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:

John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, David Krumholtz

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 4 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 (Teacher)

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:

reference to iggy pop | columbia tristar | satirical | singing | female nudity | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Krumholtz, Martin Starr, Jason Schwartzman, and Steve Bannos all previously stared on the show Freaks and Geeks (1999) which was also produced and directed by Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan.

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Goofs

When Darlene talks to Dewey about quitting the LSD in the studio, Sabian drum cymbals are clearly visible in the background. The scene is set in 1966, the company was founded in 1980.

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Quotes

Dewey Cox: Springburry ain't big enough for me no more. I reckon it's time for Dewey Cox to move on.
Ma Cox: But y-you're only 14?
Dewey Cox: Mama, I love you. But I don't need nobody. All I need is my music. I've seen my path today, and I'm gonna take it, and some day, I'll make my masterpiece, and you'll all be proud of me. Just like you were of Nate.
Edith: Can I come, Dewey?
Dewey Cox: Of course you can, Edith! You're my girlfriend.
Edith: I am?
Dewey Cox: Yes, silly! I pointed at you in the audience.
Edith: [to the family] Did you hear that? I'm Dewey's 12 year-old ...

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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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Alternate Versions

The extended version released on home video, "American Cox: The Unbearably Long Self-Indulging Director's Cut", runs at 2 hours long.

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Connections

Spoofs Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

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Soundtracks

That's Amore
Written by Harry Warren and Jack Brooks
Produced by Michael Andrews

User Reviews

Lots Of Laughs, Entertaining But Another Crude Comedy

I got a lot of laughs out of this film but I warn those that his another modern-day crude comedy. It's definitely not "family viewing." It's a parody on "Walk The Line," the biography of Johnny Cash with John C. Reilly playing the famous singer. He is extremely funny in this role but the humor is the absurd, dark variety.....so be ready for that!

It's really a parody of the rock 'n roll/folk/psychedelic scene, more than anything, from the beginnings in the mid 50s up to the present. The majority of the film deals with the late '50s and up to the '70s. You get a lot of "digs" at folk singers, Bob Dylan and then The Beatles. It's pretty innocent and very funny. The lyrics to songs are hilarious. You also get a lot jibes as Cash and his relationship with his girlfriend-then-wife, June Carter. That latter is played by a pretty and very sexy Jenna Fisher.

What isn't innocent are the sex, drugs and adultery jokes. Some of them are funny; some are way too silly or just plain crude and unnecessary....but that's comedies of today. I mean, we don't need to see repeated shots of a guy's penis, do we? Actually, the film only goes way overboard, language-and sex-wise, in the last 30 minutes when a bunch of f-bombs are yelled out and the story goes into the sewer....before coming out with a nice, sentimental ending. I guess that was supposed to make up for the all the sleaze. It didn't; but it still was an entertaining film which flew by.

One last thing: the music in here is excellent. Some think it's the best part of the film.

Details

Official Sites:

Dewey Cox - Unofficial Facebook 2015 Official Facebook

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 USA:

$4,174,383, 23 December 2007

Gross USA:

$18,317,151

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,576,198

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