Product Description

One of the most iconic figures in rock history, Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) had it all: the women (over 411 served), the friends (Elvis, The Beatles) and the rock 'n' roll lifestyle (a close and personal relationship with every pill and powder known to man). But most of all, he had the music that transformed a dimwitted country boy into the greatest American rock star who never lived. A wild and wicked send-up of every musical biopic ever made, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is gut-busting proof that when it comes to hard rocking, living and laughing, a hard man is good to find.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3728 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2008-04-08
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 216 minutes

Amazon.com
The Pixar-like roll of Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad) continues with another sure-fire hit. In charting the meteoric rise, catastrophic fall and Lazarus-like rise of rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard parodies the classic Hollywood bio-pic, cashing in mostly on Walk the Line. John C. Reilly, one of Hollywood's most solid character actors, makes the most of his Golden Globe-nominated star turn as Dewey, whose road to stardom is paved with a childhood tragedy that claims the life of his prodigiously talented brother ("The wrong kid died," is his father's mantra), instant stardom (his first record is a hit just 35 minutes after it was recorded), sex and drugs, and the inevitable "dark (effen) period" that leads him to rehab. Reilly gets solid backup from current and former Saturday Night Live alumni, including Kirsten Wiig as his incredibly fertile first wife who has no faith in his musical aspirations ("You're never going to make it," she cheerily ends one phone call); Tim Meadows, never better, as Dewey's drummer, who, in one of the film's best scenes, does a poor job of dissuading him from trying marijuana); and Chris Parnell as his bass player. Jenna Fischer leaves Pam back at The Office as Darlene, Dewey's virtuous duet partner. Hilarious cameos give Walk Hard a great "Hey!" factor: Hey, that's Frankie Muniz as Buddy Holly. Hey, that's "Kenneth" from 30 Rock. Hey, there's Jack Black and Paul Rudd as--no kidding--Paul McCartney and John Lennon revealing "a rift in the Beatles." Some of the jokes are obvious (come on; the guy's last name is Cox), others inspired. But the decades-spanning music, echoing the styles of gritty Johnny Cash, romantic Roy Orbison, obtuse Bob Dylan, trippy Brian Wilson, and even a bit of anachronistic punk rock, is as pitch perfect and affectionately observed as in The Rutles, This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. Walk Hard earns its R-rating, particularly for a sure-to-be-talked-about scene of hotel-room debauchery. But: Hilarious? Outrageous? Twisted? To quote the title of one of Dewey's hit songs, "Guilty as Charged." --Donald Liebenson

On the DVD
Though an unaccountable box office disappointment, Walk Hard is poised for discovery and cult status on DVD. You'd think the film had pretty much exhausted all the puns and double-entendres you could get out of Dewey Cox's last name, but the Elvis-inspired "A Christmas Song from Dewey Cox," the "Cox Sausage Commercial" and "The Real Dewey Cox," which are among this two-disc set's extra features, manages to get even more mileage out of that juvenile joke. Speaking of which, there is a "cockumentary" devoted to actor Tyler Nilson, who provides the film with its most shocking laugh during the hotel orgy scene, The Unbearably Long, Self-Indulgent Director's Cut contains, ahem, extended footage of that scene and features the deleted setups for some of the theatrical cut's more inexplicable gags (a deleted montage reveals just how Dewey and band member Theo wound up in bed together). Better than a gag reel is the "Line-O-Rama," a hit-and-miss compilation of improv outtakes. Full song performances give this film's Oscar-worthy music its due. The Daily Show's John Hodgman gets "The Last Word" in a celebrity profile spoof that was originally broadcast on Comedy Central. With a more traditional "Making of" featurette and entertaining audio commentary by writer Judd Apatow, director Jake Kasdan, and star John C. Reilly, Walk Hard walks even harder on DVD. --Donald Liebenson

Beyond Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

On Blu-ray

The Soundtrack

UMD for PSP

Stills from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

My name is Dewey Cox...
If you want a truly, unbelievably hilarious movie, than I HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND Walk Hard! Judd Apatow strikes again with his grand adaptation and parody of some of the great musical films of our time, like "Walk The Line" and "Ray."

John C. Reilly does an outstanding job as our main character Dewey Cox, a man who becomes a musical sensation aided by the untimely (and unique) death of his talented brother. Of course even death is poked fun at here as Dewey's own father reminds us throughout the movie that "the wrong kid died!"

Trust me, if you want laughs from beginning to end, with great one-liners, spontaneous and sparatic events (some of which have nothing to do with the overall plot) than check this movie out ASAP! This movie is a Judd Apatow classic, and really shows that dadaistic tendencies have returned to comedy!

Great cast, great directing, hilarious from start to finish; please "walk hard" and get this movie!

GREAT MOVIE!!!
This movie is hilarious! John C. Rilley is a GREAT actor and has such a beautiful voice! This is a must have DVD! Make sure to purchase the soundtrack also! And check out John C. Rilley's performance in Chicago also!

Apatow Feels Out America's Musical History
Film writer Judd Apatow has officially become synonymous with low-brow comedy. And low-brow can sometimes be pulled off to surprising acclaim. And such is the case with WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY.

With The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up firmly under his belt (as well as Pineapple Express and You Don't Mess With the Zohan), Apatow has shown he knows how to tickle the funny bone of young and old alike ...but mainly the young. Deciding to test the waters of music history, Apatow jumped headlong into the tempest and came out of it looking fairly unblemished.

The main thrust of the film's success is undoubtedly that it centers on America's musical past, dipping us into Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan (big time), Jim Morrison (watch out for the penis shots), Elvis Presley (love the hair), Tim McGraw (country?) and even Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

The other big draw is its title character/actor Dewey Cox played by the oft-underused comedic actor John C. Reilly (Talladega Nights). Reilly plays second fiddle to no one this time, and holds firm his grasp on the character. Completely ridiculous lines roll off his tongue in effortless fashion ("The Siamese cat is a symbol of mobility in Ancient Egypt."). He also is sometimes very physical in his comedy, running down the street in his underwear in true Jim Morrison fashion.

Other actors and actresses are fairly forgettable, however, with the notable exception being Sam (Tim Meadows, best known as a not-ready-for-prime-time-player on Saturday Night Live). Sam assists Dewey in his drug struggles, introducing him to the fairly benign (pot) to the deadly (Heroin). And watching Dewey go through withdrawals was hysterical from a medical standpoint ("I'm freezing!" "He needs more blankets." "I'm burning up!" "He needs less blankets.")

If you're an Apatow fan, you owe it to yourself to check out this musical farce. If you've been ho-hum on Apatow up until now, you still might want to check this one out.