5) Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Walk Hard is one movie that garnered pretty positive attention from reviewers back in 2007 but ended up not even making its budget back, which is a shame because it’s a pretty uproariously funny movie. Perhaps it was too soon, or just generally misguided, to expect John C. Reilly to lead a film to financial success. He was really great in Talladega Nights, but he was relatively new to the big budget comedy scene; remember back in 2002 when he was in three of the five nominees for Best Picture? He was pretty serious just a few years prior. Of course, the seriousness he brings to his role makes his comedy work even better, but in terms of recognition as a star who can carry a picture, he’s probably still somewhat lacking.
There’s a couple things about this movie that work incredibly well. The big picture aspect where it parodies movies like Ray and Walk the Line that border on irritating hagiography is certainly ripe. The timing on this was pretty good, and movies that have tried similar styles of portrayal toward historical figures have floundered. But there are small elements that can sneak past if you blink, like the dancing going on in the black club that is so over-the-top in its sexuality that it’s hilarious, and then the cameos of well-known faces playing historical musicians that they look nothing like is an amusing twist. And everything Tim Meadows touches is gold. Maybe next time they ought to release something like this in the summer instead of December if they want people to laugh.
