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Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is one of those ridiculous fictional biographies to not take seriously. It’s a parody more than anything else, and it’s delightfully nutters when the humour gets cranked up to 12. If there’s any authenticity to who Alfred Matthew (played by Daniel Radcliffe) was before he found fame as a comedy genius, it’s probably in how much Dr. Demento (Rainn Wilson) is a huge influence. But even before he fell in love with that radio show, he had a talent that needed to be nurtured.
There are some seeds of sincerity here and there, but knowing facts from the heavily embellished moments requires memorizing everything revealed about the man in VH1’s Behind the Music profile. As that documentary revealed, the record label, the Scotti Brothers, took a chance on Al. They knew he had a subtle and understated style. They allowed him to not pull any punches.
Also, MTV helped catapult this comic musician to fame. Without those crazy music videos, I don’t think he’d be as famous as he is now. This detail isn’t explored in the film, and that’s surprising when considering how important it helped this musician’s career than the accordian. I imagine the real Weird Al and Eric Appel who co-wrote the screenplay together didn’t want to bog the story down, since it would have to mean recreating all those manic music video moments–something that an older Radcliffe may not be able to do.
Continue reading “The Al Yankovic Story is Not Weird at Al. Just Bonkers.”