John C. Reilly has made a career playing interesting characters, but has never really gotten the chance to take the lead. Whether or not that was his decision, he has done a fine job for himself. However with Walk Hard he seems to have put everything together. First off, he can sing, and he does all of his own singing here. Next, he is genuinely funny and can be genuinely serious, and puts both sides to great use here. Lastly, he is an actor more than he is a comedian, allowing him to play up the comedy organically without hamming the scenes up, not to mention eliciting genuine sympathy from the viewer as Cox goes further down the spiral. It may not be the best performance of the year, but it is certainly of a higher caliber than one would expect from a parody film.
Not to be outdone, the supporting cast is excellent. Jenna Fischer steps out of her meek secretary role on The Office and sexes it up as Cox's one true love. Tim Meadows is also quite funny as Cox's enabler and the band's drummer. There are some fantastic cameos, such as Jack White as Elvis, and the Beatles (Jack Black as Paul, Paul Rudd as John, Justin Long as George, and Jason Schwartzman as Ringo).
Bottomline. This is a very funny movie. It is successful at homing in on what usually afflicts this subgenre, while not oversimplifying itself. Just when you thought the quality parody film was dying, someone goes and makes something like this that is pitch perfect. Walk Hard also gives new meaning to the phrase "gratuitous nudity."
Highly Recommended.
Article comments
1 - IngSoc
Dood great review but 3 1/2 stars? easy 4- 4 1/2. Great movie even the old ladies infront of us and the prude looking guy behind us were laughing histericly the whole movie.
2 - Damien
Great review, I'm gonna check it out.