Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - C+

In theaters December 21. Rated R, 96 minutes.

Judd Apatow (writer and producer) tops off a banner year in less-than-inspired fashion with this send-up of every musical bio-pic in the last few years. John C. Reilly stars as singer Dewey Cox. By starting his career in the ’50’s and continuing through the 70’s, Walk Hard manages to skewer early rock ‘n roll such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Roy Orbison up through Dylan and the Beatles, into the late ‘70’s variety shows many older musicians of the era fell back into.. The gags are hit-and-miss, with the funniest bits coming when Cox is a child and when he plays a Dylan-esque protest singer. Jenna Fischer (Pam on The Office) plays June Carter Cash to Reilly’s Johnny, and does a tolerable job. Still, both this film and Blades of Glory misuse Fischer. She’s at her best playing the Tina Fey-type too-smart-to-come-on-to-you (and not quite sure how) girl much better than the va-va-voomstress she tries to pull off in these two films. While music business cameos including Eddie Vedder, Jewel, Jack White, and Lyle Lovett abound, my favorite supporter players were Jack Black, Justin Long, Paul Rudd, and Jason Schwartzman as the Beatles (McCartney, Harrison, Lennon, Starr). Still, it’s Reilly, in almost every scene, that makes the film. He is dependably funny with classic comedic timing and a remarkably good voice to boot (he does his own singing). Still the jokes fall much less frequently (and often pretty hard) as the film progresses, oddly leaving the parody genre and developing a heart at the end. Good for some laughs, but I’d wait for video. C+