A surprisingly hard Comedy to resist.

''It's called Karate, man. Only two kinds of people know it, The Chinese and The King. And one of them is me.''

Singer Dewey Cox overcomes adversity to become a musical legend.

John C. Reilly: Dewey Cox

What a surprisingly funny and entertaining movie. This movie is one of the best spoofs on media stars to come out in a long time. Not only was John C. Reilly wonderful in his role as Dewey Cox, the entire cast was great. Special commendation must be afforded to Raymond J. Barry who plays Dewey's rambunctious father. Mr. Barry was truly hilarious. Now there a lot of nudity in this movie, but it's part of the story and without it the story of Dewey Cox could not be effectively told. If you like a clever script, strong comedic acting, and a movie that is a great parody of the entertainment industry and undoubtedly draws its material from the actual depraved behavior of some of the most well-known and internationally famous entertainment stars, then this movie is for you. Remember, though, the humor is adult and it's not for kids.

There are so many things wrong with Dewey the character. At times he can be downright nasty; most of the time he is thoughtless and self-centered. Nevertheless, the creators of this movie have succeeded in developing a character who, despite his myriad of shortcomings, is likable, and, unlike the mentally challenged and emotionally stilted Forrest Gump, is a creditable metaphor for the human condition - and for a Hollywood movie, that's impressive.

The actual material itself is fairly hysterical. There are plenty of laughs to be found at any given turn here, and many laugh out loud moments to go with them. Just watching these actors delivering their lines in purely serious ways, especially during the some of the film's most ridiculous moments (ironically, moments that fall very close to those found in Line or Ray), is just too much to not be able to laugh at. All of these actors seem very at home with the material, and look like they are having a lot of fun with their characters. This also seems to be one of the closest followed scripts of the past few Apatow films, and rarely does it appear that the characters are improvising (or they have just really improved from their consistent ad-libbing). The sets, backgrounds and costume designs, evoking the specific periods, are just as funny, if not more. There is a grand sense of authenticity at work here, and anyone watching the movie can pick out specific ties to their own memories (real or imagined) of those eras. Of course, there are a few too many nods to current fashion trends, but it stays very keenly in the area of that specific era depicted during that point in the film.

Reilly as Cox is a marvel in the lead role. He brings his more refined dramatic style to the role, and I think it helps lend a certain aura of credibility to the performance. He really makes this character his own, and when he is not being downright hilarious, without even breaking a grin, he is being heartbreakingly hysterical. It is a mixed bag, but Reilly makes it work, and he makes it work very well. His performance as the actor is only topped by his performance as the singer. He leads songs brilliantly at every point in the film, and even though the subtext of most of them is a bit risqué, they are still wonderfully written songs sung by someone with a great voice. If this role does not spring board Reilly into more leading actor work, it just may give him the needed boost to be a singer (or at least, to do more musicals or head to Broadway).

The supporting cast, although not nearly as funny as Reilly, all lend a hand in making Walk Hard a very funny movie. From Kristen Wiig and Jenna Fischer as Cox's wives, to Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, and Matt Besser as his band mates, to Raymond J. Barry as his father, everyone manages to steal a scene for themselves, and manages to deliver some solid laughs. Yes, there are quite a few flat jokes that are given by the supporters much more often than Reilly as the lead, but for the most part, they do a great job backing him up. It also helps that it seems like everyone has some sort of minuscule amount of chemistry with Reilly, allowing their jokes to fly very easily.
Despite its faults, Walk Hard is a solid addition to the growing canon of Apatow comedies, and is one hell of a funny parody. Reilly was the best man for this role, and I am happy to say that he makes the film more than just watchable.

7/10