Why You Can't Trust Hollywood - A Superfan's Review of WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story

Thomas Edison produced the first biopic execution of Mary Queen of Scots way back in 1895 truly a riveting 20 seconds George Milius proved the genre could set the world on fire in 1900 with Jean De Arc at some point they realized not every biographical film had to be about a famous woman being publicly executed in 1927 The Jazz Singer added synchronized sound with the moving pictures it also laid out the broad Strokes of what would later become the music biopic thankfully all the you know blackface didn't stick around for long wait a minute wait a minute you ain't heard nothing yet over the last 95 years they've made a lot of biographical films often to Commercial and critical success biopics about musicians are especially popular it's essentially a safe bet for a studio the soundtrack is made up entirely of proven popular songs and audiences that don't typically pay to watch characters spontaneously break into song and dance don't seem to realize they're actually paying to see musicals regardless of whether the film is about a famous politician activist criminal business person criminal business person artist or performer they all have one thing in common they're filled with propaganda exaggeration Scandal and outright lies the biopic is a genre ripe for mockery and who better to poke fun at the film industry's misrepresentation of history for the sake of dramatic interpretation to explore the very meaning of exploitation to make us question why we prefer the made-up Legend of a real world struggles to plunge into the depths of human depravity in the pursuit of art to answer the essential question of why we tell the stories we do than the man who's built his legacy poking fun at pop culture for 40 years who better than Weird Al Yankovic eat it in 2010 Erica Pell was a head writer for Funny or Die an online video Enterprise launched by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay he'd just done a trailer for an imaginary film that crossed Willy Wonka with the saw franchise he was inspired by the recent Biggie Smalls biopic notorious notoriously indulged in inaccuracies about the life of Christopher Wallace what if they took that to the next level choosing a living celebrity and making a trailer that's an obvious fabrication Appel decided the famously nice and Scandal absent Weird Al would be a perfect fit so we asked Patton Oswalt to ask Al if he'd be okay with it moments later Al is both giving his Blessing and asking if he can be involved by that evening Appel was meeting Al for the first time and brainstorming ideas starring breaking bad's Aaron Paul the trailer also features Olivia Wilde as Madonna Patton Oswald as Dr Demento Gary Cole as Al's father Nick and Academy Award winner Mary steenbergen as Al's mother Mary for years it played at Weird Al concerts and people began demanding to see the film Alan Eric were content with what it was a sketch that milked the joke for less than three minutes even though Aaron Paul and Olivia Wilde expressed interest there were too many doubts as to how they could sustain the joke for an hour and a half then in 2019 Al sent Appel an email that cryptically said it's time while other Studios rejected the project Roku saw potential a streaming service has very little to lose issuing a micro budget to a star with a built-in fan base little did they know it would become a festival darling and get the Toronto International Film festival's coveted audience Choice Award beside Steven Spielberg's own semi-autobiographical film The fablemans the trepidation is understandable Erica Pell is known for web videos and TV episodes he was going into this project with zero feature film experience and Al's first film UHF might be considered a cult classic today but it was a disappointment at release after its screen tested higher than any other film in Orion's history the studio thought they had a bona fide hit on their hands before release offers were made for a multi picture deal but Al's longtime manager Jay Levy who also co-wrote directed and played Gandhi in the film thought it would be wise to wait until the box office receipts came in unfortunately when they did prospects vanished you try competing with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Ghostbusters 2 Honey I Shrunk the Kids Lethal Weapon 2 license to Kill When Harry Met Sally do the right thing and Batman oh and up weakened at Bernie's after impressing with stunning performances of offbeat Music in my opinion is the cleverest and funniest man of the 20th century and I just he's kind of my hero there's antimony arsenic aluminum selenium and hydrogen and oxygen nitrogen and uranium and Nickelodeon neptunium germanium ruthenium uranium Europa zirconium Vanadium Anthony radium and golden protest [Music] Blackalicious Alphabet Aerobics that would be one perfected poem powerful punchlines pummeling Petty powder Pops in my Prime quite quite close keep quiet it's Quantum Coral isn't got a quarter water we gotta Daniel Radcliffe was cast as a Bizarro Weird Al Green Wilson is part Dr Demento and part Jack Horner from Boogie Nights and Evan Rachel Wood plays Madonna as though she were a sociopathic Bond villain other standout performances include Toby Huss and Julia Nicholson as Al's parents Richard Aaron Anderson and David Bloom as young and teenage Al and Spencer Treat Clark Jack Lancaster and Tommy O'Brien as the band I mean there are so many others to discuss but not until you've had a chance to see the movie two fun facts Aaron Paul had a planned cameo in the film but on the scheduled day he tested positive for covid Patton Oswalt was meant to reprise his role as Dr Demento but he broke his foot two weeks before shooting began Rayne Wilson got an email from Al on Thursday asking what he was doing on Monday he got the part on Saturday and on Monday morning they were filming one of his biggest seeds weird the Al Yankovic story has a singular storytelling style comparisons to walk Hard the Dewey Cox Story or a futile and stupid gesture are fine but neither has the right Vibe there's evidence of both Al's music video roots and appel's web short experience but this is a far more cinematic experience this is a competent movie with a more engaging story than UHF this isn't a Relentless gagarama at least not from the onset and though the world of the film seems birthed from Mel Brooks and the Zucker Brothers in it's populated by Oscar caliber actors giving grounded heartbreaking performances perhaps the best comparison might be Drunk History the movie if that existed but there's no one burping puking or passing out it's just a reckless disregard for history with Rye clever often silly humor in terms of Al's career the best I can offer is the unfortunate Return of the ridiculously self-indulgent ill-advised vanity tour the concert series first appeared in 2018 and made its return for the six months leading up to the film's release and in some ways the concept is similar what isn't comparable is the fact in the live shows Al plays none of the parodies just deep cuts b-sides and Rarities there are no costume changes videos or elaborate set pieces but what is in the same spirit is what you get in exchange intimacy a surprise set list Al's take on someone else's songs and an entry point into his unfilter uncut comedy sensibilities it's a Showcase of his vocal talent and the band's versatility and musicianship most importantly instead of pandering to a large crowd of flyby Knights these shows are handcrafted for the fans it isn't for everyone and nothing worthwhile ever tries to be the film plays best in a theater packed with super fans our pre-existing knowledge of Yankovic's life expertise so trivial and sweeping has to be a little scary enhances the experience our knowledge of the deep Cuts brings out the texture and flavor of every punchline at the same time a viewer with little to no understanding but a good sense of humor and a willingness to laugh will likely like what they see just don't be put off by the stunt casting and cameos those people are there because they love Al and will do anything for him let go of your rational mind expectations and need to fact check just sit in the dark let this movie wash over you and engage in childlike wonder and playfulness you're gonna have an incredible time this is every phase of owl firing off on all cylinders Radcliffe is playing the owl of the 80s and 90s stack the top the demented Prodigy and infused with the humor of the Elder Statesman it's a punk rock satire that puts cigarettes out on the face of pop culture and I loved every second of it okay so maybe you want some context for Al's actual life before you see the film or maybe you've seen it and want someone to separate fact from fiction don't sweat it I've been preparing my whole life for this moment I'm about to tell you just to Weird Al Yankovic really is foreign the day after Al's 63rd birthday with part two the true story of his life so be sure to like share and subscribe I'd like to thank the people who made this video possible summer Woods for providing Weird Al piano medley one from her tribute album Chihuahua hat and Chad Kelson AKA metal Al for his metal cover a fun zone from his album into the abyss you can find links to their music in the description special thanks to Ethan Allman of Dave and Ethan's 2000 inch Weird Al podcast for listening to and fact checking the script and to my lovely Stella for helping me get through recording the audio bits and putting up with me while I edited the video bits all right see you next time goodbye goodbye goodbye it's ridiculous

Channel: Sebastian Shepherd

Views: 19,205

Keywords: weird al, weird al yankovic, weird the al yankovic story, eric appel, daniel radcliffe, evan rachel wood, rainn wilson, film, film criticism, movie review, super fan, music, biopic, biography, hollywood, weird, history, films, movie, movies, dr demento

Id: ocV1yjgRPME

Length: 11min 22sec (682 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 17 2022