Weird: The Al Yankovic Story directed by Eric Appel and written by Al Yankovic is masterful parody of autobiographical movies and possibly one of the funniest movies of the year. While the idea for the movie was originally apart of an old Funny or Die sketch, it goes beyond to show the many aspects of Al Yankovic: The Action Hero, The Sex Symbol, and The Massively Succesful Musician. With Daniel Radcliff playing Weird Al himself, all aspects from the acting to the writing in this film are quite genius.

Right of the bat I would like to address the tonal shifts throughout the movie, it begins as a sort of coming of age story about a kid who doesnt fit in and just wants to play his Accordion, however as the movie continues it quickly switches from drama, to autobiographical, and even to action movie. The way it flows is masterful, as this is a parody film you don’t need to have justification for the shifts and the clear comedic approach to the shifts work so well for this movie, and really help to set it apart from others.

While this film has many excellent qualities, the best part is by far the sense of humor. It is very 4th-wall breaking and meta because it knows what it is and acknowledges it. At some points characters completely change for the benefit of a joke or scene, and while it wouldn’t work in any movie this absolute absurdity fits this movie’s “Weird” tone.

Danniel Radcliff who plays Al, does an amazing job in this role. He plays this character so well through every tonal shift. He starts as a cheery, quirky kid. But as the movie continues (following the pattern of most autobiographical movies about musicians) he becomes an unlikable drug addict, striving for more money and fame. He is able to switch from fame monster to nerdy musician and back again in a very convincing and effective manner. Radcliff’s performance is at some points very emotional in an otherwise completely humorous movie. While I think it’s unlikely, this performance would be worthy of at least an oscar nomination.

Finally, what would a Weird Al movie be without some of his music. The soundtrack of this film is pretty good, while it isn’t for everyone if you are a Weird Al fan you will surely enjoy the album as it serves as a greatest hits of his best parody music.

Overall, I thought this movie was great, and while it’s not breaking a ground or re-inventing film it’s a very fun watch and I would watch it again in the future. I would rate this movie a 4/5 and hope to see more movies written by Al Yankovic soon.