9. The Canonization of Dewey Cox

Today’s show is an exploration of the paradox that is Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a movie that was ignored, seemingly forgotten, and yet has influence all over our popular media. How is it that Michael Mann’s Ferrari shares an iconic line with Walk Hard, as Dan Kois asks? Could it possibly be that Joaquin Phoenix was intentionally mimicking John C. Reilly in Ridley Scott’s Napoleon? Will we ever, as Brianna Zigler writes, learn the lessons of Walk Hard? 

Jake Kasdan’s parody of the musical biopic came out in 2007 with the full support of Sony and a $35 million budget that allowed the production to look every bit as legitimate as the movies it poked fun at. Its cast, from John C. Reilly to Jenna Fischer to Kristin Wiig and all sorts of comedy legends, music legends, and Judd Apatow’s friends is something to behold all on its own. The entire enterprise stands out as perhaps the last big budget parody of its kind. And it may remain the last for one key reason: it made no money and it certainly didn’t win anybody any Oscars.

By winter 2007, it looked like Dewey Cox would never amount to more than a blip on the radar of popular culture, a goofy comedy that audiences didn’t know what to do with. But here we are in 2024 and, if you’ve seen Walk Hard before, there’s a good chance you still see it everywhere. We’ll hear from Brianna Zigler, Dan Kois, “How Walk Hard Almost Destroyed the Musical Biopic” writer Alan Scherstuhl, and Walk Hard’s oral historian Alan Siegel about the often surprising and persistent legacy of what might be the last big budget parody in Hollywood history.

The Entertainment is a production of KIOS 91.5 FM Omaha Public Radio. It is produced and edited by Courtney Bierman. Our artwork is created by Topher Booth. Today’s show features music and clips from Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Bohemian Rhapsody, Ferrari, and Napoleon. 

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