If you have ever seen a biopic about a musician or a band, you have undoubtedly noticed the similarities they share. Typically, the artist comes from a poor background and there was a tragedy in their past. Music is their ticket out though and after a meteoric rise and a terrible fall the musician rights their ship and becomes a legend.

“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” has a lot of fun with this formula and is a lot of fun, thanks to an amazing performance from John C. Reilly as Cox, ages 14- 70-something. Cox accidentally kills his brother when they are children and vows to be double great after the tragedy. He writes a song that makes the kids go crazy, falls in love with rock n’ roll and goes on a whirlwind journey filled with music, women and drugs.

The jokes come fast and furious and the music sounds great. Not only do they have you tapping your toes and trying to place the sound they are both honoring and skewering, but the lyrics are hilarious, particularly a double-entendre laced “Let’s Duet,” and a protest song about the plight of the little people.

Reilly is just plain fantastic, both as a singer and a comedic actor, but the film, produced by comedy mastermind of the moment Judd Apatow, features a killer supporting cast. Put it this way – think of every funny movie you’ve seen in the last 5-10 years, O.K., there is at least one person from each of those movies in this film. You could play one degree of separation with the cast of this film and everyone is in peak form from Paul Rudd as a hilarious John Lennon to a surprisingly good Tim Meadows. Kudos to Kristen Wiig, the actress who plays Dewey’s first wife, she is quickly proving herself to be one of the most gifted comediennes working today.

“Walk Hard” can get a little raunchy but compared to “Knocked Up” and “Superbad,” it is quite tame. If you love rock and roll music and comedy, this is a homerun for you. Don’t let the entertainment headlines fool you. It may not have hit box office gold over the weekend, but it is a comedy classic.

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