Finally, a biopic with no embellishments or exaggerations! Just the plain, honest truth from beginning to end. I thought it was delightfully and stupidly fun. Lots of laughs up to and past the ending, even. I'm loving Daniel Radcliffe's career choices. Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna was perfect
I'll be honest I wasn't aware Al Yankovic existed, never really heard a song from him. I have no idea if some of the events are true or an absolute parody of reality but the last third of the movie is clearly fiction. It's not from my generation but I had an absolute blast of a fun time with this!
Pretty much everyone is perfectly cast; Daniel Radcliffe's really got it! He's hilarious, weird and emotional when needed. There's so many fun cameos throughout and they're all well done and relevant to the story. The humor is well-written there's lots of funny and clever one-liners. There's probably a few jokes I didn't get but if you're someone who lived during the 70s-80s there's lots of in-jokes. I think it's actually a movie for all ages you don't really need to be familiar with Weird Al to enjoy it!
Probably the best and funniest "bio pic" Ive ever seen!!! Still cant believe he died the way he did... RIP man., RIP... Sarcasm aside... This movie sure went off the rails AND I LOVED IT!!!
I KNEW Madonna was evil!!
Best Actor (Comedy/Musical) - Daniel Radcliffe
Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) - Evan Rachel Wood
Best Supporting Actor (Comedy/Musical) - Arturo Castro
failure to comply will result in a platinum album to the skull
The overall concept here makes sense. Weird Al is known for parody. So naturally, his biopic film should be a parody of the entire biopic genre, rather than some ho-hum, by the numbers biopic. Unfortunately, as a parody target, the biopic genre didn't work quite as well for me as the top billboard hits that Weird Al made his career parodying. The main difference being, the top billboard hits were exactly that, they were hits. They were catchy songs that everyone already knew and loved. By comparison, I never had much appreciation for the biopic genre, which often produces bland movies that leave me wishing I had just read the Wikipedia article. As such, even a tongue in cheek deconstruction wasn't able to overcome my lack of enthusiasm for the structure.
All of that said, there were plenty of solid bits and even some moments of genius that were enough to keep me watching. The highlight for me was the reversal they pulled with Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Clever and hilarious. The frequent cameos also offered some chuckles here and there. However, those cameos, along with the segmented structure of the film, gave off an extended YouTube/SNL skit type feel. Unfortunately, that type of humor is more palatable in short form, so the 110 minutes we got here definitely overstayed its welcome for me.
Really impressed at the level of detail and how little artistic license they took with Weird Al's story. You'd think they might try to spice it up a little, throw in some gratuitous sex and violence and drug use, but the producers really managed to avoid all that.
Great movie and Weird Al made a brief appearance too!!!
Daniel Radcliffe was an odd choice only because he's so short compared to the lanky Yankovic.
8.5/10
Have loved Al since I saw his “eat it” parody for the first time on tv. Loved this movie too, just take it with a pinch of salt just like his songs and you will love it too!
Kinda refreshing, this brand of comedy that’s highly silly but still pretty sharp is sorely missed in movies nowadays, it feels like a quaint throwback. It’s very Austin Powers and Monty Python-esque, if that’s your thing you’ll probably dig it. The casting’s pretty much perfect, I’m very happy Daniel Radcliffe got to show us his comedic chops. It also looks pretty decent, especially when you consider that filmmakers usually don’t put that much effort into the visuals of these kind of comedies. Its biggest issue is that it sticks way too close to the general formula of musical biopics. This is pretty much another Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman, just with a stronger comedic angle. It’s more entertaining than both of those, but also not as clever and subversive as Walk Hard. Near the end it starts to let go of the tropes and becomes a lot more bonkers. The genuine emotional beats that it tries to hit don’t quite land (the occasional attempts at being Spielberg-y feel off to me), and it heavily overuses the writing trope of ‘stating something that’s clearly meant ironically for the audience’. Finally, I wasn’t a fan of the singing, the voice change and very obvious use of autotune are both very distracting for a movie that’s supposed to take place in the 80s (yeah sure, it’s a parody, but still). All in all, it does just enough for me, but I’d love to see the Mel Brooks version of this.
6/10
With the recent biopic craze, hearing one was coming about Weird Al was a dream come true. Then Daniel Radcliffe getting the lead? Hell yeah! Toss in the fact Weird Al would be doing the songs himself, even a bigger win. Then when I saw this was free straight to Roku film, I got worried. Then I saw it was spoof-like, and I got worried (even though I should expect nothing else from Weird Al who made a career out of spoofing). Fortunately, this hits a lot of the right notes and is surprisingly one of the funnier movies of the year! It is not perfect, but damn is it an enjoyable ride.
Rating: 3.5/5 - 8/10 - Would Recommend
Weird Al brings us a suitably wacky satire of the sleazy tell-all rock’n’roll biopic, while also having some fun with his own squeaky-clean public image. In Weird, we learn all about his abusive childhood, his secret obsession with polka parties and Hawaiian shirts, his fiery encounter with Pablo Escobar and his many wild, drunken orgies with “Like a Virgin” era Madonna. It’s an absurd fiction, of course, no truer than his resemblance to a frequently bare-chested Daniel Radcliffe, but half the fun lies in those wild, increasingly drastic, departures from reality.
I had a vague memory of this idea in its formative phase, way back in the bygone year of 2010 (ancient history where internet memes are concerned), when a joke teaser of the same name was first posted to the Funny or Die website. Revisiting it now, I’m not sure the full-length treatment was necessary. That trailer hits all the essential bits in a mere three minutes, even a winking cameo from the real Weird Al as a snide record executive, and gets out before the joke can wear thin. That’s where I think Yankovic’s brand of humor works best - bite-sized - and why his songs (not to mention his first starring role, the manic UHF) have weathered the test of time. We barely get a chance to breathe before the scene shifts and we’re on to the next topic. Not the case with Weird, which leans hard into the trappings of the genre it parodies and leaves slack between the bigger laughs. It starts strong and finishes with a bang, sprinkling a wealth of surprise cameo appearances throughout, but I was left wishing for more consistency.
I haven’t finished the movie yet but I don’t think that’s how Pablo Escobar died. I’m starting to think that this biography might not be so truthful
I think the fact that they actually made the movie is the funniest thing about it. But it just feels like a funny joke that was stretched out way too much. When the whole joke is that weird Al's life was nothing like this, it becomes boring after a while. It feels like a slightly exaggerated version of any other biopic.
It was, uh, kind of weird.
A legitimately amazing movie that's surprisingly more cohesive than many other movies. Of course, it's a parody on biopics made by Weird Al, so you know it's going to be hilarious.
When it comes to Weird Al Yankovic's music, I'm not exactly an expert. But if you know anything about him, you won't be surprised that this "biopic" is a pretty ridiculous parody of the genre. The humor, like Weird Al's songs, isn't particularly deep, but my god, did I laugh a lot. The core elements of any biopic are all present and accounted for, whether it's the complicated relationship with the parents, the underdog's early successes, or the artist's rise and fall.
However, I would have liked to see a little more nuance in the script at times. The cinematography is also rather average, but at least the songs are entertaining, as expected. Among the cast, leading man Daniel Radcliffe is especially convincing, as he fits the part perfectly. But the supporting cast is also quite strong, and some cameos manage to surprise as well. Thus, "Weird" is a complete success for me, provided you can relate to the real Weird Al.
Well-done satire of musician biopics that aligns with Weird Al's style and humor.
Okay Dwight,Harry Potter, and weird Al Yankovic absolutely kill it in this movie!!! This is one of the "best" new movies I've seen in a long long time!!!
Just watched this. I was expecting the miscasting of Harry Potter in the lead role to be too off putting, but it didn't annoy me nearly as much as I expected. My wife isn't as big a Weird Al fan as me, so it was fun watching her trying to work out what was real and what was parody. Although it lost its way a bit (mainly with the some of the Madonna stuff), if you are a fan or just want a bit of fun, it's well worth a look.
A biography on Weird Al can't be anything but weird, especially if he co-writes it himself, a parody author who parodies himself in a story that uses the structure of eighties comedies to give the reconstruction funny how important it is. As false as the performings of the songs by Daniel Radcliffe with the voice of Weird Al Yankovic, he plays with irony about the biopics: "If it's on a movie, it must be real," he says in the credits song. And the film manages to create caricatures of some cultural references from the 80s represented in the figure of a funny Bryce Dallas Howard as a deranged and ambitious Madonna.
Much like the filmography of Quentin Tarantino, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story cannot be rated by the same criteria as other movies. It's an almost completely fabricated account of "Weird" Al Yankovic's life story, and it plays it almost completely straight... And it's hilarious!
The writing gives off the same kind of vibe as Al's previous film, UHF with how simplistic yet efficient the dialogue is, and how high of heights the absurdity reaches. This movie is crazy. It feels like a fever dream, and even if the sheer amount of weirdness isn't 100 percent my cup of tea, at least 60 percent of it is. And if you can tolerate at least that much weird, you'll probably have a good time watching this.
I have heard Weird Al a couple of times and always liked it, but i was no fan or anything like it. When i started the movie, i was specting the classic story, with maybe one or two things changed. Oh boy, i should have known better. What a movie; i haven't laugh this much with any movie for a looooong time. The small jokes in dialogues, to the visually (like when they start getting crazy after the first song is on the radio) made the movie a complete delight. I'm guessing that like 30 or 40% of the story is kinda true, but the way it was told, was amazing. Great movie, a solid 8 for me
I remember liking some of Weird Al's songs as a kid but I can't remember actually sitting down to listen to a whole record. This movie kind of reminded me of what I thought of his songs: I like them just fine if I hear one on the radio but I can't imagine spending a whole hour with them. That isn't a criticism of the movie - I actually think that they crushed it with their approach and delivery. The problem is that it just got old halfway through the movie. I couldn't even finish the whole thing in one sitting. It was almost like they took a decent SNL skit and went way too long with it. That said, I realize that the movie probably isn't aimed at me. Also, Danielle Radcliff absolutely crushed this role.
follow me at https://IHATEBAdMovies.com or facebook IHATEBadMovies
This was definitely much better than it had any right to be, but I also felt like it was filled with many missed opportunities. It was fun to see such a send-up of the biopic genre, but I wished they'd pushed even further into goofball territory. It felt at times on the verge of diving into an Airplane-esque comedy, but kept pulling back. That being said, the cast is great, there are a lot of funny moments, and if you're a Weird Al fan you'll get a kick out of this.
Wow, I can't believe this happened in real life.
What you think you are going to watch and what you end up watching are entirely different things! Not that anyone should be surprised that a biopic about Weird Al is also a parody of the biopic of Weird Al! You think from the trailers that this will be a light hearted take on his real life, but when you watch other trailers that detail nonexistent things like his romance with Madonna (whom he had a crush on in real life) and ditching his band you start to realize that something is off.
I have to say that Daniel Radcliffe did a great job as Al, even if he is a bit short for the job. The movie is ok, neither great nor terrible, there are bits that keep you interested and others that get so outlandish that you cringe a bit.
I grew up with Weird Al being a right of passage for many artists so my interest was piqued as soon as I saw the first trailer. His songs were often stupid, but funny (what I call stupid-funny, which this movie also is) but his videos were pretty entertaining.
There's interesting history behind Coolio's fight with Al over Amish Paradise, where Coolio was totally against it once he heard it and really badmouthed Al about it but later recanted and said he was being an unreasonable dick and he liked the song now. This becomes a pretty interesting and funny plot in the later part of the film when his dad is exposed as a closeted Polka Amish guy in his youth.
You also get a LOT of celebrity look-alikes in this movie, which is funny on its own but it's particularly funny how many of those people in real life were real thorns for Al, like Prince who would never agree to let Al parody him despite Al requesting it many, many, times. Michael Jackson famously loved how Al parodied his songs, and that also gets reflected in a funny (and untrue) way in the film.
Overall, if you're a Weird Al fan then this is a must-see, if you never heard of him then it's still enjoyable but you'll miss some of the nuances in the movie.
As you might expect, this is weird. Bits of it are very good.
As you might not expect, this is violent. In a way which is actually quite off-putting - especially the way it intersects with taking ideas from queer experiences and pushing them onto “being weird”. The jokes from that were not bad, but overall left me cold when they, um, didn’t really do much with it…
This movie was pretty great! It reminded me a lot of the old weird Al movie UHF with the style of humor. Definitely one of the better movies I've seen this year. I was never really into Harry Potter but everything Daniel Radcliffe has done after that I really enjoyed. It even made me go back and give those Potter movies a chance and you know what, they actually weren't that bad! If you like weird Al's sense of humor you will definitely enjoy this movie.
I made it all the way to the half of the movie before I turned off..a parody about a parody is too much
Just watched this and I have to say it was a cool movie, very enjoyable although I'm not sure it would necessarily appeal to everyone but if you like Weird Al then it's likely you'll enjoy it
Good movie but I'm surprised he wrote Madonna in that way. I would have expected him to write her in the same way he wrote Jim Morrison in
I knew about 'Weird Al Yankovic', but didn't really know much about his life story. After watching this movie, that hasn't changed much...:laughing:
Don't let the fact that you don't know who Al Yankovic is, or not liking 'biopics' all that much, discourage you from seeing the movie, because it's actually a really different and funny comedy for everyone. And hold on until the end of the credits, it will be worth it.
What’s important is that Weird Al has fun out there, he deserves it. Goes in a lot of fun, unexpected directions.
Shout by Sage020VIP 2BlockedParent2022-11-06T23:38:49Z
What I expected was a comical story about a man who wrote humorous parodies of famous songs but what I got was so much more. This biography detailing the life of Weird Al told a story of triumph, the highs, lows, and troubles that one man faced pursuing his dreams or something like that.