Sit Still: The Mike Whorenelli Story

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm not famous and you probably won't ever see the story of my life on the big screen. I remember one Summer when my neighborhood friends literally tried to start a garage band, rehearsing in one kid’s garage. For some reason they included me, even though they played guitars and drums and I didn't. Since my only instrumental talent was brass, they opted to make me the lead singer. We recorded various cover songs such Nirvana's Polly and Bush's Glycerine. We never went beyond those recordings, and in hindsight I'm now wondering if they were just playing a trick on me since I really can't sing and certainly don't have the looks of a lead singer. I recently watched Charly, the classic film adaptation of Flowers for Algernon, in which Cliff Robertson doesn't know when his “friends” are making fun of him because he's mentally challenged. Those were some painful scenes, and one wonders if the innocence in not knowing certain things isn't preferable.

So, I never became a rock star. I wanted to become a famous comic book artist when I went to college, even though I was just a margin doodler. Illustration gave way to commercial art, and I make an adequate living now designing stuff that won't make me famous, flyers that the majority of recipients probably rip up. I went through a karaoke phase in the tail end of the ‘90s, co-”starring” in the ensemble cast of a friend's Manhattan public access show. For those of you under the age of 30, that's what we did before YouTube. The digital age makes it a lot easier for nobodies to get into people's living rooms.

I'm not a rock star, famous artist, or television celebrity. Neither is Dewey Cox, but that didn't stop anyone from making a satirical biopic about this fictitious rock star in the tradition of Ray and Walk the Line. The film successfully satirizes the conventions of such movies, condensing a person's life into less than two hours and hitting on milestone events as though everyone knew they were milestones. My favorite aspect of Walk Hard was it's use of something I'll describe as “prophetic irony”. Characters will say certain things like, “Nothing horrible is going to happen today!” when you know the exact opposite is true, especially if you've seen any biography of any rock star or celebrity ever. There's a formula to those which this film exploits to the fullest.

The film offers a lot of cameos in Dewey's rise to fame. David Krumholtz, Harold Ramis, Jack McBrayer(30 Rock), Frankie Muniz, Jack White(The White Stripes), and Eddie Vedder(as himself) are just a few of the faces that pop up, not always recognizably. I won't even spoil the all-star lineup that portrays The Beatles, but it's inspired. And fans of The Office will be happy to spot Ed Helms, Craig Robinson, and of course the lovely Jenna Fischer, who steals Dewey's heart and ours as she does her best impression of Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line.

As Dewey's drummer, Tim Meadows genuinely cracked me up, even if he wasn't doing anything different from the billion years he spent on SNL. I think it was just his earnest delivery, and repetition of certain key phrases throughout the movie that really got to me. He advises Dewey “against” Marijuana smoking, and his narcotic “advice” only escalates as the story unfolds. But the one name I've yet to mention is John C. Reilly. We've all known his face since at least 1990's Days of Thunder, but I'm not sure how recognizable his name has been over the years. It wasn't until I saw him in Magnolia that I decided to note his name and elevate him from his “Hey It's That Guy” status. He's a skilled character actor with great range and an impressive resume, but Walk Hard marks his first lead role. He's proven equally adept at comedy as well as drama, and his presence elevated what might have been another throwaway role for someone like Will Ferrell. Judd Apatow has been on a solid winning streak lately with films he's either written and/or directed, and his story here continues that streak with a solid star and supporting cast.

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Reilly was of course the common theme in yesterday's Movie Keyword Game; all were movies he's appeared in. No one guessed the theme, nor all ten films, so no prize will be awarded this time. Honorable mention goes to B13 who came extremely close with an impressive nine out of ten. Here are the correct answers:

1) Days of Thunder
2) Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
3) Magnolia
4) The Perfect Storm
5) Boogie Nights
6) The Hours
7) Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
8) Chicago
9) Gangs of New York
10) Dark Water