Weird Al has certainly lived up to that name with his hilarious and off-the-wall song parodies throughout his career, but now you can get the backstory of what made him so weird with his own music biopic, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story starring Daniel Radcliffe.
Biopics of famous musicians have become a staple of Hollywood, with movies focusing on legends like Ray Charles (Ray), Johnny Cash (Walk the Line), Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody), Aretha Franklin (Respect), Elton John (Rocketman) NWA (Straight Outta Compton) and, just this year, Elvis (Elvis). Now Weird Al is getting his own (tongue-and-cheek) true life tale told as a movie.
Here is everything we know about Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
When is the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story release date?
Weird: The Al Yankovic releases exclusively on The Roku Channel November 4. Here's how you can watch Weird: The Al Yankovic Story on the free, ad-supported streaming service The Roku Channel.
Alongside the Emmy-nominated Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas, Weird: The Al Yankovic is poised to be the biggest original title for The Roku Channel.
What is the plot of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?
Here is the official synopsis for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story:
"The biopic holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like 'Eat It' and 'Like a Surgeon' to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story takes audiences on a truly unbelievable journey through Yankovic’s life and career, from gifted child prodigy to the greatest musical legend of all time."
Weird Al himself helped write the script along with director Eric Appel.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story trailer
Though it claims to "hold nothing back" in the telling of Al Yankovic’s rise to musical stardom, Weird: Al Yankovic Story clearly has the same sense of humor of its subject, as the story appears to be wacky and over-the-top — except for the bit about calling Weird Al a music legend, because he is truthfully one of the best selling comedy recording artists ever with five Grammys. It’s just about everything else that appears to be hilariously exaggerated, like his troubled personality and relationship with Madonna.
Watch the trailer here:
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story reviews — what the critics are saying
Critics are on board with the outlandish Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, as the movie has earned a "Certified Fresh" designation from Rotten Tomatoes, with it scoring a 90% as of November 4. Another popular review aggregator site, Metacritic, has the movie earning a very respectable 74.
Here are some snippets from critics' reviews:
Rafael Motamayor, IGN: "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story does for the music biopic what the real Weird Al did for many a hit pop song: it makes fun of it, reveres it, remixes it, makes it weirder, and improves it."
Mark Hanson, Slant: "Weird accordingly (or is it accordion-gly?) takes everything to new heights of glorious ridiculousness."
Daniel Radcliffe as Weird Al Yankovic
Taking on the role of Weird Al is none other than Daniel Radcliffe. While it is clear from the trailer above that the Harry Potter star is not actually singing any of Yankovic’s iconic spoofs, he looks to be fully committed to the role in every other aspect.
Though we all got to know Radcliffe from a young age as the boy wizard, his post Potter career has been highlighted by fun, off-the-beaten path performances. This includes playing a farting corpse in Swiss Army Man, playing various roles in the comedy anthology series Miracle Workers, oddball villains in Now You See Me 2 and The Lost City and more.
Radcliffe spoke to The New York Times about the role, saying:
"I did one shot the other day and Al walked up to me afterward and was like, 'Is this the weirdest thing you’ve ever had to do?' I was like, 'It’s top two, with the only other thing being Paul Dano riding me like a jet ski at the beginning of Swiss Army Man.'"
Who is in the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story cast?
In addition to Radcilffe, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story has a very impressive cast. This includes Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) as Madonna, Rainn Wilson (The Office) as Dr. Demento, Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown) as Mary Yankovic, Spencer Treat Clark (Animal Kingdom) as Steve Jay, Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) as Oprah Winfrey and Toby Huss (Dickinson) as Nick Yankovic.
In addition, there is a whole slew of cameo appearances from well known actors, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Lennon, Patton Oswalt, Will Forte, Jack Black, Conan O'Brien and plenty more.
How long is Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story has a runtime of one hour and 48 minutes (you can add in a few extra minutes for the ads).
What is Weird: The Al Yankovic Story rated?
Weird: The Al Yankovic is actually considered a TV movie, so it doesn't have the traditional PG/PG-13/R rating in the US. Instead, it has been rated TV-14, which means may not be suitable for those under the age of 14 (at least not without a parent).
Who is directing Weird: The Al Yankovic Story?
Eric Appel is making his feature movie directing debut with Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, but he is a long-time veteran of directing TV. Appel has directed episodes for hit shows including Die Hart, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Silicon Valley, New Girl, Workaholics and Blue Mountain State.
