It feels like every great musician will get the biopic. Movies based on Queen, NWA, and Elvis have all lit up the box office and earned a great deal of critical attention. These are musical legends whose work has touched the hearts of millions and people clearly want to see the stories of how their favorite songs came to be. Now one of the most iconic artists is getting his own feature film, a man whose voice defined a generation: "Weird Al" Yankovic.
That sort of grand posturing is exactly what one would expect from a musical biopic, and in typical Weird Al Yankovic fashion, the upcoming movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story very much knows that. One look at the trailer which sees Daniel Radcliffe step into the role of Weird Al sees a very different type of movie than what audiences would expect from this man's life story, one which utilizes the "sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll" trope of musical biopics, which is a major, hilarious contrast to the real man's life story. This is all a deliberate choice of the movie — Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is not a biopic about the artist but instead a parody of musical biopics that have been a staple of Hollywood, particularly during awards season.
Weird Al Yankovic's True Life Story
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic has been performing parody songs since he was 16. He is a musician but also a comedian by nature, and his most iconic instrument is an accordion. He is a vegetarian and a Christian and obtains from drugs, alcohol, and profanity. He does not have the turbulent love life of other musicians or public scandals that would make for a compelling narrative drama. He is just a normal guy with a pretty conventional, happy life who also just happens to be the greatest comedic parody songwriter of all time.
"Weird Al" is a beloved musical artist and instantly recognizable, so it makes sense why they should make a biopic; the issue is that his life story doesn't fit the traditional rise and fall narrative, and doesn't include much (or any) of the wild, juicy moments seen in music biopics like The Doors. Thus, the filmmakers have opted to make a movie that's not just about his musical style but also (just like his musical style) a parody of mainstream biopics.
An Unconventional Biopic For an Unconventional Artist
The trick to pulling off a great musical biopic is making the tone of the film match the spirit of the artist. Rocketman pulled this off incredibly well, giving the film a flamboyant and fantastical angle for an artist who was known for his flamboyant showmanship. In contrast, a revolutionary band like Queen was given a rather straightforward and standard paint-by-numbers biopic with Bohemian Rhapsody.
A "Weird Al" Yankovic movie should reflect his musical style, which is a parody in nature. The movie is billed as a biopic but is a complete work of fiction. After all, it would seem odd to do a straightforward biopic for a man whose catalog of work includes parody song covers like "White and Nerdy," or a riff on "American Pie" focused on Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace. This film is a riff on biopics the same way that his songs are riffs on popular music.
Weird is Similar to Walk Hard
Musical biopics are so common an audience knows the troupes pretty clearly: there is the rise from obscurity, the road trip montage of getting big, the phase where they struggle with fame, and finally the big redemptive musical act that closes out the movie. This formula is so tried and true that it was already parodied to perfection back in 2007 with Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story also parodies the conventions of the musical biopic, which at the time had seen a major resurgence with films like Ray and Walk The Line. Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story was a fictional artist going through the typical biopic trappings of an artist. It so perfectly captured the conventions that even after its release, musical biopics still follow similar setups that Walk Hard: A Dewey Cox Story parodied 15 years ago. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will follow in that legacy this time with a real artist parody of his life.
Just Because it's a Parody Doesn't Mean it's Any Less True
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is clearly a parody movie just like "Weird Al's" songs are parody songs. Yet just because they come from a place of comedic inspiration does not make them any less meaningful than the work they are satirizing. The content of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story might not be accurate, but the spirit of the movie is what the artist himself looks to accomplish — to make people laugh and give them a good time, while also making a work of art that stands on its own that also makes what is being parodied appreciated all the more.
The release of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story sadly now comes just weeks after the tragic passing of artist Coolio. "Weird Al" famously parodied "Gangsta's Paradise" as "Amish Paradise." This notably led to a feud with Coolio, who claimed he never gave permission. The two men eventually made amends and Coolio even admitted how funny the song was. "Amish Paradise" is a song that is made better because of "Gangsta's Paradise," and the two service to help one another. This might be a similar fashion for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story where maybe the comedy of this film will make people appreciate the original works it is parodying in a new light. After all, a parody can't exist without an original.