| Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster, parodying the famous Jim Morrison pose | |
| Directed by | Jake Kasdan |
| Written by | Judd Apatow Jake Kasdan |
| Produced by | Judd Apatow Hunter Baumann Clayton Townsend |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Uta Briesewitz |
| Edited by | Tara Timpone Steve Welch |
| Music by | Michael Andrews |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million[2] |
| Box office | $20.6 million[2] |
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a 2007 American musical comedy film directed by Jake Kasdan, and written by Kasdan and co-producer Judd Apatow. It stars John C. Reilly, Kristen Wiig, Tim Meadows and Jenna Fischer. A parody of the biopic genre, Walk Hard is the story of a fictional early rock and roll star played by Reilly.
Walk Hard primarily references the musical biopics Ray (2004) and Walk the Line (2005); in addition to Ray Charles and Johnny Cash, the "Dewey Cox" character includes elements of the lives and careers of other notable musicians including Roy Orbison, Glen Campbell, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Donovan, John Lennon, James Brown, Jim Morrison, Conway Twitty, Neil Diamond, Hank Williams, and Brian Wilson. The film portrays fictional versions of artists Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles; some artists appear as themselves, including Eddie Vedder, Jewel and Ghostface Killah. In addition, the film parodies or pays tribute to the musical styles of David Bowie, Billy Joel, Van Dyke Parks, the Gun Club, and seventies punk rock.
The film was released in North America on December 21, 2007. It received positive reviews from critics but was a box office disappointment, grossing only $20 million against a $35 million budget. The film has since become a cult classic.[3]
- ^ "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
boxofficemojo.comwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Siegel, Alan (May 29, 2019). "Dewey Cox Ain't Dead: An Oral History of 'Walk Hard'". The Ringer. Retrieved September 14, 2020.