It’s always interesting when your first encounter with a movie is out in the world, rather than a theater setting. That’s what happened to me with this week’s pick, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022). I had just started unpacking in my mom’s guest room late at night after a delayed flight. I didn’t know anything about internet TV, but I found the movie already in progress, and despite having over 700 other stations to browse through, I found I couldn’t change the channel. I had heard Weird Al had a biopic in the works, but I didn’t realize that, in typical Weird Al fashion, it was a parody, and that made it all the better. The movie was more of a celebration of Al’s greatest hits, and reminded me of a mid 2000’s comedy in the best way. I knew when it came to be my turn to pick again, I had to bring it to the club. Read on to see my thoughts on Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

The following contains minor spoilers for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)

Being a parody of musical biopics, Weird Al lives through the archetypal story of a musician with big dreams living in a puritanical household. His father, later revealed to be formerly Amish, is staunchly against Al and his fascination with the accordion. Hilariously, in this version of events, accordions are a stand-in for rock music, which itself was a stand in for drugs and alternative lifestyles; it’s very funny to see a party full of teenagers discussing polka music in hushed excited whispers. Al’s forbidden love leads him to break ties with his parents to pursue his craft, and his musical parodies catapult him to stardom. Fame proves to be too much for Al, however, and through his trials and tribulations, he writes many of the songs he’s known for.

This movie was directed by Eric Appel, who has more experience in TV directing than film, and I noticed a difference in tone compared to most theatrical releases fairly quickly. Although it has a narrative, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, perhaps because of how silly the plot is, feels more like a collection of skits. I think that’s why I was able to jump in midway through when I first found it. The movie feels like something Comedy Central would have aired, especially because the cast is filled with recognizable comedians; I couldn’t help but call out “hey, that’s Scott Aukerman!” when he appeared for a cameo part as a police officer. There are so many recognizable faces and voices in this movie, half the fun is seeing who will show up next.

Daniel Radcliffe shows his talent as a chameleon stepping into the role of Weird Al. He’s playing a character that is so unlike his previous body of work and he just owns it. Radcliffe satirically portrays multiple faces of Al, and as he changes from chapter to chapter he really gets to show off his comedic skill. As silly as Al’s world gets, it’s clear that it’s real to the actor, and that sells the whole parody, no matter how ridiculous it gets.

Part of what makes this movie so funny, with all due respect to his weirdness, is that the real life Al is a pretty mild mannered guy. Seeing him go through the stages of being a rockstar and beyond is a riot, especially because he never loses his hallmark look, curly hair, glasses, mustache and all. Knowing Weird Al’s discography is also an advantage, as many of the scenes feature him failing to be inspired and recognize the songs we know he wrote in real life, even when they’re practically spelled out to him. The whole thing feels like a tribute to Weird Al’s greatest hits, although I thought it interesting that I didn’t notice any references to his more recent songs like “Foil,” or “Tacky.”

This movie is actually a feature length callback to a 2010 fake trailer, also directed by Eric Appel, which features many of the same lines and gags as this movie, albeit with different actors in the Funny Or Die version. Knowing that the plot had perhaps already been outlined by Weird Al’s songs helps explain why the plot of this movie is so meandering. By the time Madonna shows up, things feel pretty off the rails, and it’s kind of hard to see where it’s going—maybe because “Like a Surgeon” doesn’t really stand out to me. I also kind of wished that we got versions of these songs with Radcliffe’s vocals, like you usually do when a musician’s life story gets turned into a movie, if only because it was a little strange to hear Weird Al’s actual voice dubbed over him for the songs. 

While writing this review, I discovered that this movie is a “Roku Original Film.” It’s a label I hadn’t seen before, and that led me to wonder how many “Roku Original Films” there were. It turns out, while Roku has a robust TV catalog, this movie is one of two Roku Original Films at time of writing, alongside an streaming version of Heathers: The Musical, and it’s been about a year since it’s come out, so they haven’t been keeping the lights on at night to work on more. Thankfully this sponsorship didn’t result in product placement, and I think it’s ultimately proven to have been a solid investment for Roku, although I can’t honestly say I understand how they make money.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is the kind of movie you could put on for just about anyone. It’s silly in the purest of ways, and never strays too far into something that a ten year old kid couldn’t watch. While it sometimes looks cheap, I think that may have more to do with the structure of the film rather than its aesthetics. Being the kind of movie you can drop into and jump out of is pretty nice for a different kind of atmosphere though, and I would definitely put this on the next time I’m hanging out with my brother and looking for something to watch, or entertaining friends in a less structured setting. It’s a little more approachable than something like UHF (1989), but still just as fun. The next time you’re feeling a little weird, it’s definitely worth a watch.