Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022) directed by Eric Appel
An entirely true and accurate record of the life and death of Weird Al Yankovic (Daniel Radcliffe), the pop music talent famous for his parodies of hit songs. From his early childhood his parents discouraged a musical career (his mother advises him, "You shouldn't be yourself or do anything you enjoy"). Undaunted, he moved away to college and fell in with supportive college roommates. They helped him record his first parodies and perform his first gigs. Yankovic's meteoric rise led him to become boyfriend with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood) who only used him to advance her own career. Will he manage to get out from under her creative wet blanket and reconcile with his parents before it's too late?
The movie does a great job parodying musical biographies. He has the standard problems: unsupportive family and skeptical music execs (one of whom is played by Weird Al himself), creative dry spells, the need to be taken seriously as an artist, the need to cram in as many classic songs as possible. The movie succeeds in delivering a cliche-ridden narrative that pokes good-natured fun at those cliches. Radcliffe is very convincing (even with the increasingly ridiculous plot) and leads a very good cast. As the latest parody in a long line of Yankovic parodies, this movie is a lot of fun and well worth watching.
Recommended.
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