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:

elvis presley character | paul mccartney character | john lennon character | george harrison character | woman on top | 

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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

Details

Official Sites:

Dewey Cox - Unofficial Facebook 2015 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 USA:

$6,257,174, 23 December 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$18,317,151, 13 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

Prints were shipped to theaters under the fake title "Long Way Up".

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Goofs

When The Big Bopper is playing on stage, a full band is heard playing but nobody else is on stage I.e. Nobody at the drum kit.

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Quotes

[Dewey walks into a room with Sam and three women]
Sam: Sam? What you all doing in here?
Sam: [holding a pill] Dewey, get out of here. You don't want no part of this shit.
Dewey Cox: What is it?
Sam: It's medication for erectile dysfunction, it gives you a boner! Not to be used if you have a pre-existing heart condition. If boners last more than four hours, call more ladies.
[laughs]
Dewey Cox: Well, that does sound tempting, but you know what, Sam? I really don't want no part of that shit.
Sam: Did you hear what I said? It gives you a ...

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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 Beyond the Sea (2004)

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Soundtracks

(You Make Me So) Hard
Written by Marshall Crenshaw, Jacques Slade, Danica Rozelle, Lamar Van Sciver,
John C. Reilly, Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan
Produced by Walter Millsap (as Walter "Lil Walt" Millsap III) and Boss Beats
Performed by Jacques Slade (as KU) featuring Danica Rozelle (as Danica "Morning Star" Rozelle)

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.