Weird Al Yankovic + biopic parody = hilarious fake trailer
Weird Al Yankovic + biopic parody = hilarious fake trailer
Mar 24
Super cool story time — my first ever live concert experience was at a Weird Al show, back in Year 9. Being the smart-arse geek I was back in the day, Weird Al was the perfect form of entertainment for me. It was subversive but fun, and Al’s grating, nasally whine seemed to annoy people, so I could have his music all to myself, without worrying that it would become too “cool” or “mainstream”. The show was, of course, brilliant; the guy just oozes energy, even after all these years, and the band was as tight as ever. It’s safe to say Weird Al was instrumental in forming whatever sense of humour I have and express in everyday life, so he’s stuck in that sickly-sweet nostalgia section of my brain for good, causing me to get excited whenever I hear he’s blowing his nose or wearing a slightly different Hawaiian shirt than usual. In addition, whenever I hear original versions of “Like A Virgin,” “American Pie,” and that Eminem song, I feel like they’re wrong. Where’s the accordion? I wonder, where’s the hilarity?
When I saw the embedded trailer, a fake parody of the biopic cliche, my heart soared with the pure ideas that had gone into making it. Think about it — a parody movie about a musical parody artist: could this be the holy grail of meta-satire? Sure, the musical biopic has already had its comeuppance in the form of the absolutely worthy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, but who else is with me in hoping this humble little trailer generates enough laughs with the bigwigs to receive a modest budget and possible theatrical release?
Take the casting — I don’t even know who Aaron Paul is (apparently he’s in TV’s Breaking Bad), but his rugged and dramatic portrayal of Weird Al is hilariously incongruous with reality, so he seems like a good choice; Mary Steenburgen (from cult hit Step Brothers) seems almost serious and is surprisingly well-suited for a parody like this; and the casting of Weird Al himself as a douchey record exec is perfect; but don’t forget, there’s also Olivia Wilde as Madonna, who seems to have enough of a sense of humour to bring some spunk to the proceedings. It all seems like it fits really well, and if the trailer’s producers put this kind of thought and care (and money) into a tiny 2-minute clip, maybe they deserve to get their little idea punted onto the world stage.
It’s a sad prospect, but I reckon this simple premise alone might just be more amusing and interesting than the premise of every single wide-release film to come out in the entire month of March 2010, which is a real shame. Or maybe I’m just too white and nerdy.
