‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ review: The craziest biopic ever made

TORONTO — The brand new “Bizarre Al” Yankovic film, which premiered Thursday at midnight within the Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant, is named “Bizarre.” It’s essentially the most correct title of something since “Cats.”

For locating a stranger, extra deranged, even a just-as-peculiar biopic will probably be a tall order. Rattling close to unattainable. You’ll be able to hardly imagine it’s actual — as a result of it isn’t. Virtually nothing on this hilarious story of the pop music parody legend, who grew to become well-known with songs like “Yoda” and “Fats,” is remotely true.

Wikipedia fails to say, for instance, Bizarre Al’s rocky romance with Madonna, who then grew to become a Yoko Ono-esque wedge between him and his band. Michael Jackson undoubtedly didn’t launch “Beat It” after Yankovic wrote “Eat It.” Was cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar a Bizarre Al superfan who supplied him 1 billion pesos to carry out at his party? Who’s to say?

What Yankovic and director and co-writer Eric Appel have finished, brilliantly in spots, is parody Yankovic’s personal life whereas sending up the entire biopic style. In a messed-up means, the maneuver is kinda poetic. And so very humorous.

It’s a riot when a teenage Al rebelliously sneaks out of the home to attend a cool-kids polka celebration, and will get peer-pressured into enjoying the accordion.

Or early on when, as somewhat child, he begins to sing “Superb Grapes” on the dinner desk.

“These aren’t the phrases!” his merciless father shouts at him.

“I do know,” says Little Al, who secretly performs accordion within the closet. “I made them higher.”

Afterward, Grownup Al (Daniel Radcliffe), after creating the tune “My Bologna” from The Knack’s “My Sharona” whereas making sandwiches, proclaims his life’s dream: “I’ll be essentially the most well-known accordion participant in a particularly particular style of music!”

Lush orchestral music swells all through as if cueing us to cry. And we do, however for a distinct purpose.

Radcliffe dons the frizzy wig and thick-framed glasses, and the function suits him like a size-large Hawaiian shirt. Actual Radcliffe and Bizarre Al share an inherent likability, an innocence actually, and Radcliffe’s persona elevates the movie. We actually care about what occurs to his Al, regardless that every thing is faux and a 100% joke. 

And he’s joined by a stacked forged of actors. Evan Rachel Wooden performs a gum-chewing ‘80s Madonna and Rainn Wilson takes on the function of radio character and Bizarre Al mentor Dr. Demento with the foolish seriousness of Tom Hanks in “Elvis.” 

Finest is Toby Huss as Al’s father Nick. He channels each disapproving dad in creative-genius biopic historical past, and wrings laughs out of every sucker punch and grunt.

There are a ton of celeb cameos that I gained’t point out. They’re all unbelievable.

Bizarre Al followers, like yours actually, won’t solely acknowledge this model of outrageous humor from his songs, but in addition his different forays onto the display screen. Sendups of film scenes from “Boogie Nights” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” harken again to what he did within the under-appreciated 1989 comedy film “UHF” (“Badgers? We don’t want no stinking badgers!”). And the tempo and dryness of the gags is a useless ringer for the reedited celeb interviews he used do on “The Bizarre Al Present” on CBS.

However what’s going to of us who didn’t attend AlCon after they had been 11 and don’t personal an autographed “UHF” LP make of this film? 

Appel’s movie, in spite of everything, is co-produced by Humorous or Die, so there’s a skit-like high quality to it, regardless that it exceeds 90 minutes. The film is a smidge too lengthy. But, there’s one thing interesting right here for anybody who enjoys the absurd comedy of Amy Sedaris’ “Strangers With Sweet,” or the violent living-room antics of “Household Man.” You don’t need to know all of the phrases to “The Saga Begins.”

Any teenager at present would have a swell time watching “Bizarre” in his basement at 2 a.m. And a few of us who had been youngsters 20 to 40 years in the past will pull up a chair.