“ONE OF THE 10 GREATEST COMEDIES OF THE 21ST CENTURY… Jake Kasdan’s merciless takedown of the modern music-biopic formula remains the final parodic word on the subject…a roll call of 20th century musical-genius clichés taken to sublimely ridiculous extremes” -Rolling Stone

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. In charting the meteoric rise, catastrophic fall and Lazarus-like resurgence of rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard parodies cookie-cutter Hollywood bio-pics like Walk the Line. John C. Reilly, one of Hollywood’s greatest 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 comedy ringers like 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. 

Hilarious? Outrageous? Twisted? To quote the title of one of Dewey’s hit songs, “Guilty as Charged.” Though it was something of a flop upon its initial release, WALK HARD has remained the definitive takedown of Hollywood’s music-biopic tropes, serving as a devastating parody of films that hadn’t even come out yet when it was made. (We’re looking at you, Bohemian Rhapsody. And over at you, Respect. And, hey, A Complete Unknown, you’re not getting off that easy.)

Arkadin does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. However, we encourage researching titles to determine if a screening may contain content that could be upsetting to you. Please feel free to contact us for guidance on specific films. Information about content can also be found on Common Sense Media, IMDB and DoesTheDogDie.com, as well as through general internet searches.

THEATER POLICIES

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The theater opens 30 minutes prior to showtime, except for “Happy Hour” events and pre-shows when the theater opens at the listed start time.

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