Weird: The Al Yankovic is an upcoming biopic that is based on the life of Alfred Matthew “Weird Al” Yankovic, who is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor, and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. The film is written and directed by Eric Appel and stars Harry Potter… I mean Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al and the supporting cast includes Rain Wilson, Quinta Brunson, Julianne Nicholson, Toby Huss, James Preston Rogers, Jack Black and Westworld’s lead star Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’s premise revolves around what you’d expect since it is a biopic,
“The “true” story of Alfred Matthew Yankovic—world famous as “Weird Al” Yankovic—his beginning interest in the accordion, his discovery by Dr. Demento, his support from Madonna, and his overall claim to fame.” Weird: The Al Yankovic Story had its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this year where many audiences and critics watched the film and have given their opinion on this biopic. Let’s what positive and negative they have to say for this biopic.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Reviews Roundup: A Biopic for the Fanatic?
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is well…a biopic and I know I’m using that word a lot today but it is not because I’ve no words left in my armory. It is because everyone who has seen the film has described the film as a biopic and it is not because that is the genre it is because the film has nothing new to offer so its identity would be limited to just another biopic. Daniel Radcliffe’s performance is being praised but it is not a standout performance like Austin Butler in Elvis or Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody.
The film is kind of a parody on the life of Yankovic and that is the only redeeming quality of the film. If you’re a Weird Al fan then you’d appreciate the film a lot more than us general audiences. The film makes its absolutely ridiculous that results in some moments of sweetness. So, the film is kind of a mixed bag. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story at the time of writing, has an IMDb score of 7.5/10 and Rotten Tomatoes has deemed it Fresh with a score of 93%. Scores aside, let’s see the kind of comments the film is being associated with.
David Fear
Rolling Stone
“Like the artist himself, Weird knows how to make fun of something with affection, the occasionally dollop of barbed wit and a knack for making imitation seem like the sincerest form of creativity.”
Mark Hanson
Slant Magazine
“Weird accordingly (or is it accordion-gly?) takes everything to new heights of glorious ridiculousness.”
Original Score: 3/4
Esther Zuckerman
The Daily Beast
“Sure, it’s clever at first, but after a while it starts to feel like you’re watching yet another tiresome biopic that hits the same beats as every other biopic—except this one is supposed to be fake and funny.”
Valerie Complex
Deadline Hollywood Daily
“Cameos– so many cameos.”
Charles Bramesco
The Playlist
“In repositioning a singularly ridiculous niche talent and his “extremely specific” musical tradition at the top of the mainstream, ‘Weird’ creates a beautiful alternate reality in which every cult object receives the wider celebration it deserves.”
Original Score: B+
Leah Greenblatt
Entertainment Weekly
“An alternative-facts fever dream so bent on the certifiably ridiculous that it circles back around somehow to sweetness.”
Original Score: B
Vikram Murthi
indieWire
“Despite “Weird” inevitably biting off more than it can chew, the actual performances of Yankovic’s hit songs have a comfortable nostalgia factor and the various inside jokes to his career will certainly delight the “Weird Al” fanatic.”
Original Score: B-
John DeFore
Hollywood Reporter
“A funny, welcome reminder of a time before the internet and Marvel made being a nerd so ordinary.”
Johnny Oleksinski
New York Post
“What Yankovic and director/co-writer Eric Appel have done, brilliantly in spots, is parody Yankovic’s own life while sending up the whole biopic genre. In a messed-up way, the maneuver is kinda poetic. And so very funny.”
Original Score: 3/4
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story had its initial release on 8th September at the Toronto Film Festival but the film is going to release on The Roku Channel on 4th November 2022.
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