Weird: The Al Yankovic Story Trailer
Daniel Radcliffe stars as Alfred Matthew Yankovic, better known as Weird Al, in the biopic, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. While this movie may seem like a serious true story about his life, it’s more like a parody of his life. It’s similar to Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. What else would you expect. He did write and produce it after all.
As you can see from the trailer, everyone is in for a wild ride. The trailer begins with a shirtless Ratcliffe screaming in a hospital demanding a pencil. Yankovic is most known for his comedic renditions of popular songs. He has parodied some of the most famous songs in history such as Eat It (Michael Jackson’s Beat It), Like a Surgeon (Madonna’s Like a Virgin) and Amish Paradise (Coolio’s Gangster’s Paradise). His co-writer, Eric Appel, is no stranger to comedy. His works include Die Hart, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, New Girl and The Office.
The movie had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2022. Critics and filmgoers alike raved about it. The film covers his early days of how he became an accordion player to how he came up with the idea of doing parodies. Most importantly, the films explains how and why each parody was created. Expect to hear some of his hits including My Bologna and Another One Rides the Bus.
Ratcliffe is accompanied by an all star cast. Westworld’s Evan Rachel Wood brings the pop queen Madonna to the screen. The film eludes they had a sordid affair. Rainn Wilson (The Office) is Dr. Demento, Yankovic’s mentor and the radio DJ that discovered Weird Al.
Playing the part of Yankovic’s dad is Tony Huss. His dad thinks music parodies are evil and the accordion is “the devil’s squeezebox.” The writer, creator and executive producer of Abbott Elementary, Quinta Brunson, will portray Oprah Winfrey.
Other cast members include Spencer Treat Clark as Steve Jay, Dot-Marie Jones as Mama Bear, Will Forte as Ben Scotti, Conan O’Brian as Andy Warhol, Arturo Castro as Pablo Escovar and Nine West as Divine.
As for the production, Radcliffe was already a huge fan of Weird Al. Once he signed on, Roku agreed to invest in the film. Due to cost-saving measures and the COVID-19 pandemic, filming was only eighteen days. Post-production was completed within a few months during Weird Al’s Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculous Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour in 2022. But that doesn’t mean the film won’t disappoint. According to Roku, “expect to laugh, prepare to cry (from laughter), and make sure to bring your dancing clogs, ’cause you are gonna polka.”
Catch Weird: The Al Yankovic Story exclusively on The Roku Channel on November 4, 2022.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Cast
Daniel Radcliffe
Evan Rachel Wood
Rainn Wilson
Toby Huss
Julianne Nicholson
Quinta Brunson
'Weird Al' Yankovic
Will Forte
Patton Oswalt
Michael McKean
Dot-Marie Jones
Jorma Taccone
Demetri Martin
Dean Sharpe
Paul F. Tompkins
Scott Aukerman
Akiva Schaffer
Conan O'Brien
Emo Philips
Nina West
Jack Black
David Dastmalchian
Julie Chang
Josh Groban
Seth Green
Arturo Castro
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Diedrich Bader
Richard Aaron Anderson
David Bloom
Thomas Lennon
Johnny Pemberton
Jonah Ray
Jeremy Bolm
Jack Lancaster
Spencer Treat Clark
