TIFF 2022 Daniel Radcliff stars in WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY

Posted by BK on September 19, 2022 in Movie Preview, Reviews | 1 Comment

Daniel Radcliffe dons “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Hawaiian shirts and accordion in Eric Appel’s infectiously entertaining and hyperbolic biopic about the legendary parody songsmith.

If Al Yankovic has parodied your song, you know it’s a great honor and you’ve made it to the big time. Weird is co-written and produced by Al Yankovic himself, so if you like Polka, dancing, the accordion, clogs and “howling “ laughter, then you’ll really enjoy Weird (and therefore presumably “100% accurate”).

Writer-director Eric Appel’s biopic shows the humble beginnings of an accordion player who replaced the lyrics of popular songs with new comedic interpretations, to a rich and famous celebrity accordion player who continued to replace the lyrics of popular songs with his hilarious satires. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is an entertaining tell-all about the comedy and music legend.

Daniel Radcliffe portrays Yankovic in his goofy and nerdy-persona, in his squeezebox performances of hit songs including; ”Eat It”,  “My Bologna” and “Another One Rides the Bus.”  With cameos that pay homage to one of the greatest cult artists, the truly terrific Radcliffe tops an outstanding cast that includes Rainn Wilson as Yankovic’s mentor Dr. Demento, and Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna, who Yankovic had a love affair with.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable biopic, as the casting for a passionate actor like Ratcliffe was perfect for the Yankovic character. If you ever get a chance to see him live in concert, please see him perform all his classics.

“The Man in the Hawaiian Shirt” infamously struck depraved and dangerous chords — though these would never drown out the man’s pursuit of fame, wealth and most crucially, originality.