#Weird al yankovic and julia sweeney for free#
#Weird al yankovic and julia sweeney movie#

I mentioned to Rae – not only was she game for watching Weird with me, she also sat through UHF, Yankovic’s 1989 comedy, in preparation (she was not a fan) – that Yankovic did actually record his demo of My Bologna, his parody of My Sharona, in a bathroom. There are tidbits – which I only know because I’m a fan – of veracity sprinkled throughout Weird. So, what can we trust as true in this non-fiction biopic that’s also a zany spoof of the genre in the vein of the Naked Gun movies? Very little. Al’s fashion sense and groundbreaking musical ambitions to “make up new words to a song that already exists” is beyond shameful in his father’s eyes. Little Alfred was encouraged by his mother to “stop being who you are and doing what you love' in order to keep the peace.Įven better in this over-the-top sequence of foundational childhood trauma – a staple for biopics – is the swelling emotional orchestral score as Al’s father, in a rage, discovers his son’s extensive collection of Hawaiian shirts. Nick Yankovic would never allow a “devil’s squeezebox” into his home. Within the first ten minutes of Weird, we learn that Yankovic’s father so hated what he considered the evil music his young son had fallen in love with, that he savagely beat a door-to-door accordion salesman.

#Weird al yankovic and julia sweeney for free#

I knew something was up when Yankovic himself appeared in an introductory video before the film – which is streaming for free on the Roku channel – talking about the “totally 100% true, not at all made up biopic” I was about to see. I had zero idea of what I was in for besides the fact that it was about Yankovic’s life and career. I somehow managed to avoid seeing the trailer for Weird even once before I screened the movie. What Weird brings to the party is the fact that it’s a parody/spoof of the music biopic genre that’s about a real-life musician instead of a fictional character. (Yankovic appeared in a cameo for the short film, as he does in the feature.) Walk Hard was co-written and produced by Judd Apatow, who has ties to the Will Ferrell co-created Funny or Die.

#Weird al yankovic and julia sweeney movie#

The latter was based on a short film, in the style of a movie trailer, that Eric Appel made in 2010 for, and published at, the comedy website that he was working for at the time, Funny or Die. There’s another minor connection between Walk Hard and Weird. (All four of the actors playing the Beatles are in top form, but Paul Rudd as John Lennon is transcendently funny.)

(“ The wrong kid died!”) That 2007 film was a hilarious sendup of the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, while also spoofing plenty of other musicians and musical styles for good measure. Weird is a spiritual cousin to Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. The territory has been so well-worn at this point that parodying it is the easiest way to mine fresh, original ideas from it.Įven the parody version of the music biopic has been done. The structure and formula for these kinds of films has seemed to calcify in the last couple of decades. I feel for people trying to write and produce straightforward, sincere music-legend biopics these days. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, since I was clearly in the tank for it from frame one, but Weird is the goofiest, most ridiculous, funniest comedy of the year. The new film, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, directed by comedy writer and filmmaker Eric Appel, in his feature debut, is an absolute hoot. (The last one I obtained was 2006’s Straight Outta Lynwood, so I’m missing 2011’s Alpocalypse and 2014’s Mandatory Fun.)Īll that to say I might not be the most impartial judge of a movie about – and co-written by – Yankovic. My music collection contains every album from the most successful and famous parody-song artist of all time, save two. I will never stop, though, because I am a lifelong 'Weird Al' Yankovic fan. – my wife rolls her eyes and threatens to divorce me. Every time this happens – and I mean every.

They might be lyrics about making prank phone calls when the song is really about chasing waterfalls. They might be lyrics about the Star Wars character Yoda, when the song is actually about a woman named Lola. Every time I hear one of a select group of pop hits from the last 40 years, I start singing the wrong words.