Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Movie Review)

However, as you start laughing your head off at the beginning, you will quickly realize that this is not the usual biography. In fact, it’s probably the weirdest biography you’ll ever see.

Daniel Radcliffe stars as Alfred Yankovic, a.k.a ‘Weird Al Yankovic, in a music biopic.

I love watching movie biographies. Most times, I am too lazy to be a diehard fan of whichever celebrity is the subject of the movie. So instead of scouring their Wikipedia page and stalking them on Instagram, a movie does it!

Biopics of musicians are double fun, as you get iconic soundtracks along with the drama. But who is ‘Weird Al Yankovic?

Most of these biopics are about icons who died before I was born or made music my 21st-century brain cannot appreciate. But if you’re like me, you must have at least heard of these musicians or their songs. For instance, there’s Elvis Presley (he had a biopic this year) or Queen (the lead singer Freddie Mercury had a biopic about him in 2018). But Weird Al Yankovic? If you know him, you must be into American culture. Before watching this movie, I had only heard the name once, in an episode of How I Met Your Mother.

So why should you watch this biography of this ‘famous’ person you have never heard of? I will give you one reason.

It is the funniest and weirdest biopic you will ever watch!

So I stopped watching movie trailers and went into this movie blind, and if you do that too, better.

Summary

The movie follows the life of Alfred Yankovic, a musician who makes musical parodies of other musicians’ songs. The rest of it is the usual: the character shows promise as a child (usually with an easy grasp of a musical instrument), encounters initial difficulties (either from family members or a record label), catches a big break, and gets famous really fast, encounters more problems (caused by fame), overcomes obstacles, and finally the end.

However, as you start laughing your head off at the beginning, you will quickly realize that this is not the usual biography. In fact, it’s probably the weirdest biography you’ll ever see.

This is for you if you enjoy watching biographies, comedies, and music. There’s a Michael Jackson ‘fun fact’ in it you should look out for as you watch. If you have seen it, write your thoughts in the comments section. Did you catch the Harry Potter reference made by Daniel Radcliffe?