Some films take themselves way too seriously. This is not one of them. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story tells the life story of the greatest rock star who never lived. John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, Boogie Nights), plays the title role, from the first time he straps on his guitar as a 14-year-old at the high school talent show to his senior years living on the ranch and pushing Cox sausages. After many roles in the shadow of bigger comedic stars, Reilly shows he can carry the leading man role with aplomb, and he has the vocal chops to pull off the surprisingly enjoyable original music featured in the film.
Speaking of songs, the powerful title tune, penned by Marshall Crenshaw, will stick in your head for days, and other numbers, which range from rockabilly to crooner rock to folk rock to country to punk successfully "walk the line" between parody and earnestness. I'd actually consider buying the soundtrack – it's that good.
The film itself, co-written and directed by Jake Kasdan and co-written and produced by zeitgeist wunderkind Judd Apatow (Superbad), zips through Cox's life at a brisk pace, with plenty of cheap shots around the singer's last name but quite a bit of genuine laugh-out-loud good humor. One scene that stands out is Dewey and his band's trip to India where they share meditation (and a bad acid trip) with the Beatles. The Beatles are perfectly cast, with the odd exception of Jack Black as Paul McCartney (although maybe this is intentional). The casting has surprisingly few misfires, with SNL alums Tim Meadows and Chris Parnell (along with Matt Besser) turning in strong performances as Dewey's band-mates, Kristen Wiig as his first wife, and Jenna Fischer (The Office) as his second.
On the Blu-ray disc, the film is presented in two versions, the theatrical cut (96 minutes) and the "Unbearably Long Self-Indulgent Director's Cut" (120 minutes). You'll find the selection of which version of the film to watch on Disc 1 in the "Special Features" section. Those extra 24 minutes include extended scenes and extended musical numbers, most of which don't appear even in the "deleted and extended scenes" section of the special features disc. The film works either way, but if you dig the original, then give the extended version a try – it'll give you an additional 24 minutes in the singer's rich and varied fake life.
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