Movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story premieres on Roku November 4. Daniel Radcliffe portrays Yankovic, the accordion-playing humorist known for his parodies of pop songs. Roku calls the movie a biopic, though some liberties are taken in terms of facts.
“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,” the streaming network said.
Yankovic calls it a biopic too. He introduces the movie by saying, “You’re about to watch my totally 100% true, not at all made up biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.”
Funny Or Die and Tango produced Weird. The Roku original is free to stream.
“There clearly aren't enough biopic movies about famous musicians and we were excited to shine a light on the incredibly true, unexaggerated story of Weird Al,” said Colin Davis, Roku’s head of original scripted programming. “This is sincerely the ultimate combination of talent, creativity and friends, coming together to make something genuinely funny, and we could not be prouder to call this film a Roku Original.”
Yankovic’s parodies include “Eat It”, “Amish Paradise” and “Like a Surgeon.”
“When my last movie UHF came out in 1989, I made a solemn vow to my fans that I would release a major motion picture every 33 years, like clockwork. I’m very happy to say we’re on schedule,” said Yankovic when the project was announced earlier this year. “And I am absolutely thrilled that Daniel Radcliffe will be portraying me in the film. I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
Radcliffe of course played Harry Potter in that film franchise. Evan Rachel Wood plays Madonna in Weird.
A CNN review said, “At first blush, the idea of producing something completely different around Yankovic, infused with the same playful irreverence that he brought to his tunes, feels like just what the doctor ordered.
“Given its slim underpinnings, the idea that it runs out of steam a bit before it’s all over seems inevitable and tolerable, especially when taking into account that its subject’s most memorable creations run about three minutes, max.”
Weird is written by Yankovic & Eric Appel. Appel directs and is an executive producer. “When Weird Al first sat me down against my will and told me his life story, I didn’t believe any of it, but I knew that we had to make a movie about it,” Appel said. ■
