Starring John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig, Tim Meadows, Matt Besser, Chris Parnell
Written By: Jake Kasdan, Judd Apatow
Directed By: Jake Kasdan
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
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Walk Hard is a movie that didn’t seem to get the recognition it deserved like other Judd Apatow movies. I think this movie shouldn’t be over looked because it didn’t do well at the box office. While Walk Hard isn’t always a laugh out loud movie, it’s certainly a funny movie that will still get many Apatow fans laughing.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is about legendary rocker Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly), as we follow him on his roller coaster, rock ‘n’ roll life. Dewey started out by having his Father hate him for what he did in the past, but then he tried to move on by playing blues rock and country. No one in his town approved of his music so he moved away with his then girlfriend (Kristen Wiig) and got discovered for his talent. He then skyrockets to super stardom, and being friends with the likes of Elvis and The Beatles. Then he gets caught up with every drug imaginable, screwing hot women left & right as his first wife takes care of all their babies. One day he meets a new girl Darlene (Jenna Fischer) that sings a duet with him and he falls in love with her. But the rocker that he is, he messes things up with his continuing use of drugs and groupies. Dewey Cox then goes off into different genres of music and gets into weird phases. There’s really not much else to really tell ya, since I probably already spoiled too much.

Walk Hard is a great spoof on musician biopics like ‘Walk The Line,’ ‘Ray’ and is slightly similar to films like ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ and other Christoper Guest type of movies. The comedy is done in a subtle way like those movies, that’s why I bring them up. It’s not made as a documentary though so that’s the biggest difference. I think John C. Reilly did a good job with his role of Dewey Cox, and I can’t see too many other people playing Dewey Cox. I guess I could see Will Ferrell playing it but then again, I’m sure he would have turned the character into one of his usual characters. I’m sure Will can’t sing and play guitar as well as John C. Reilly though. In support of this movie before it opened, John C. Reilly went on a brief tour to a few cities to play as Dewey Cox and I thought that was a genius thing to do. I’m not sure it helped in the end, but I’m sure it was fun to see. The supporting cast of the movie was great as well, and the movie included two celebrity crushes of mine: Jenna Fischer and Kristen Wiig. I like that Jenna Fischer is getting more movie roles now and breaking away from her Pam role on the Office. Tim Meadows was really funny as Dewey’s drummer, and kept trying to dissuade Dewey to not take the drugs he was taking…And VERY poorly might I add! The cameos were hit or miss for me but for the most I liked the ones from Jack White as Elvis and Paul Rudd/Jack Black/Justin Long/Jason Schwartzman as the Beatles.

I think the best part of the movie wasn’t the acting or anything, but the actual music written for the movie. I think my favorite song was songs like “Let’s Duet,” where there was a lot hidden innuendos to sex. I liked the song about midgets, the coked-up punk version of one of the songs, and Dewey’s weird, experimental music in his later years. Dewey Cox’s music certainly spoofs bands & musicians like Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, The Beatles and many more. I think the reason why the music works so much is because John C. Reilly can actually sing. I knew it was only a matter time before he sang in one of his movie roles. Reilly has a few songs off the pirate shanty concept album ‘Rogue’s Gallery,’ so that’s why I knew he’d have a singing part one of these days. His singing voice actually sounds like Loudon Wainwright III a little.

The 2-disc unrated edition has more scenes added into the movie, and a lot more extras than the normal DVD does. On the first disc, you have both the theatrical movie and the underrated movie. I started to watch the theatrical edition by mistake. I didn’t realize it didn’t automatically played the uncut first so watch out for that. The 2nd disc has full versions of songs, a Christmas song by Dewey, deleted & extended scenes and lots more. My favorite featurette besides the Making Of was “line-o-rama” because it was everyone doing different versions of lines. It’s always funny to me to see what else they come up with.

This is definitely the DVD edition that fans of the movie will want to have. The 2 disc edition contains both versions of the movie, plus a whole disc of extras. I thought the movie was a good spoof on musician biopics and musicians. I think this movie is one that needs to be watched multiple times to be truly appreciated. Also, if you like the movie, be sure to get the soundtrack as well!

Features:
Disc 1 Includes:
– Deleted & Extended Scenes
– 8 Full Song Performances
– Line-O-Rama
– The Music of Walk Hard
– The Real Dewey Cox
– Commentary with Jake Kasdan, Judd Apatow, John C. Reilly and Lew Morton

Exclusive to this 2-Disc Edition:
– Extended Footage Not Seen in Theaters
– More Deleted & Extended Scenes
– 8 Additional Full Song Performances
– A Christmas Song From Dewey Cox
– Cox Sausage Commercial with Outtakes
– Song Demos
– The Making of Walk Hard
– The Last Word with John Hodgman
– And More!Widescreen 2.40:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC

Video:
Widescreen 2.40:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:
English, Spanish, French

Favorite Scenes: Loved the club where Dewey got recognized, the coked up punk song, the beatles cameo, elvis cameo, the midget song
Rating: NR
Running Time: 216 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: