Movie Review: Weird – The Al Yankovic Story
One-liner: This aptly weird, somewhat psychedelic and exuberantly wacky music biopic comedy spoof almost derails, compelled by a full tilt lead performance.
Weird Al Yankovic is the king of pop music parodies, a comedian whose knack for reimagining some of the biggest hits with quirky alternative lyrics has made him world famous. While Yankovic’s fame crested in the infancy of YouTube and around the same time MTV was dominating youth culture, he’s remained on the fringe – a nostalgic throwback and an iconic satirist with a musical bent.
So what do you do when the world has turned and left you behind? You make a biopic. Using the word loosely, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story decides to spoof the man with a movie that ventures into the realm of action, comedy, crime and musical. While very little is actually known of Yankovic’s private life, making him a bit of an enigma, perhaps his upbringing was unremarkable. Taking the opportunity to remix his life’s story, Yankovic presents what seems like a warped, exaggerated and borrowed version of events.
The title Weird: The Al Yankovic Story should already give viewers a clue about the nature of this tell-all. Playing into the standard convention of a biopic where the subject often isn’t famous enough to get a reference movie title like Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman, the film sets about creating a sketchy-at-best retelling. While warped, the tonal quality rings true for Yankovic’s unique sense of humour, lampooning his persona and celebrity culture of the age with a steady undercurrent of self-deprecation.
At the helm of this project is Eric Appel, who co-wrote the script with “Weird Al”. Best known for directing sitcoms such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Silicon Valley, there’s a good comedy synergy at play between the duo. Having a smattering of writing credits to his name, it does seem as though Yankovic was given creative freedom and more control over the screenplay. While having the man behind the story also behind the wheel makes this a signature effort, it could have worked better with a more experienced screenwriter in the backseat.
Daniel Radcliffe is the actor charged with trying to get into the shoes… or shall we say hair of “Weird Al”. The Harry Potter star has done everything in his power to break type over the last decade and continues this streak. The two are far from similar but share a penchant for weird with Radcliffe’s star power adding another layer to the film’s appeal. He grabs the role like an accordion and operates with reckless abandon and pure conviction. Leaning into the comedy and having fun with every moment, Al Yankovic’s playful exuberance lives in him.
Radcliffe is a one-man band of sorts in Weird but has a few regulars with Evan Rachel Wood, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson and Rainn Wilson. Wood fulfills a layered casting call as a strong counterpoint to Yankovic and riff on a height-of-her-fame Madonna. Huss is a force as Yankovic’s cantankerous father. Nicholson plays it straight, landing some of the film’s funniest moments without flinching, while Wilson adds presence, offbeat magic and wacky charm as Dr Demento.
“…okay if I ham it up?”
A circus of sorts, Weird plays host to many celebrity comedy oddballs including: Thomas Lennon and Will Forte with a few choice cameos from Jack Black, Patton Oswalt, Michael McKean, Seth Green, Josh Groban and Conan O’Brien. In a moment that shows you just how different they are, Weird Al gets a funny opportunity to play opposite his movie self in an ironic Bohemian Rhapsody style exec stand-off.
Starting from Yankovic’s supposed childhood, we get a deliberately overcooked rendition that starts in a semi-serious fashion and steadily amplifies the nuttiness. This is reminiscent of the equally colourful, ludicrous and self-indulgent The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, in which Nicolas Cage starred in a movie about himself and opposite himself.
According to Weird, the Yankovic family were ruled by a patriarchal blue collar worker who would not tolerate music. Naturally, the boy does everything in his power to become a virtuoso at playing the accordion, which is paralleled with an electric guitar and embedded within the cool of rock music at the time. An origin story, Yankovic’s discovery of his uncanny ability to spoof pop music is unveiled and snippets of where song ideas came from abound in all their glory.
Much like Napoleon Dynamite, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is one of those offbeat comedy movies that will probably divide audiences. Tapping into a specific sense of silly, the film’s sense of humour is wacky and toys with music biopic and rockumentary tropes. Much like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, you’ve got to be in on the joke and have a reasonable understanding of the formula that’s being plucked. As funny as Weird is, it more than lives up to its title as the faux biopic veers into The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent territory.
There’s much to appreciate in Weird as one becomes accustomed to the film’s quirky tone, which takes a few scenes to unlock. Once you get it, the scenes begin to flow with a sense of gleeful lunacy – trying to harness Yankovic’s essence. As laugh-out-loud hilarious as it gets in its stony-faced and full-blown absurdity, it’s difficult to sustain as Weird latches onto it inverse concept around Yankovic’s celebrity and music dynasty.
The movie starts with aplomb but gets sidetracked by the queen of pop, who becomes a poison chalice to the iconic “Weird Al”. A funny idea, it becomes a case of wish fulfillment as the fantasy romance and dark night of the soul rockumentary vibes unpicks all the upbeat fun that came before. Weird constantly aims to entertain with its fever dream imagination but the disconnect widens as a romantic interest turned odd power couple takes root and attempts to hijack the “Weird Al” show.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a hoot. The movie’s strengths are its spoof music biopic concept, ability to tap into the essence of “Weird Al” and its campy charm as a proud outsider. Daniel Radcliffe may not be a spitting image but channels Yankovic’s nutty energy in a committed lead performance. While the story does get bogged down in a surreal haze that screams Nic Cage, it charges ahead without a care in the world. Testament to Yankovic’s superpower of being whoever the hell he wants to be, the detour diminishes the movie’s overall connectivity but crosses the finish line with wacky flair as the movie threatens to self-implode.
The bottom line: Fun
