2007's Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story may not have been a commercial success at the time, but over the years, it has become a somewhat underrated jewel in producer Judd Apatow's glittering repertoire, sitting alongside films such as Knocked Up, Superbad, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Pineapple Express.
Starring Stepbrothers' John C. Reilly, the film is a crudely tongue-in-cheek pastiche of rock'n'roll biopics, that makes particular reference to 2004's Ray and 2005's Walk the Line. It follows the life of fictional blues guitarist Dewey Cox, who gets swept up into the rock'n'roll lifestyle following a traumatic early childhood experience which saw him, erm, accidentally cut his brother in half with a machete.
Packed with ridiculous clichés, Cox embodies the spirit and careers of a number of real life musicians, including Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Glen Campbell, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Donovan, John Lennon, James Brown, Jim Morrison, Neil Diamond and more. Meanwhile, there's 'appearances' from artists such as Elvis Presley (played by Jack White), Buddy Holly (played by Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz) and even a cameo from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.
Most notably, there's a spoof of The Beatles, with Jack Black portraying Paul McCartney, Paul Rudd as John Lennon, Jason Schwartzman as Ringo Starr and Justin Long playing George Harrison.
At one point in the story, Cox finds himself in an Indian meditation centre, where he takes LSD with the Liverpool band and experiences a strange animated hallucination. Before he dabbles in the psychedelics though, he sits down with 'The Beatles' in the company of a guru, as they prattle on and argue in hilariously awful Scouse accents.
"With meditation, there is no limit to what we can…Imagine" declares Rudd as Lennon, in a nasally voice.
"I as Ringo Starr, I don't care for meditation myself, I just love to have fun, you know" says an ultra-shy 'Ringo'.
Elsewhere, the band make repeated comical references to their legacy, such as originating from Liverpool and playing in the city's legendary Cavern Club, before 'Paul' and 'John' argue over who writes the best songs.
Then, after being asked how they came to decide who has which role in the band, 'Lennon' says: "It all happened naturally, we've got the quiet one, the funny one, the dark one and...", pointing to 'McCartney', "the cunt."
Check out the scene below:
