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PLOT: The lifetime of “Bizarre Al” Yankovic…if it had been an entire and utter fabrication.
REVIEW: Bizarre: The Al Yankovic Story is for hardcore “Bizarre Al” Yankovic followers. Suppose you’re not dedicated to his explicit model of foolish. In that case, you gained’t get why this film bought out its Midnight Insanity premiere screening and had normally jaded critics scrambling to squeeze into its one and solely TIFF press screening. For us misfits, Al is a giant a part of our lives. For his long-awaited biopic, Yankovic, who co-wrote and produced the film, has achieved to the big-screen style the identical factor he does with each tune he satires. He stored one of the best elements and injected it with a complete lot of foolish. If it’s just like something that’s come earlier than it, I’d evaluate it to the underrated Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, albeit achieved on a fraction of the funds (it’s a Roku Authentic, in any case). Whereas uneven, it’s typically fairly humorous and has greater than sufficient laughs jammed into the movie to make followers really feel Hollywood has lastly achieved proper by Bizarre Al.
In fact, being a Bizarre Al film by way of and thru, don’t anticipate something remotely primarily based in actuality to indicate up. The movie spoofs all the biopic requirements, from the strict, unloving dad (the nice Toby Huss) and doting mother (the at all times beautiful Julianne Nicholson), to hooking up with the clever mentor (Rainn Wilson’s Dr. Demento), by way of his battles with the bottle and eventual blood-soaked rampage by way of Columbia to face-off with Pablo Escobar. See what I imply about made up? I don’t know what’s more durable to imagine – that Bizarre Al ever drank or the truth that he had a shootout with Pablo Escobar over Madonna.
Oddly sufficient, the film is at its finest when it’s decrease key, with the early teen years that includes a memorable scene the place the younger Bizarre Al will get busted for being at a Polka Social gathering. The bits the place he comes up with “My Bologna” and “One other One Rides the Bus” (on a dare from Jack Black’s Wolfman Jack and David Dastmalchian’s John Deacon) are a few of the funniest bits within the film. The legions of cameos show simply how beloved Yankovic is, with a who’s who of the comedy world exhibiting up.
Daniel Radcliffe pours his coronary heart into enjoying Yankovic, sporting a shredded physique that nods at how extremely buff actors typically play famously non-buff singers. Al himself does all the singing, however Radcliffe has an innocence about him that makes him a conniving Bizarre Al. Evan Rachel Wooden can be actually humorous because the film’s model of Madonna, who’s portrayed right here as a femme fatale out to suck the life out of Al, with the payoff to her arc being one of many funniest issues within the film. There’s a central joke surrounding the writing of “Eat It” that takes the movie in one other route that I gained’t spoil however suffice to say, the hilarity of the primary act begins to lag a bit within the center. There’s a too-long LSD hallucination that’s an excessive amount of like related scenes we’ve seen achieved again and again, and the action-movie showdown in Columbia, whereas humorous, goes on somewhat too lengthy and is terribly harking back to the current Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Nonetheless, it must be stated that the film is a bit like Al’s music in the best way that not each joke lands, however after they do, they’re so humorous they make up for those that don’t. Al is famously clean-cut, which means the film has little or no in the best way of blue humor, however certainly one of his strengths has at all times been that he doesn’t must be lewd to land amusing. As an alternative, he’s intelligent. Al himself has a cameo as one of many Scotti Brothers, primarily based on his long-time label. Director Eric Appel, one of many most important guys at Humorous or Die (who made the movie), made his characteristic debut and co-wrote the film with Al. He additionally wrote and directed the short film that is primarily based on and clearly has a deep love for all issues Bizarre Al.
In the long run, non Bizarre Al followers might not get the joke, however should you love the person and his music, this can be a lot of enjoyable. Whereas I’d have beloved to see extra spoof movies (how are you going to do a Bizarre Al film and barely present any of the movies?) or for them to sort out UHF, I nonetheless laughed most of the time and can most likely test this out once more when it hits streaming.