Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) Movie Review

Comedy is the most subjective idea that exists and yet somehow Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story finds a way to be completely and utterly hilarious from beginning to end. With a widely varied arsenal of jokes, gags, and situational humor, this film comes out on top as Jake Kasdan’s greatest exercise in well executed directing and one of Judd Apatow’s finest writing efforts. This smartly crafted comedy is a product of everyone who is involved being at the top of their game.

From the second that Tim Meadows appears from the shadows, as an elderly drummer, and says that Dewey Cox (John C. Reily) needs to think about his entire life before he plays to the last image we see of the “actual Dewey Cox,” there are more laughs than you can shake a stick at. Typically, a film of this nature, a biopic farce, would quickly run out of jokes and lose its magic somewhere in the second act. Not Walk Hard. It keeps the laughs coming from every direction and even when a joke is used multiple times, it’s altered in a perfect way to still be smart and funny.

The film tells the story of Dewey Cox, who lives a remarkably similar life to that of Johnny Cash, his rise to fame, his tragic fall, and his ascent to happiness. The story stays simple and doesn’t get in the way of the humor. Instead, the ensuing hilarity propels and guides the story. Where so many comedies go wrong and enforce a storyline that takes away from the laugh inducing ammunition, Walk Hard stays organic and doesn’t try to be something that it’s not. Granted, some stuff is absolutely ridiculous but it works because the story and tone allow it to. For instance, one of the funnier bits in the first act is when John C. Reily makes the absurd claim that he’s only fourteen years old. His character is fourteen but having an actor with an anything but baby face say such a thing is a piece of gold. And when the soon to be Mrs. Edith Cox (Kristen Wiig) makes the same claim, it continues to work. Being the smart writers that Apatow and Kasdan are, they use this kind of joke sparingly and make sure that it’s funny every time. Although the film does run a tad long, especially for a comedy, you spend so much time having a laugh that it flies by.

In the case of this film, the R rating is well deserved and serves as an excellent grab bag of sometimes risqué, sometimes filthy, and always sidesplitting fun that will leave you breathless from laughter. I could go on but I wouldn’t dream of spoiling all of the magic.

All of the actors are sensational. Their natural humor and improvisational skills make the film something special. The script is already genius but actors were still encouraged to venture out into their own territory and see what they could bring to the table and you get to see how big that pays off in a multitude of scenes. John C. Reily, Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, Matt Besser, Jenna Fischer, and Kristen Wiig accompanied by an onslaught of cameos from such actors as Jonah Hill, Jack White, Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Jason Schwartzmen, Justin Long, and Frankie Muniz make this an unforgettable picture that will restore your faith in comedy. How they are all able to deliver such uncanny performances with straight faces is beyond comprehension.

The soundtrack is surprisingly strong as well. For newly written rock songs to coincide with particular decades, they are actually quite good and you will find yourself humming or singing them while you’re out in the world. John C. Reily is the only actor to be featured on the soundtrack and his voice couldn’t fit the part any better. Upon hearing Reily’s lesser known ability to properly use his pipes, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him asked to do more singing somewhere down the road—whether it be for acting purposes or to actually be featured in songs.

Walk Hard is one of the freshest comedies to be delivered in recent years. It breaks unique ground by focusing on the music industry and taking surprisingly accurate jabs at an already highly amusing area of the entertainment world. You’ll develop a love for Cox as you watch him sleep with 411 women, marry three times, have 22 kids and 14 step-kids, have his own 1970s television show, and get addicted to and ultimately quit every drug known to man. Without a doubt, this film will put some knee-slapping pep in your step and cause you to walk in a whole new way—hard.