OnceThe music is often incredibly moving (see “Falling Slowly”), but the film as a whole is not at all what critics are making it out to be. The supposed love between the two leads is not believable. Sure, the guy wants the girl and the girl is in a situation that would be ideal for the guy to fit into, but no great romantic move happens. Ironically, the music prevents the audience from learning enough about the characters to care about them, a flaw that rest solely on the script. Just a little more time spent on the leads and this could have been a great film. Instead, we get a lot of good visual music, but a great music video does not a great film make (see
Idlewild). If wonderful music warrants a largely one-dimensional film, then the day of the independent filmmaker has truly dawned and not in a good way. It’s the Irish acoustic
Hustle and Flow without convincing character development. Proceed with caution, but proceed nonetheless.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox StoryI went in, along with most of the world, expecting another solid Judd Apatow flick. I entered thinking that it was going to be the next great comedy but came out disappointed. John C. Reilly does all he can with the lead character and the songs are spot-on parodies [especially “Let Me Hold You (Little Man)”, “Let’s Duet,” “Royal Jelly,” and the title track] but most of the film feels more like
Not Another Teen Movie than
Spinal Tap. Apatow and director/co-writer Jake Kasdan select the right genre-defining elements to target, but they often fall flat, hinting that they might not have brought their “A” game to the writers’ table. I now wonder if the film's topic is not worth being spoofed or if the Apatow brand of comedy does not translate to parody. Perhaps the subject can only be tackled in mockumentary form and not as a mock biopic. Or maybe the filmmakers just should have looked beyond
Walk The Line and
Ray. My confidence in Apatow hasn't necessarily wavered, but after an exceptionally busy year, he definitely needs to slow down.