Underplayed Gems

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story poster
Directed by
Eric Appel
Genre
comedy film, parody film, biographical film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 48m
Rated
PG-13
Rating
6.7 of 10 from 630 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A parody of musical biopics that exaggerates the life of accordionist and parody songwriter 'Weird Al' Yankovic. The film follows his rise to fame with over-the-top and fictionalized events.

satiricalfunnylivelyparodicenergeticplayfullightheartedfast-paced

What happens

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a 2022 American biographical musical parody film directed by Eric Appel, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Al Yankovic. The film is a satire on musical biopics and is loosely based on Yankovic's life and career as an accordionist and parody songwriter. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic, along with Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson in supporting roles. A fake trailer for a satirical biographical film was produced by Appel for Funny or Die in 2010. Yankovic would screen the trailer at his concerts, which made fans question when a full-length film would be made and led Yankovic and Appel to develop the film's concept together. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story was filmed on a budget of around $8 million over eighteen days between February and March 2022. It premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, and was released on The Roku Channel on November 4, 2022. The film received positive reviews from critics, who largely praised its screenplay, humor, and cast performances (particularly Radcliffe). At the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, Yankovic and Appel's script was nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Radcliffe's performance was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. The film won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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