The Al Yankovic Story Movie Review

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Right from the start, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story makes clear that it doesn’t want you to take it too seriously.  Daniel Radcliffe stars as “Weird Al”, whose rise begins when he discovers the accordion. While the film starts as your typical drama, viewers are immediately informed to expect the same irreverent humor we’ve come to expect from “Weird Al”. During a dinner scene with his overbearing parents, Al confesses his life’s dream. Delivery deadpan, his mother looks him sincerely in the eyes and says, “Hon, we don’t want you to be happy. We just want you to stop being who you are and doing what you love.”

Trailer:

Release Date: 11/4/2022 Director: Eric Appel Rotten Tomatoes: 83% iMBD: 6.9/10 Where to Watch: The Roku Channel

“I’ll show you! I’ll show everybody!” Al says when the disagreement escalates, “I’ll become the most famous accordion player in an extremely specific genre of music!”

Weird began production on the tail end of Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, parodying those films to poke fun at Al’s life and work. Yankovic (who appears onscreen in another role) wrote the script himself, holding little of his life sacred and using every opportunity to poke fun.

The film’s comedic brilliance is exemplified during a scene where Al first gets the idea to replace lyrics in someone else’s song. The camera enters slow-motion. Lightbulbs go off in his head, looking from Oscar Mayer sandwich ingredients to the radio, to the sandwich ingredients.

The joke of the film is the way it takes an unimaginative creative act (replacing words in another artist’s song) and turns that into the central dramatic conceit of the film. Through biopic tropes we’re told that we’re witnessing the big moment. The moment the world changed. The moment “Weird Al” replaced the lyrics of “My Sharona” with “My Bologna”.

Radcliffe gives one of the best performances of his career, embracing physical comedy in a surprisingly subtle manner, landing each joke with exactly the energy needed to undermine any moment’s sincerity. Evan Rachel Wood also gives a show-stealing performance as Madonna, a driving force in the story who embroils him in a perfectly ridiculous drama that transcends musical boundaries (and national borders).

Ultimately, this is a hilarious opportunity to spend an hour and a half with a bunch of likeable actors having fun and not taking things too seriously.

About our Admit One Author

Isaac Frankel is a freelance writer and content creator specializing in reviews and analysis of cinema, interactive media, and mythological storytelling. He was raised in Prescott, AZ, wrote his first non-fiction book in 2013 after graduating from Tribeca Flashpoint College with a degree in Game & Interactive Media Design and currently produces content for the YouTube channel: Off Screen.

More of his work and current projects can be found at www.isaacafrankel.com

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