Armed with multiple accordions, Daniel Radcliffe is seen in his goofiest avatar yet, with the trailer release of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.
A biopic focusing on the life of Grammy-winning comedic artist Weird Al Yankovic, the film charts his course through the ’70s and ’80s, as his hilarious hits garner attention across the U.S., culminating in over 10 million album sales, 6 platinum records, and 5 Grammys—a discography that warrants envy from some of music’s biggest ‘serious’ stars.
Documenting The Ultimate Parody Artist
Yankovic’s rise to fame wasn’t easy. The name ‘Weird Al’ itself was a derogatory nickname that he was bullied with in college, before he scrapped his architecture degree for a career in comedic music.
As his wacky open-mic accordion performances generated both hate and amusement in his early years, Weird Al found himself thrust into the world of comedy radio and parody music, soon achieving a cult following that broke into mainstream appeal by the 1990s.
By the 2000s, Yankovic had somehow outlasted many of his mainstream parody targets, from MC Hammer to Nirvana, the latter of whom were appreciative fans and collaborators. His parody music videos in particular are littered with thousands of references and interesting castings — just take the classic parody of rapper Chamillionaire’s Ridin’ Dirty, titled White & Nerdy.
(It’s pretty hilarious to notice in 2022, but you can actually spot comedians Key & Peele in the video’s intro, way back in 2006.)
Some may think he’s a gimmick, but the numbers don’t lie. As an artist with a top 40 hit in four different decades, Al’s part of a super-exclusive club that includes only U2, Madonna, and Michael Jackson.
Streamer Roku released the trailer after their ‘NewFronts’ presentation on Tuesday at the Chelsea Factory in New York City – with Yankovic himself carrying out an introduction via video, since he’s currently busy on tour.
Radcliffe also made an appearance on stage, making a few jokes and sharing his enthusiasm for what will be his 27th appearance in a feature film.
“I am so excited for you to see the insane, wonderful film that we have made,” Radcliffe said. “Thank you, Roku, for letting us make such an insane, weird film. Getting to do this was genuinely one of the most fun things I’ve ever gotten to do in my life, so [I hope] it is as much fun to watch as it was to make. I think you will really enjoy it—and you better, because I learned the accordion for this. And that instrument is a nightmare.”
Fans also chimed in, with supporters of all ages hyped for one of music’s longest-overlooked biopics. Understandably, even Al’s fanbase is pretty hilarious and many are praising the bang-on casting choice of Daniel Radcliffe.
The biopic is written by Eric Appel and Yankovic, while Appel also serves as the director and executive producer; perhaps an excellent choice for a funny biopic given than he’s directed several memorable episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Silicon Valley.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story also stars Julianne Nicholson (I, Tonya), Rainn Wilson (The Office), and Toby Huss (Dickinson).
The film is expected to premiere ‘this fall’ exclusively on The Roku Channel.
(Featured Image Credits: The Roku Channel)
