Since his first album in 1983, “Weird Al” Yankovic has swept the comedic music scene with his parodies and polka songs topping the charts and making people laugh all over the world. Yankovic has ventured beyond music and into the small screen with roles on shows such as The Simpsons and Milo Murphy’s Law, but his work on the big screen has been limited to his 1989 film UHF. 30 years after UHF, Yankovic returns to the big screen and small screen with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September but was released on the Roku Channel on November 4.
Weird began its life as a satirical short film by comedy website Funny or Die, which featured Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul as the parody-playing accordionist in an overdramatized version of part of Al’s life. The theatrical film swaps Paul for Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and takes a jab at the growing biopic genre, especially Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody, through the lens of parody. Weird is, essentially, a feature-length Weird Al song which mocks the heavy embellishments many biopics add to make the film more interesting.
With this angle in mind, the film succeeds at being a parody with more ridiculousness added onto Yankovic’s mundane upbringing. It features entertaining cameos from actors like Rainn Wilson (The Office) as Dr. Demento and Evan Rachel Wood (HBO’s Westworld) as Madonna, who play their parts rather well and serve to move the comedy along. The comedy plays to Al’s strong suits and borrows from multiple sources to create something all its own.
Comedy carries the movie rather well as the story and pacing can feel all over the place despite the nearly two-hour-long runtime. Some scenes dwell a bit longer than needed, and some feel like they demand a bit more time, leading to a sometimes overwhelming viewing experience. The frequent jabs at Bohemian Rhapsody also became rather grating as the film drags on and shows why “Weird Al” excels at songwriting given his songs are only a few minutes long. A few gags do stick around and stay with the viewer long after the movie has ended with the equally comical musical accompaniment helping matters much more than it perhaps needs to.
Ultimately, Weird is an entertaining movie if one goes in expecting a parody and allows the movie to play fast and free with Al’s upbringing. It has some great performances by its all-star cast but does overstay its welcome by a good 20 minutes and feels a bit shallow in its methods of parody. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story was certainly weird but still only receives a 7.5/10 from me. This was definitely meant for dedicated fans of Al and those who believe biopics are an oversaturated genre.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is currently streaming for free on the Roku Channel.
Photo credit / Roku
