Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

R 6.8
2007 1 hr 36 min Drama , Comedy , Music

Following a childhood tragedy, Dewey Cox follows a long and winding road to music stardom. Dewey perseveres through changing musical styles, an addiction to nearly every drug known and bouts of uncontrollable rage.

  • Cast:
    John C. Reilly , Jenna Fischer , Raymond J. Barry , Kristen Wiig , Tim Meadows , Harold Ramis , Frankie Muniz

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Reviews

Ensofter
2007/12/21

Overrated and overhyped

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FeistyUpper
2007/12/22

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

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UnowPriceless
2007/12/23

hyped garbage

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Baseshment
2007/12/24

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

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Neddy Merrill
2007/12/25

Some interesting decisions here from Judd Apatow and company. They start with just the essential choice to parody a modestly well-know music biography - "Walk the Line" which had come out only 2 years prior. Unlike "Spaceballs", the Mel Brooks parody of perhaps the most famous films of all time and one rife for satire likely the vast majority of film-goers won't even catch most of the allusions to Johnny Cash's story such as the death of his brother who haunted him his whole life. Also, Cash's name continues to carry artistic cache unlike a John Denver or even Elvis Presley so some viewers may have found themselves offended by the send-up of Cash's life story. Another interesting choice involves using a script made up of only jokes until the final 10-15 minutes of run-time when the film becomes very sentimental finishing on an incongrously uplifting final performance of a legitimate tune. The strategy seemed to be to launch one joke after another with the idea that enough will land to make the overall experience funny. While there is some sophisticated humor (Dewey's first wife played by Kristen Wiig promises to support his muscial career no matter what before nearly instantly trying to get a legitimate job for him in a slaughterhouse even after he has become wildly sucessful), for the most part - including the actual name of the film - it is a long series of racial, scatalogical, and genital jokes. There are many Python-esque absurdist moments as well particularly focused on fourth-wall breaking (much is made of John C. Reily playing Dewey at 14, 19, and 21). In short, probrably more of a party movie for groups enjoying some inerbriates.

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Prismark10
2007/12/26

Walk Hard is a parody of musical biopics such as Ray and Walk the Line. Dewey Cox is mostly based on Johnny Cash.Dewey Cox (John C Reilly) is a poor farm boy growing up in Alabama. In 1946 as a child, Dewey accidentally chops his brother Nate in half with a machete while they were playing. You knew this would happen as his brother took part in dangerous activities while proclaiming he would live to a ripe old age.This incident causes a rift with his father who keeps telling Dewey that the wrong son died and Dewey loses his sense of smell.As a teenager, Dewey gains notoriety for playing the devil's music and he leaves town to make his own way at the age of 14 with his 12 year old girlfriend Edith (Kristen Wiig.)Dewey gets his big break in a black nightclub where they play music to have sex to, as Dewey replaces the main singer at the last minute. The Hasidic Jewish record executives at the show get him an audition with a record producer where Dewey suddenly pulls out a hit song.As the years go by Dewey tries to deal with his childhood trauma by taking a wide variety of drugs even though his drummer pleads with him not to try them. He also never pays for the drugs.Dewey has an affair with his backing singer Darlene (Jenna Fischer) who he marries while still being married to Edith. Dewey later finds out he had lots of children.As tastes change Dewey tries different musical genres to stay relevant, there is even a trippy, hippy animated pert in India with the Beatles.Written by Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan, this is one of the better spoofs as it tries to be fresh and avoid lazy retreads which a lot of post Zucker Abrahams Zucker parodies has done.Reilly is very convincing as Dewey Cox because he plays it straight, you would actually think Dewey is a real country music star which is actually alluded to in the post credit sequence.The Beatles sequence with the bad scouse accents was the most fun. It certainly is an entertainingly silly spoof and there are a lot of star cameos.

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Jackson Booth-Millard
2007/12/27

I knew this film was a film about the music industry, and I knew the leading actor, but that it is really, it sounded like a biography kind of film, maybe with some laughs in it, but I was pleasantly surprised when I watched and found out it was both. Basically singer Dewey Cox (Golden Globe nominated John C. Reilly) since childhood has no sense of smell, this is due to the trauma of accidentally cutting his brother Nate with a machete, and since then his father Pa Cox (Raymond J. Barry) constantly tells him "the wrong son died", but one day sent out by his mother Ma Cox (Margo Martindale) he finds something to aspire to. Meeting an Old Bluesman (David 'Honeyboy' Edwards) he plays a guitar and is a natural, and he wants to be a professional singer, at fourteen years old he gets his first break with a controversial song outside of Springberry, and he meets twelve year old girlfriend Edith (Kristen Wiig). The couple soon marry and have a baby together, she criticises Dewey that he will not achieve his dream to make it big, but he gets his chance when replacing singer Bobby Shad (Craig Robinson) at the last minute on stage, and he meets Hasidic Jewish record executives who want him to join them. He records a rockabilly version of "That's Amore", but one of them brands him talentless, but he has a brainwave when having a conversation with Edith, and he writes and performs his own song "Walk Hard", and it quickly becomes a big hit, and he enjoys the newfound rock and roll lifestyle. Dewey does also get introduced to marijuana by drummer Sam (Tim Meadows), and every time we see him with a new drug that he says he "doesn't want to be part of", he takes it, and through his excessive drug taking his attitude changes, and he is unfaithful to his wife, and worse comes when his Pa tells him that his Ma has died, and he gets him to believe it was his fault. He still has his personal demons to battle with, including cocaine consumption, and tries changing music styles, but then he meets backup singer Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer), and together they make songs that become big hits, and in the process that become attracted to each other, and still married to Edith the new couple marry, of course this makes women leave him. Dewey ends up arrested for the purchase of drugs from an undercover cop, serves his time in jail, and goes through rehabilitation, and reformed at the beginning of the 1960's he starts making protest songs for campaigns such as the discrimination of dwarfs, and his new style is compared to Bob Dylan, he angrily denies his. Visiting India Dewey and his band take LSD with The Beatles - John Lennon (Paul Rudd), Paul McCartney (Jack Black), Ringo Starr (Jason Schwartzman) and George Harrison (Justin Long), which causes Dewey to experience a Yellow Submarine style hallucination, and he becomes obsessed with creating a music masterpiece, and the others despise his consistent abusive behaviour, so they break up, and Darlene leaves him again. He goes through rehab again, and there he is visited by the ghost of his brother Older Nate (Jonah Hill) who tells him to stop pitying himself and write songs again, and in the 1970's hosting a variety show, and doesn't get on with writing any songs, but Nate returns to tell him he needs to tell Pa he loves him. Pa and him look like they are reconciling, but it turns into a fight with machetes, and his father ends up cutting himself in half, but he forgives his son before he dies, and the death causes a breakdown, but when he gets over it he knows he must spend time with his numerous children. In 1992 Darlene returns to Dewey, and realising the importance of family rather than musical success he suddenly gains back his sense of smell, and moving to the year 2007 he has gained a new fan base with "Walk Hard" being sampled by a rapper, he is at first upset by this, but he is made with receiving a lifetime achievement award, and he finally fulfils his dream of a masterpiece song, "Beautiful Ride", apparently Dewey died three minutes after performing it. Also starring Harold Ramis as L'Chaim, Chris Parnell as Theo, Jack White as Elvis Presley, David Krumholtz as Schwartzberg, Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly, The Hangover's Ed Helms as Stage Manager and Jane Lynch as Gail the Television Reporter. Reilly gives a really funny performance as the up and down and up again singer in numerous genres, mostly country, folk and rock, but he also proves he can actually sing and belts out some catchy tunes, the supporting cast members mock the stereotypical characters well also. This was obviously made after the last few years bringing out well received and awarded music based biopic films, such as Ray and Walk the Line, so this both celebrates and mocks those true life based stories, with some jokey songs and a well-crafted script mocking typical dialogue and moments in those dramas, a really funny and enjoyable musical comedy. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for the title song, also nominated the Grammy for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Very good!

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talemunja
2007/12/28

At beginning of movie i thought this is great parody. The moment older 'kid' appear i see disaster."Humor" was more tasteless as movie continues. Bored by watching it, i wait patiently to see development but all i see was pathetic try of this movie to pass as "funny parody".-Instead to bring audience into funny world of our hero-they presented him as "big shoot" who somehow know what to do but do "funny" stuff. Just remember Leslie Nielsen: He' never egoistic, he try his best but always make disaster-that's funny! Our "hero" in this movie is egoistic, he is infantile, treats his wife bad, do orgy, penises appear on screen which is absolutely unnecessary and unforgettable from family point of view. -Like someone try to bring you giggle with tease when you are bounded. This film is so annoying.

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