Rock star biopics are pretty typical stuff nowadays. They tend to put the star on some sort of pedestal and make it seem as if he or she was destined for greatness. So, leave it to the folks making a Weird Al Yankovic biopic to throw that all on its head with the upcoming film, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.”
As seen in the trailer for ‘Weird,’ the film tells the story of Al Yankovic, a young boy who was told by his parents to not be the man he was meant to be. He, of course, would ignore that and go on to become a massively popular musician with a huge estate and Madonna as his girlfriend. Okay, well not all of that is true, and that’s what makes ‘Weird’ so great. This is a biopic that exaggerates and wholesale creates drama just for the sake of sticking to the “rock star biopic” formula. It’s a parody about a man who parodies other people’s work.
The film stars Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role joined by Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, Toby Huss, Julianne Nicholson, and Quinta Brunson. And yes, you probably noticed Al Yankovic himself has a role in the film. ‘Weird’ is directed by Eric Appel, inspired by his own fake trailer viral video that was released years ago on Funny or Die.
“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” debuts at this year’s TIFF on September 8 and will arrive on The Roku Channel on November 4. You can watch the trailer below.
Here’s the synopsis:
Daniel Radcliffe is “Weird” Al Yankovic in the unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, Al rebelled and made his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him. With Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson, and an A-list cast of thousands their agents won’t let us reveal.