The film will spoof common biopic tropes through the lens of Weird Al.
Yesterday, the first trailer released for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a biopic film focusing on the life and times of beloved comedy and parody musician “Weird” Al Yankovic with Daniel Radcliffe, best known for his starring role in the Harry Potter films, cast in the lead.
According to a press release, the film “holds nothing back, exploring every facet of Yankovic’s life, from his meteoric rise to fame with early hits like ‘Eat It’ and ‘Like a Surgeon’ to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle.”
Of course, anyone who knows anything about Weird Al knows he’s rather down-to-Earth person. This exaggeration, combined with some very exaggerated moments in the trailer, such as when Radcliffe as Weird Al offhandedly asks for an accordion and is greeted with several options, implies that this will be more of a parody than a straight biopic. The film will parody several common elements of musician biopics such as dramatic surges in popularity followed by sudden, tragic falls from grace. For a film about the best-selling comedy musician of all time, we should expect no less.
Get psyched. pic.twitter.com/w7oTGVwjFe
— Al Yankovic (@alyankovic) May 3, 2022
“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,” Weird Al said back in January when the film was first announced. He added that “I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember” Radcliffe for.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will release this fall exclusively on the Roku Channel.