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The Review - AT THE MOVIES with WILLIAM HALL
Published: 17 January 2008

John C Reilly plays Dewey Cox

Spoof rock ’n’ roll hero goes and Cox it all up

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY
Directed by Jake Kasdan
Certificate 15

A SPECTACULAR over-the-top performance from John C Reilly in the title role, coupled with stomping rock ’n’ roll, are the redeeming features for a riotous spoof comedy that starts off in overdrive and never lets up.
Reilly has been described by his producer Judd (Knocked Up) Apatow as having “a voice like Roy Orbison and the physique of Johnny Cash”, both of which aren’t far off the mark. The problem is that the relentless diet of excruciating jokes is like a meal left in the oven too long until the contents are just dried out and unpalatable.
If I tell you that the opening sequence sees young Dewey accidentally slice his brother in half in a mock machete fight, you’ll have a taste of what’s in store. It gets worse, ending up as a mix of satire and pratfalls that just doesn’t cut the mustard.
Dewey grows into an ace performer, wearing a white suit embroidered with the letter D, and attacking his guitar like a man possessed as the kids squeal at his feet.
In the early days of rock ’n’ roll, he takes America by storm before spiralling down into a coke-snorting junkie, alienating his homespun wife (Kristen Wiig) and generally turning the screen into a madhouse.
On the way he bumps into Elvis Presley and the Beatles – and here it would appear that director Jake Kasdan scraped the barrel to find the most hideous look-alikes (McCartney with a moon face and ginger stubble, a pallid Elvis looking as if he has just climbed out of a coffin) to get a cheap laugh.
Somewhere along the line, a good idea got lost in transit.

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