I first heard of Weird Al Yankovic’s song decades ago through the ‘Off the Deep End’ album with his hit, ‘Smells Like Nirvana.’ ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ is a biographical parody of the eccentric musician Weird Al Yankovic. The film is directed by debutant filmmaker Eric Appel and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, and Toby Huss. The film was released by the Roku Channel platform with a budget of USD 8 million. You’re mistaken if you think this is a typical biographical drama film.
Since childhood, Al (Radcliffe) has been a strange boy who likes to parody popular songs. While the father did not like his son’s attitude, his mother bought him an accordion that shaped his later life. One of his singles, ‘My Bologna,’ became a radio hit, while record producers mocked him. His meeting with his little idol, Dr. Demento (Wilson), a top broadcaster, changes the course of his career. All top musicians expect their songs to be parodied by Al, even pop stars of Madonna’s caliber (Wood).
I wonder if a parody of this kind has ever been produced. It’s not ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ (1984), a fictional band (mockumentary), but it is the parodied life story of the artist himself. The filmmakers made this film with the spirit of the artist himself, parodying top songs in his trademark style. This is a brilliant comedy where all the characters in the film play seriously while the audience cannot contain their laughter. Madonna, Michael Jackson, to Pablo Escobar did not escape being victims, especially the pop queen.
In addition to Radcliffe, who plays ‘crazy’ as Al, Evan Rachel Wood may be the main attention-stealer who plays adorably as Madonna. Both may be candidates for the best player in the Academy Awards if they were in different universes. For their roles, they both played brilliantly. Dozens of ‘cameos’ appear in the film, played by big names such as Jack Black, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Conan O’Brien, to Yankovic himself.
‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ is a brilliant attempt to parody the legend’s life story with the artist’s unique stamp and two stellar castings that played well. With all its gimmicks, this film is a new achievement of the biographical genre. Weird Al Yankovic isn’t the sort of legend that Queen or Elvis has a biopic for, but for innovation, this film is something completely different through its comedic approach.
