Because whether a biopic is good, bad or outright terrible, they all follow the same formula. And Walk Hard, a brilliantly constructed parody of the acclaimed 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, captures and skewers that formula flawlessly.
Walk Hard works as both a parody and a biopic. The acting is spot-on, and the film even contains a double album’s worth of original songs. On the surface it looks and sounds like an Oscar-bait darling, while also being genuinely funny along the way.
In his first lead role, John C. Reilly is transcendent. He’s swaggering and silly and charismatic and ridiculous. Most importantly, he’s believable. He didn’t just play the role; he fully embodied the character. Reilly’s a surprisingly great singer; he played all the songs himself and even went on a real-life tour. He hits every joke and also every feeling – the result is equal parts poignant and hilarious.
In addition to Reilly’s brilliant performance, we are treated to an array of outstanding turns from some of Hollywood’s funniest people. Jenna Fisher gives a pitch-perfect send up of Reese Witherspoon’s Oscar-winning role in Walk the Line (the bizarre sex scene between Fisher and Reilly is truly something to behold), Margo Martindale is fantastic as Dewey’s sympathetic mother, and Tim Meadows is a constant scene stealer as Dewey’s drummer and drug dealer.
Walk Hard hits every beat of the classic musical biopic and, incredibly, lays out the blueprint that biopics continue to follow to this very day. From a tragic childhood, to learning the blues from a kindly neighbour and proving immediately prodigious, to a foundation-shaking debut concert (Dewey’s debut doesn’t just have them dancing in the aisles – it leads to violent rebellion, women ripping their tops off, priests decrying sacrilege, and a full-on mob with pitchforks). Dewey discovers alcohol, then an increasingly dangerous selection of harder drugs. He goes to jail and rehab, all the while changing music forever with his genius artistic brain. And, of course, it ends with a final spectacular moment of rapture and redemption, a la Freddie Mercury’s Live Aid performance in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Though it opened to middling reviews at the time, the pioneering shadow of Walk Hard looms large over 21st-century cinema – for as long as they keep churning out movies chronicling the lives of influential musicians, one will remain the most influential of all: Dewey Cox.
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