There had by no means been anybody fairly like Bizarre Al Yankovic earlier than the accordion-playing comic got here together with “My Bologna” (for the uninitiated, it’s a parody of The Knack’s 1979 traditional “My Sharona”), a serenade to sandwich-making that turned out to be the catalyst for a decades-long profession that has left an indelible mark on popular culture at massive with Yankovic’s legendary parodies of chart toppers.
Positive, parody has at all times been a component of the leisure trade, however what makes Yankovic’s efforts stand out is how he persistently has managed to be wildly artistic, simply as he by no means depends on resorting to maliciousness to garner laughs.
Naturally, when the time then got here for Yankovic to get the biopic therapy, this clearly needed to be a parody of the biopic style, and very similar to his music is synonymous with unbridled silliness, his biopic after all follows swimsuit with a fast-paced and hilariously nonsensical spoof comedy.
Using the Roku Channel as its platform, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story unsurprisingly needed to be a low price range manufacturing, nonetheless, this isn’t a hindrance in any way, because the movie doesn’t require costly units or places to inform its ludicrous story – in reality, you could even argue that the modest price range is a part of the appeal of the movie.
Equally, the star energy of the movie will seemingly additionally handle to positively shock many viewers.
This isn’t solely when it comes to the seemingly countless parade of cameos – which show precisely how beloved Yankovic is in present enterprise – but additionally with regard to principal stars Daniel Radcliffe and Evan Rachel Wooden clearly having the time of their lives right here.
Daniel Radcliffe continues to dwell his greatest bizarre life as an actor as he throws himself into the function of Yankovic, totally invested within the ridiculous, made-up story with full abandon to his ego and any expectations viewers could have for a way he’ll method portraying the genius jokester from Lynwood, California.
Evan Rachel Wooden additionally manages to amuse along with her tackle Madonna because the femme fatale main Yankovic astray, her story arc each taking part in to stereotypes in regards to the Queen of Pop, in addition to subverting expectations with how her story arc hilariously and unexpectedly culminates.
Completely inconsequential because the story is as a result of narrative being an entire fabrication, it’s nonetheless one of many funniest comedies of the 12 months, to not point out among the best spoof comedies normally in latest reminiscence.
That’s not to say that the movie is ideal by any means.
Across the center of the movie, it does begin to drag considerably and barely lose its steam, however it will definitely picks up the tempo once more, making its 1 hour and 48 minutes go by sooner than most movies of that period do.
One other concern is that whereas the movie has largely left attendees at preview screenings howling with laughter, Bizarre Al Yankovic is finally the sort of comic whose humor you both love or detest, which means your mileage could fluctuate with how humorous you’ll really discover this BS biopic.
Some will discover its diploma of silliness and full refusal to be severe for even a second to be too excessive, and one inevitably has to seek out Yankovic amusing normally to have the ability to benefit from the movie totally.
Nevertheless, if one considers oneself a fan of Yankovic’s humor, WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story will ship a relentless barrage of foolish jokes that largely land, makes one suppose fondly again on the numerous iconic parodies Yankovic has concocted via the many years, and – most significantly – respect that nobody is protected from getting spoofed by Bizarre Al Yankovic, not even Bizarre Al Yankovic himself.
Verdict: 8 out of 10
WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story is presently streaming on Roku
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Produced by “Bizarre Al” Yankovic, Eric Appel, Mike Farah, Joe Farrell,
Whitney Hodack, Tim Headington, Lia Buman, Max Silva
Written by “Bizarre Al” Yankovic, Eric Appel
Primarily based on Bizarre: The Al Yankovic Story
by Humorous or Die and Eric Appel
Directed by Eric Appel
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wooden, Rainn Wilson,
Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, Quinta Brunson
