Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Scott Hardie: “It ruled.”

This was exactly as kooky and crammed with jokes as the early buzz portended. Music biopics, with their predictable rise-fall-rise story arcs and ready-made hit soundtracks, have become a dime a dozen lately in Hollywood, and this parody skewers them mercilessly, while also being a satisfying send-up of 1980s cultural markers and somehow also incorporating real details of Yankovic's real career despite not seeming remotely true on the surface. I don't think anyone can count fast enough to keep up with the celebrities who make cameos while playing other celebrities, and why try when they're being this funny? I haven't laughed this much at a movie in a while.

− December 18, 2024 • more by Scott • log in or create an account to reply

Erik Bates: I watched this last year and completely forgot to write a review (as usual). − March 9, 2025 • more by Erik

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Erik Bates: “It ruled.”

This was an amazingly hilarious movie. As a fan of Weird Al for pretty much my entire life (I had a cassette of “Even Worse” when I was 9 years old), I appreciated the parallel universe they created with his story, as would only be fitting of a Wierd Al biopic. And the cameos… I was giddy throughout the whole thing. Conan O’Brien as Andy Warhol did me in. A combo of Conan and Al is pretty much the definition of my sense of humor.

I mean, the scene about how they got his name is just as random as the way it actually happened. Legend has it he was the oddball in the dorms at college and when he’d walk down the hall, someone would always say, “There goes fuckin’ weird Al.”

But can we pause for a second to appreciate the genius of Daniel Radcliffe’s portrayal? His career will forever be overshadowed by Harry Potter, but the joy of that is that he has achieved enough fame (and residuals!) from that franchise that he can do off the wall things like this, and I am 100% for it.

− March 9, 2025 • more by Erik • log in or create an account to reply

Scott Hardie: Yes! Kelly and I enjoyed Radcliffe's work in all four seasons of Miracle Workers, but that's far from his strangest work. From Swiss Army Man to Guns Akimbo to Horns, he seems to enjoy accepting the strangest parts he's offered.

I certainly knew of Yankovic's earlier work -- I was a boy growing up in the 1980s -- but 1992's Off the Deep End was his only album that I ever owned and thus heard enough times to memorize. So many fun memories this brings up. :-) − March 9, 2025 • more by Scott

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