The musical biopic genre has been having a busy few years – Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, Elvis, that dreadful Bowie one where they didn’t have the rights to his songs. The latest addition to the genre is Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, starring Daniel Radcliffe and co-written by Yankovic himself.
The film covers all of the beloved parody musician’s life, starting with his troubled childhood, as his tough blue-collar father tries to suppress his musical ambitions. But after young Al sneaks out to an illicit polka party, his destiny is set.
As you may have guessed, this is not at all a truthful recounting of Weird Al’s life. Like his songs, it’s a parody. All the tropes of the music biopic are ridiculed; one scene cuts repeatedly between a radio stuck playing the title line of ‘My Sharona’ and Al’s housemate’s pack of bologna, providing the inspiration for his first hit.
The silliness piles up as the film progresses, recounting Al’s tempestuous relationship with Madonna, his fury when his original song ‘Eat It’ is parodied by Michael Jackson, and a dramatic encounter with Pablo Escobar. The reliance on this high-concept take on recognisable tropes does mean that scenes can be hit and miss, but there are more than enough laughs to make it a fun time all the way through.
It’s held together by Radcliffe’s energetic performance – he’s clearly having a great time, letting the royalties from that wizard franchise allow him to focus on independent, odd projects like this. Look out as well for plentiful cameos from notable comedy actors as various musical icons.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is available now via The Roku Channel.
