LogFAQs > #969204012

Surprise! Sometimes something new drops and you just can't wait to watch it. Tonight is one of those nights.

Please note this won't be common as I seldom see movies at release. Also note this will be heavily spoiler tagged - it's too new to have them unlabeled.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Directed by: Eric Appel
Written by: Weird Al Yankovic, Eric Appel
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson
Previous status: N/A (?!)

"Let's get weird, boys!"

The first trailer for this movie came out over a decade ago as a joke. People wanted it to be real, and with films like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man taking unique icons of music and telling their stories in a slightly exaggerated way, it felt like the perfect time to put money into something fully exaggerated about a unique icon of music. Who better for that than Weird Al? Roku wanted to attract attention to their own channel and they've certainly succeeded. My understanding is that this movie starts out as mostly truthful, but becomes more and more a parody of biopics as it goes on.

It opens with Al being revived in a hospital by Lin-Manuel Miranda - not like a surgeon or anything - and then flashes back to Al's life. Starting when he was about 10 y/o and dealing with psychologically abusive parents trying to force a lifestyle upon him, refusing to accept him for who he was. This, of course, got him to rebel more strongly. I'd think this is rooted in reality, but exaggerated. Taking "Amazing Grace" and making it about grape juice at that age... well, it's Weird Al. His parents are cruel, telling him to fall in line and stop being himself outright. A few weeks later, an accordion salesman shows up and Al's dad assaults the guy. After sending the dad for a walk, his mom buys the accordion anyway, so long as Al practices in secret; I think she's afraid of her husband and toes the line. I already doubt what I'd heard is accurate: This reeks of pastiche from the start. That HAD to be exaggerated. A "polka party" in Lynwood, CA getting ambushed by the LAPD is ridiculous enough, and I don't think Al's actual dad was an asshole since Al said his parents' death was the worst thing that ever happened to him.

Did "My Bologna" really come out of spontaneous coincidence? Public bathroom recording studios... too shitty to be real. The same-day mega-hit thing... the subtle hilarity Al's known for. Al himself - the REAL Al - is a record suit who is quite the hardass, and his character's brother is an asshole who lays into Al, the way young Al probably felt. Al's character then gives the character Al some advice, leading to character Al's bar performance (after the goth punk band who rejected him got literally murdered) where his roommates abruptly start performing with him. Because of the bologna's first name, I had a feeling they were meant to be Steve Jay, Bermuda Schwartz, and Jim West. Dr. Demento so happened to be there. (In real life, it was Jay Levey, an up-and-comer back then who is STILL Al's manager.) Demento offers to take Al under his wing, and gives him the moniker "Weird Al." (side note: Amazing how Dr. Demento is still doing his shtick after 50 years!) Also parody: After Jack Black asks the crowd, John Deacon suggests Al parody his song "Another One Bites the Dust" on the spot, so Al busts out "Another One Rides the Bus" and then shuts down the idea of performing with Freddie Mercury. It's hilarious how this is just mocking Bohemian Rhapsody. Al just KNEW the notes and rhythm! Clearly false, but it's funny.

Complete falsities continue. Then, Dr. Demento in a bathtub gives Al LSD and Al sees a hellscape, and the "Lucy" is an angelic Demento. This sequence is absurd and hilarious (mocking "God told me to start a music career!" types), and somehow all this turns into "Eat It" before MJ does it, which gets Al a record deal after he'd already released a record. In the 80s. Lots of plot holes, but they're intentional. This is Weird Al. And MJ's apparently parodying Weird Al instead XD. Madonna shows up to come onto Al - in reality, she asked a mutual friend if Jay Levey said anything about "Like a Surgeon" and said friend asked Levey who then asked Al who then wrote it, but said he'd never again take parody ideas from original artists. More falsity: Al never had a mansion to glorify his ego. And he certainly never fucked Madonna or went on a date with her. This is young Al's fantasies manifested.

Daniel Radcliffe is fantastic pitching a conniption in the restaurant; the dysregulation looks real, and Madonna's seeming apathy veiled with attempt to care is perfectly embodied by Evan Rachel Wood. It's like she said: This satire of Madonna is a total sociopath. A drunk Al shows up at soundcheck, and Demento says Madonna's a bad influence... in front of her. She hands Al his car keys, and he gets in a head-on collision with a Mack truck, returning us to the Lin-Manuel Miranda cold opening that gives him the idea for "Like a Surgeon." He goes to perform it, with a very... gay performance. I couldn't look. I went back to look at that pretty chick from the T-Mobile commercial that had played multiple times (I took a screenshot). A completely plastered, shirtless Al refuses to sing "Eat It" and insults the audience. He keeps imbibing and is arrested on stage by Miami police.

As Al explains to Madonna how he's a trainwreck, she is abruptly divanapped, and the chefs are somehow in on it. A legit knife fight sequence ensues, where Al kills or seriously injures everyone who comes at him. The thugs yell that they're working for legendary drug lord Pablo Escobar. It's a trap. Cut to: Al, in camo, kills two commando goons in a jungle. Even more absurd and fantastical! He takes the goons' rifle and threatens Escobar and his entourage. Apparently Madonna was bait to get Al to come perform at Escobar's birthday party. Escobar dares call "Eat It" a Michael Jackson parody and Al subsequently kills everyone in the room, save for Escobar and Madonna. Escobar shoots him, not realizing that Al's platinum CD necklace serves as body armor, which he then uses as a ninja star to split the boss's head. After Madonna suggests taking over the cartel, Al realizes she is indeed a greedy sociopath, and she admits their relationship was just business. He leaves her there, but not before she shoots at him. Luckily, she's a bad shot.

For no apparent reason, Al's career is stymied, so he shows up at his dad's factory workplace. His dad inquires why he's there and admits he was wrong - a complete U-turn, particularly the Hawaiian undershirt. In reality, I'd guess Al's parents didn't support his career until he made it, since they had their insecurities. His dad says he'd grown up in an Amish Paradise but was kicked out for playing the accordion, so Al's accordion caused of baggage to resurface, and he didn't want Al to experience the same failure. This is a time warp of a decade: Al's rut was broken by Nirvana, not Coolio. Al's dad also scribbled lyrics to "Amish Paradise." Which Al performs live. And then Dr. Demento offers... adult adoption...? Uh. Al then wins an award and some commando comes in with a sniper rifle and... nobody says anything. He's working for Madonna, and... BLAM! Shocking ending. Hilariously shocking. Real pics ensue in the credits, followed by some very fake ones. Post-credits, Madonna tries to offer a rose at Al's grave (he "ate it"), but a hand comes out of the dirt and grabs her. Fade.

This movie gets a Weird Al/5. From someone who got his autograph after a show... that's a 5. Well-acted, finely written, actually decent production value, and brilliant parody in the Weird Al fashion. Gold.

See ya tomorrow for V!