- WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY
- Starring: Daniel Radcliffe and Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Directed by: Eric Appel
- Rated: TV 14
- Running time: 1 hr 48 mins
- Roku
I often hear people talk about the music of their generation. My dad grew up listening to Frank Sinatra. My mom, Elvis. I grew up in the time of the Beatles. But there is another musician that influenced my life profoundly, His name is Al Yankovic.
How do you make a film about a man whose stated life ambition is to write funny lyrics to existing songs? It’s actually quite easy. Picking various points of the accordion master’s life, it seems that
Al (a very good Daniel Radcliffe) has a talent that must be shared with the world. Like my friends and I, Al was a fan of late-night radio host Dr. Demento (an unrecognizable Rainn Wilson) and sends him a tape of some of his songs. Much to his surprise, the Doctor plays his stuff on the air, which leads to Al thinking this could really be the start of something big.
Of course, not everyone thinks Al is a musical genius. Only after he is challenged by legendary DJ Wolfman Jack (Jack Black) to create, on the spot, a parody of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” that he is able to quiet the naysayers. Think Eminem at the end of “8 Mile” and you have a good idea of how things go.
The film plays fast and loose with facts, but fans of Al wouldn’t want it any other way. If you’re a fan of “the Weird one,” then, by all means, give this one a look.
“WEIRD’ receives three and a half stars out of five.
