Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

Singer Dewey Cox overcomes adversity to become a musical legend.

Director:

Jake Kasdan

Writers:

Judd Apatow, Jake Kasdan

Stars:

Nat Faxon, John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nat Faxon	...	Awards Show Stage Manager
John C. Reilly	...	Dewey Cox
Tim Meadows	...	Sam
Conner Rayburn	...	Dewey - Age 8
Chip Hormess	...	Nate
Raymond J. Barry	...	Pa Cox
Terrence Beasor	...	Country Doctor
Margo Martindale	...	Ma Cox
Honeyboy Edwards	...	Old Bluesman (as David Honeyboy Edwards)
Gerry Black	...	Harmonica Player
Aron Johnson	...	Teenage Band
Jack Donovan Saperstein	...	Teenage Band (as Jack Saperstein)
Taylor Hubert	...	Teenage Band (as Taylor Jamison Hubert)
Christopher Hurt	...	Teenage Band
Matt Price	...	MC

Storyline

The up-and-down-and-up-again story of musician Dewey Cox, whose songs would change a nation. On his rock 'n roll spiral, Cox sleeps with 411 women, marries three times, has 36 kids, stars in his own 70s TV show, collects friends ranging from Elvis to the Beatles to a chimp, and gets addicted to - and then kicks - every drug known to man; but despite it all, Cox grows into a national icon and eventually earns the love of a good woman - longtime backup singer Darlene.

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Plot Keywords:

singer | elvis | drugs | the beatles | musician | 

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Taglines:

Life made him tough. Love made him strong. Music made him hard.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 December 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Walk Hard

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£240,833 (UK) (18 January 2008)

Gross:

£468,309 (UK) (25 January 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apatow Productions, Columbia Pictures, GH Three

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 120 min (extended edition)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The photograph on the poster is based on the famous Joel Brodsky photo of Jim Morrison, which was used for the Best of The Doors album cover.

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Goofs

When Darlene is talking to Dewey about quitting the LSD in the studio, Sabian drum cymbals are clearly seen in the background. This scene was supposed to take place in 1966; the company was not founded until 1980.

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Quotes

Ma Cox: I'm just so glad you learned to play the guitar so good... even without having a sense of smell!
Dewey Cox: It's okay mama, I learned how to play by ear.

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Crazy Credits

After the credits there is a black&white clip of Dewey Cox performing Walk Hard in 2002, with the words "The actual Dewey Cox"

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Connections

References McCloud (1970)

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Soundtracks

"Let Me Hold You (Little Man)"
Written by Dan Bern, Mike Viola and Manish Raval
Produced by Michael Andrews
Performed by John C. Reilly (as Dewey Cox)

User Reviews

Cal Naughton Jr. no longer finishing second

Oh yes this movie was funny. I didn't have many expectations, if any, of this movie, but it certainly delivered. I knew from the trailers and ads that the movie was going to parallel if not parody "Walk the Line", but there were also several references to "Ray". I would say one of the funniest references to "Ray" was Dewey Cox losing his sense of smell.

Initially it looked like the movie would be very cheesy with punchlines being telegraphed well ahead of time. But, even with the punchlines being blatantly set up, it was better to go with the transparent set up instead of the thinly veiled set ups that a lot of comedies use.

Interestingly enough there was not much profanity which made its usage that much funnier. Now, I certainly could've done without the male nudity, but maybe that was only in the unrated version. Even still, by and large John C. Reily held his own and the movie was terrific.