The trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is finally here, and it’s weirder than we dared hope. Daniel Radcliffe stars as “Weird Al” Yankovic in this unique take on a musical biopic. So far it sounds like fans are most excited to see his performance in all its glory.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a “satirical biographical parody film” about the career of Alfred Matthew Yankovic, which he co-wrote with director Eric Appel. It will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8, 2022 followed by a wider release on Nov. 4, 2022 on The Roku Channel. Judging by the thunderous response to its first trailer on Monday, the movie will be a major hit for Roku.
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Radcliffe is joined by Evan Rachel Wood playing a fictionalized version of Madonna and Rainn Wilson playing radio host Dr. Demento, who is credited with bringing Yankovic to national attention. However, the trailer makes it clear that these are hyperbolic, satirical versions of those real events, so there’s no telling how close those performances will be to their real-life counterparts.
Other stars include Toby Huss and Julianne Nicholson as Yankovic’s parents, Quinta Brunson as Oprah Winfrey, Spencer Treat Clark as bassist Steve Jay, James Preston Rodgers as Hulk Hogan and John Regan as Mark Mothersbaugh. The movie also stars Thomas Lennon, Dot-Marie Jones, Will Forte and Scott Aukerman.
Weird has actually been in the works as far back as 2010 when a strikingly similar trailer parody was produced for Funny or Die. That one starred Aaron Paul as Yankovic, Olivia Wilde as Madonna and Patton Oswalt as Dr. Demento. In this case, the whole story will be brought to life.
In truth, Yankovic’s life seems to have been a bit more peaceful than his biopic trailer indicates. He has said that his parents encouraged him to take accordion lessons and joked that “they were convinced it would revolutionize rock.” He did not have a highly publicized love affair with Madonna and is actually married to marketing executive Suzanne Krajewski.
As for the portrait of an egomaniacal rockstar, that seems to be the biggest joke of all. Yankovic is famously beloved in the entertainment industry – often by the artists he has parodied most of all. After Yankovic’s music video “Smells Like Nirvana” was released, Kurt Cobain wrote that Yankovic was “America’s modern pop-rock genius.”
It looks like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will be able to capture all of that and more. The movie is slated for release on Friday, Nov. 4 on The Roku Channel.
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