameos (which are also real-life celebrity cameos) feeling more like people cosplaying as their character rather than fully embodying them. Again, though, this adds to the the flick's purposefully all-encompassing quirkiness. It's just really a well-achieved parody overall, one that manages to make sure its central premise never wears thin. It's a dorky movie celebrating a dorky artist and its joy (both on-screen and behind-the-scenes) is infectious. It takes what Weird Al does to popular music and applies it to his life: the music stays the same, so it's broadly recognisable, but the lyrics all change, so it's something altogether different and far more amusing. It's surprisingly great. - mackenziecheatham - 2 April 2024
A great parody of someone's life
This movie. Weird al. Madonna being the villain. All the greats from the 80's. Actually have weird Al in the movie. JACK BLACK! Conan O'Brien (no words just as Andy Warhol). Like mind blown. Daniel Radcliffe does such an amazing job. Some of the jokes are in your face but some of the jokes are so subtle that you'll definitely need to watch again. Even Rachel wood as Madonna is everything. I was unsure about her role but she was amazing. Daniel Radcliffe was just spectacular to watch. He really brought the silliness in a great way to the screen. And actually seeing weird Al in the film just brought such a wholesomeness to it. It's just a random good "parody film about a guy who brings joy to so many people. - yjnckrhvs - 17 December 2023
Made me laugh a few times
It is pretty humorous. It tastes like his songs really. This movie is an hommage to his parody self I guess.
I like the exaggerated perspective of the narrator. There are 2 sides to a medal and that story is clearly narrated by his side. I get that it's not a « real » story.
My low rating comes from the fact that this just feels like another attention grabber. The format of it all ressembles every streaming service way of making a movie. A few action/gun scenes, a moral, a down point... etc.
I guess what I mean by that is at some point it looked like 3000 other movies before it. All the sets seemed empty, like it was a set, not like as if people were living there. The sound, though being 7.1, was poor in every speaker. The image was clear but greyish and just ordinary.
I watched it in 4K blu-ray and was not impressed by anything in particular. - pmoralesm - 26 December 2022
This escalated quickly
When I start watching i thought this was going to be a real biopic. Oh boy I was freaking wrong.
Obviously it's not a bio pic, it is a weird pic, it start real calmed and escalated very quickly into a weird Al style kind of humor.
If you know at least something of weird Al's work, you will find los of references here and there, like Easter eggs and it is a lot of fun finding them, in fact i got to see this movie again just to do that.
I haven't laugh this hard in a long time, really... The movie gets weirder and weirder by the minute, from weird characters to action scenes, ridiculous situations, and lots of hidden jokes.
If you watch this, try to take it as it is, a freaking funny movie.
Must watch it you like weird Al videos. - beccar-01261 - 6 December 2022
This movie was chefs kiss satire
Order yourselves a pizza, settle down and get ready for the craziest fever dream of your life because we have been blessed by Al yankovic taking us on a wild ride through his personal life and career and we loved every minute of it! I put the movie on not thinking it would be much and god was I wrong, if you want yo laugh your way through and evening this is the way to do it, crazy, silly & fun. Radcliffe was fantastic throughout the film, I will admit I was a bit taken back. He's stared in alot of comedic roles but I would have never pictured him playing this role so well. Give it a watch you won't regret it. - rubellan - 27 November 2022
Keep it short if it's just going to get messy
I am a fan of Weird Al, ever since I heard 'My Bologna' given some attention on Cleveland radio back in 79/80. I even owned the first two LP's in the early 80's. Since then, my fandom has been more when I happen across something Al-related on TV. Although, I did used to love his stints on MTV taking over as ALTV. But there's no question, this isn't really a biopic at all. It appears to have a couple of vague real life experiences wrapped into a work of fiction.
All of that would have been fine... had the final product been worthwhile. Initially, I was amused and curious to see where it would go, but then when we get to the whole Madonna abduction thing, I found myself distracted and soon letting it run in the background, not even sure (or caring) how it ended. Perhaps Al is best served with small segments of time because this one definitely overstayed its welcome. I would have been far more intrigued by an actual biopic. - eddie_baggins - 20 November 2022
A weird and wacky biopic of a weird and wacky legend
A weird and wacky "biopic" befitting of an equally weird and wacky entertainer, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a music bio more in line with the crazy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story than say Walk the Line or Ray, as first time feature director Eric Appel and star Daniel Radcliffe combine forces with Al Yankovic himself to give us one of 2022's more notable comedies.
For anyone seeking a warts and all examination of the rise to super stardom of the accordion playing jokester, Weird is going to be an extremely frustrating experience with Appel's film jam-packed full of deviations, half-truths and outright fabrications that makes the discernment between fact and fiction almost impossible to decipher, as we spend a whirlwind 100 minutes following Yankovic from shy and misunderstood boy through to a stadium playing cultural icon.
Rarely pausing for a breath or bothering to explain itself along the way, Weird see's the one time Harry Potter Radcliffe once more prove his living out one of the most intriguing and enjoyable Hollywood careers, with the performer once more proving he is more than a boy wizard with a committed and fun turn as Yankovic that showcases a whole other side to an actor that has done about all that is possible to give us hard evidence he can just about do it all.
Sporting a look that's instantaneously associated with Yankovic's vibe and Hawaiian shirt sporting persona, it's hard to imagine anyone else doing a better job than Radcliffe at bringing Yankovic to life on screen and surrounded by seasoned professionals such as Julianne Nicholson as Yankovic's mother Mary, Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna and Rainn Wilson as Dr. Demento, Radcliffe rounds out a solid ensemble that also features standout cameos from the likes of Jack Black, Patton Oswalt and Josh Groban.
Amongst all the enjoyable off-kilter moments and wild detours (that includes an extended sequence of a fight against Mexican drug cartels) there are a few moments that Weird doesn't always hit the right note between entertainment and just plain old randomness for the sake of randomness but for the most part it's hard not to enjoy a feature that is trying its best to offer something different in a genre that usually likes to play it as close as it can to the rulebook, with Yankovic himself no doubt proud to prove once more his one of the best in the business at doing things outside of the normal.
Final Say -
Likely to be frustrating to those wanting to know the cold hard facts, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is destined for future cult status as a wild and unpredictable insight into the life, times and imagination of one of the more influential entertainers of the modern era.
3 1/2 destructive celebrations out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guy)
