John C. Reilly Rocks Stubbs BBQ as Dewey Cox from 'Walk Hard'
Woe be unto you, comedy lovers, if you were not Austin Film Festival members this last week and you therefore missed the Festival's sneak preview of Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and the subsequent concert by the title character himself.
Director Jake Kasdan (who co-wrote the film with Judd Apatow) showed up at the Highland Galaxy 10 Theaters to introduce the film, which is even more hilarious than one could have hoped. I enjoyed Knocked Up and Superbad, but this is a high point for the Apatow collective, due in no small part to a script that never lets up and of course to the performance of John C. Reilly. Reilly has been a powerful supporting character (Talladega Nights, Tenacious D) until this point but given center stage he is stunningly, achingly funny.
The story is a satiric biopic of a moronic rock star with a tragic past, a way with lyrics, and the inability to say no to drugs or sex. Trying desperately to make up for the accidental death of his talented brother, Dewey strikes out into the world to make something of his musical career. Cox's first wife, Edith (Kristen Wiig), believes in him but thinks he's destined to fail (as she puts it). Dewey finds solace in drugs and in the arms of Darlene (a vamped-up Jenna Fischer, no trace of "Pam" here), a new backup singer. We follow Dewey through the decades of his life and his eventual realization of his life's true purpose. (More about the film and some concert video after the jump.)
Walk Hard is positively stuffed with cameos -- so many and so wonderful that I won't reveal any of them here lest I spoil a single surprise. I think the trailers have revealed that Cox encounters the Beatles and other musical luminaries along the way, but actually watching the film makes one feel as if every actor currently working in comedy somehow found their way on set. It is particularly gratifying to see Cox's band: Matt Besser, Tim Meadows, and Chris Parnell -- some of the most underappreciated comic actors out there.
The after-concert at Stubb's? Electrifying, even if it was mysteriously contained to the indoor venue downstairs. The weather was plenty cooperative -- they could have accommodated a few more people in the outdoor venue. But then, I probably wouldn't have been able to get video and audio as good as the YouTube video below. I have a recording of the actual "Walk Hard" song as well but the audio is a bit rougher. I'll work on cleaning that up and maybe post it later this week.
Kudos to the Austin Film Festival for partnering with Columbia to gain its members first entrance rights into the Walk Hard screening; I hear their screening of Kite Runner earlier this week was similarly packed. For information on how to become a member, visit the AFF web site.