WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY
OF COURSE when Weird Al makes his biopic, he’ll take something preexisting and turn it into something uniquely his and rather funny.
Put another way, the king of musical parody has gone and parodied the entire medium of celebrity biographies. Weird premiered as a Roku Channel streaming exclusive, the story of a boy with a dream an accordion making it big in comedy records by swapping his own lyrics into other people’s songs. That’s where any similarity to actual fact ends, as the plot veers unapologetically into blatant fabrication and a gleeful middle finger aimed at VH1 Behind the Music clichés. Those shifts might be the one weakness here, as the tone varies quite a bit, mostly absurd but trying a little of everything and often taking its time between the laughs. If you’re a Weird Al fan though, it’s definitely a must-watch.
Downconverted from a 6K capture to yield a true 4K release, Weird seems to have been shot a little soft, never giving us razor-sharp clarity but proffering more than adequate detail in both foregrounds and backgrounds. Black levels too are above average. Al’s colorful Hawaiian shirts are ably reproduced, and a great many scenes possess a golden glow, the childhood sequences in particular, likely to impart a sense of nostalgia. The bulk of the movie is presented at a cinematic 2.39:1, but when Al begins appearing on TV, those faux clips are framed at 4:3, extending all the way to top and bottom of the screen and pillar-boxed left and right, and I can’t recall if I’ve ever seen this approach used before. Dolby Vision HDR brings a little extra zazz to the stage lighting when Al and his band perform in darkened arenas, and the Ultra HD image quality is a boon to spotting the many fun cameos sprinkled throughout.
Despite what the packaging states, both the 4K and the HD Blu-ray carry a Dolby Atmos track, which delivers clear dialogue and well-placed sound effects, and the soundstage opens up somewhat during the songs. (Worth noting, Al still provides the vocals for the film, while star Daniel Radcliffe mouths along and makes with some sweet gyrations.) The overall impact is fine, with minimal overhead engagement. A DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option is also included for those not partaking of 360-degree immersion.
Eric and Al reunite for the audio commentary—the only extra on 4K—and the HD Blu-ray adds 20+ minutes of deleted/extended/alternate scenes hosted by this same affable duo, alongside a few brief featurettes and interviews.