Synopsis:

The up-and-down-and-up-again story of musician Dewey Cox, whose songs would change a nation. Walk Hard follows Dewey Cox (John C Reilly) on his rock 'n roll ascension.  Growing up in a low income family with little encouragement from his father figure, Dewey began singing the blues as a pre-teen.  After an unfortunate incident with a machete, Dewey takes his talent on the road and begins his odyssey to become the greatest musician ever known. 

The Freak's Rating: D+ : John C Reilly is one of my favorite actors around and I can't blame him for taking on this role as an attempt to headline a film.  He carries the role as far as the script will allow him, but even his talents can't save this one.  To me he will always be talented, but he may have pushed his career back a few notches with this one for some people.  Jenna Fischer, in a desperate attempt to break out of her secretary stereotype on The Office, is adequate but seems forced throughout.  Fischer has the most obvious voice over in the musical history of cinema.  She doesn't have the look to pull off a vixen on screen and exudes little erotic energy.  Fischer is cute, but sexually charged roles should be avoided in her future for believability's sake.  The casting director for this one should be tied up and drug through the back lots of Hollywood for all to see.  The cameos are over the top personalities that distract from the film rather than contribute.

Walk Hard is an overplayed storyline filled with ill-timed one liners and overused jokes.  It is extremely easy to see where the greenlight came from on this one.  "We'll fill it with cameos!  We'll get SNL alums, cast from The Office and Judd Apatow regulars for bit parts!"  Those were no doubt strong enough comments by a producer of this film to a studio exec that the project was greenlit for production.  Judd Apatow has breathed new life into the comedy genre and every studio wants a piece of it, any way they can get it.  He is also milking the cash out of Hollywood and stretching himself extremely thin, assigning his name to many projects he had very little to do with.

Bright spots in the film include sharp writing in the music lyrics and enough wit to cause a few laughs out loud.  The laughs are few and far between though, and eventually you just want it to be over.  We know the story and how it will play out.  For those seeking a clever comedy, check out Forgetting Sarah Marshall while its still in theaters or pickup Superbad on DVD for a raunchy laugh.  Though a few laughs will be had by any audience with this one, it is similar to fair food in the way it makes you happy but is ultimately unsatisfying. 

Sebastian's Rating: F : im sorry to say i did not find this movie funny, nor do i like john c reily. he's not funny.

i can see what this film was aiming for, as a parody, but it's not funny at all. not even somone being split in half. I found myself bored among the movie, i did laugh in my head at some parts (bout 0.00001th of the movie) and i just think it was stupid. it wasnt so stupid it was funny, like pineapple express, it was just plain stupid. i dont know why the critics liked this one.

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