The 2007 film Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story comes from writers Judd Apatow & Jake Kasdan, and is a parody of the numerous musical biopics that have become staples of the Oscar season—such as Walk The Line, Ray, The Doors, and more. The film combines elements of all of these into the amazing life story of fictional singer Dewey Cox, who overcomes tragedy and adversity to become a musical legend.

In 1946, in Springberry, Alabama, 6-year-old Dewey Cox loses his musically-talented brother, Nate, in a tragic accident. His father is devastated, and never lets Dewey forget, constantly telling him that the wrong kid died. The shock of the accident also left Dewey smell blind. Just before his brother passed, Dewey made him a promise that he would be double great for the both of them, and so takes up music himself, learning to sing the blues. By the age of 14, sophomore Dewey (John C. Reilly) is performing a rock song at his high school’s talent show, and while the students love it, the parents and faculty accuse him of doing the devil’s work. And so Dewey leaves home, along with his new 12-year-old girlfriend Edith (Kristen Wiig) to pursue his musical dreams.

It’s not long before Dewey is discovered while working at a nightclub, and he and his band—Sam (Tim Meadows), Theo (Chris Parnell) & Dave (Matt Besser)—start making records and going on tour. However, the fame and temptation takes a toll on Dewey’s relationship with his young wife and kids back home, especially when he meets the beautiful Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer). Dewey also finds himself getting into trouble with drugs, the law, and activism. He’s still haunted by his brother’s death and it’s something that’s constantly weighing on his mind and affecting his music. The film follows the ups and downs of Dewey’s career over several decades, as he constantly reinvents himself, exploring the various music genres of the eras, and running into many musical and celebrity icons along the way.

Walk Hard is ridiculous and over the top, but that’s what makes it so much fun. The filmmakers establish the tone right from the get go. With Dewey’s last name being Cox, there are so many dick jokes throughout the film, and at least a dozen just in the opening scene. The filmmakers also don’t worry about being realistic at all, and just has fun with every scene. For example, John C. Reilly and Kristen Wiig play the 14- and 12-year-old versions of their characters. The characters make sure to state their ages during conversation, and then just move on. There’s also a sex scene later in the film that obviously swaps in extremely fit body doubles for the main actors, but it is played off like the real thing. There’s a lot of this absurd, tongue-in-cheek type humor.

The film is overloaded with appearances from recognizable actors playing iconic music legends, though many don’t really look like their counterparts (such as Jack Black playing Paul McCartney), so Dewey always makes sure to refer to these musicians by their full names, several times, as a cheeky wink to the audience. Once we get into the late 70’s there’s also several celebs from the era playing versions of themselves, such as Patrick Duffy, Cheryl Ladd and Cheryl Tiegs. And of course they have to have Dewey marry Cheryl Tiegs so they can get in the “Cox-Tiegs” dick jokes.

While the movie is a comedy, it is played very straight, which helps to amplify the humor. John C. Reilley is amazing in this role, and he can really sing! The film features a dozen original songs, which are both extremely catchy and great songs on their own, but also very humorous at the same time. The songs span every genre you could think of. From the titular “Walk Hard” to the hilarious double-entendre-filled duet between Dewey and Darlene, “Let’s Duet” (or more like do-it). There’s also some appearances from some real musicians such as Lyle Lovett, Jewel, Jackson Browne & The Temptations playing versions of themselves.

I had a blast with the first half of the movie, which had me tapping along to the music when I wasn’t laughing out loud. The writing is so clever and fun, and there are so many amazing cameos (way too many to list here). However, the film started to drag a bit for me halfway through, around the time that Dewey does LSD with the Beatles and things go off on this drug-fueled tangent. The film is offered both in its original 90-minute theatrical version, as well as the 2-hour “Unbearably Long Self-Indulging Director’s Cut”. I had chosen to watch the latter for my first time viewing this film, and that may be why. Though the movie did pick up again later on, finishing with a solid and surprisingly emotional conclusion in the final act.

Walk Hard is a beautiful looking film, with some amazing and colorful sets that transport the viewer back to these various eras in Dewey’s life. Mill Creek’s Blu-ray looks fantastic, with a clean, clear picture throughout. The audio track is also excellent, providing clear dialogue and showcasing the film’s amazing soundtrack. The musical performances really fill the room and make the viewer feel like they are right there in these various venues.

Sony had previously released Walk Hard on a special 2-disc Unrated edition Blu-ray in 2008, which was loaded with bonus material. This release appears to now be out of print, but the good news is that majority of that supplemental material has been carried over to Mill Creek’s new Walmart-exclusive SteelBook release. I have noted the few things that are missing below, but there are still hours of highly-entertaining bonus material for fans to enjoy. Mill Creek’s release is split across 2 discs, each containing a different cut of the film as well as some of the bonus material. The discs, which look like records, are placed on either side of the beautiful new SteelBook case—the interior and exterior of which can be seen below. It’s really quality packaging.

What’s Included:

Film: (Unrated: 2:00:19, Theatrical: 1:36:03)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitles: English

Extras:
No new bonus material has been created for this release, but the majority of the material from Sony’s previous 2-disc Unrated Blu-ray release has been ported over. Missing from Sony’s release are a 6-minute featurette about the full-frontal nudity in the extended cut, a 39-minute featurette on the song demos for the 12 original songs in the film, and a 4-minute safety featurette on the filming of the scene where young Nate is chased by a bull.

• Full Song Performances (41:11)
  Select full song performances from the film play back-to-back—”Gamblin’ Man,” “Walk Hard,” “(I Hate You) Big Daddy,” “A Life Without You,” “Let’s Duet,” “Guilty as Charged,” “Dear Mr. President,” “The Mulatto Song,” “Royal Jelly,” “Hey Mr. Old Guy,” “Farmer Glickstein,” “Billy Don’t be a Hero,” “Star Man,” “(You Make Me So) Hard”, “My Girl” & “Walk Hard (All-Star Version)”.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (19:25)
  Collection of 9 deleted/extended scenes play back-to-back.
• Audio Commentary (Theatrical: 1:36:03, Unrated: 2:00:19)
  Producer/co-writer Judd Apatow, director/co-writer/co-producer Jake Kasdan, star John C. Reilly, and executive producer Lew Morton provide a fun and entertaining commentary throughout the film. They talk about how the film came about, share lots of fun stories about the production, and point out the numerous pop culture references and cameos that appear throughout the film. An edited version of the commentary is offered on theatrical cut, while the full commentary appears on the unrated cut.
• Line-O-Rama (6:22)
  Montage of alternate line takes.
• A Christmas Song From Dewey Cox (2:45)
  Dewey Cox sings a Christmas message to his fans about how the people want Cox for Christmas.
• Cox Sausage Commercial with Outtakes (2:23)
  An older Dewey Cox does a commercial for Cox Sausage, followed by outtakes with John C. Reilly staying in character as he flubs the lines.
• The Music of Walk Hard (16:37)
  The cast and crew discuss John C. Reilly’s musical ability, creating original music in so many different genres, getting musicians to sign on, finding the right tone, the various songs, the tribute band at the end of the movie, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars John C. Reilly (“Dewey Cox”) & Jenna Fischer (“Darlene Madison”), director/writer/producer Jake Kasdan, composer/music producer Michael Andrews, writer/producer Judd Apatow, songwriters Tom Wolfe, Dan Bern, Mike Viola & Charles Wadhams, music supervisor Manish Raval, executive producer Lew Morton, and musicians Lyle Lovett, Jewel, Jackson Browne & Ghostface Killah.
• The Making of Walk Hard (15:05)
  The cast and filmmakers talk about how the film came about, casting the movie, learning to play the instruments, the look of the film, creating the sets, the costumes, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/writer/producer Jake Kasdan, writer/producer Judd Apatow, executive producer Lew Morton, producer Clayton Townsend, songwriters Dan Bern & Mike Viola, production designer Jefferson Sage, costume designer Debra McGuire, and stars John C. Reilly, Kristen Wiig (“Edith”), Jenna Fischer, Tim Meadows (“Sam”), Chris Parnell (“Theo”), Matt Besser (“Dave”), Margo Martindale (“Ma Cox”) & Raymond J. Barry (“Pa Cox”).
• The Real Dewey Cox (14:04)
  A Behind-the-Music like spoof with personal testimonials about the “real” Dewey Cox from actors John C. Reilly, Harold Ramis (“Kvetch L’Chaim”), Matt Besser, Ed Helms (“Stage Manager”), Kristen Wiig, David Krumholtz (“Schwartzberg”), Margo Martindale, Tim Meadows & Cheryl Tiegs, musicians Lyle Lovett, Jackson Browne, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Sarah Evans, Van Zandt, Jewel, Brad & Kimberly Paisley, & Ghostface Killah, director Jake Kasdan, producer Judd Apatow, producer Clayton Townsend, and more.
• The Last Word with John Hodgman (26:00)
  John Hodgman hosts this faux documentary featuring one of the final interviews with musician Dewey Cox, his wives, and several other people from his life.

Final Thoughts:

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is a fun parody of the musical biopic genre with an excellent cast and some amazing original music. Mill Creek has re-released the film on a special 2-disc Blu-ray packaged in a beautiful new Walmart-exclusive SteelBook case. The film’s video and audio presentation are top notch, and the discs are loaded with bonus material, all ported over from Sony’s previous 2-disc Blu-ray release. Unfortunately there were a few things from that previous release that didn’t make it, but there’s still hours of great behind-the-scenes material to enjoy. And since Sony’s disc appears to now be out of print, this release is a terrific alternate option, especially for those who collect SteelBooks (the case looks great!). Those who already own the previous release won’t have a reason to double-dip, unless they really want the case. But the film itself is worth checking out for fans of Reilly, of or Apatow’s style of humor.