Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, available exclusively on Roku beginning November 1, is currently offering exclusive new content to its audience in anticipation of the film’s official premiere. New movie posters have been released, and they’ve been shared by none other than parody king “Weird Al” Yankovic. Even though the Bohemian Polka can’t be heard in photographs, this one gets us eager to dance. True to habit, Yankovic’s poster parodies a similar design from Bohemian Rhapsody, the Rami Malek–starring biography of Queen. In Weird, star Daniel Radcliffe once again portrays the iconic character.
The poster captures all the key details, from the purple colour scheme to the name mirrored in Radcliffe’s spectacles to the same slogan stating “Weird lives forever.” It’s possible that the Weird variant may be mistaken for the genuine article if you caught it in a split second. Radcliffe portrays the titular character in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a musical comedy biography.
The film follows Yankovic as he climbs from relative obscurity to worldwide recognition thanks to his parody singles like “Eat It” (a takeoff on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”) and “Like a Surgeon” (a sendup of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”). Yankovic’s “torrid celebrity love relationships and famously filthy lifestyle” will be explored in the film. The film also features Quinta Brunson as Oprah Winfrey, Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna, Julianne Nicholson as Yankovic’s mother, Toby Huss as Yankovic’s father, Rainn Wilson as Dr Demento, Spencer Treat Clark, Dot-Marie Jones, Gordon Tarpley, Arturo Castro, and James Preston Rogers.
The script was written by Yankovic & Eric Appel, and Appel also served as director and executive producer. Executive producers include Henry Muoz III of Funny Or Die and Neil Shah of Tango. Tango’s Tim Headington, Lia Buman, and Max Silva, as well as Funny or Die’s Joe Farrell, Whitney Hodack, and Mike Farah, are all producers, as is Yankovic. The film was produced by Funny or Die or Tango. Critics were eager to praise Weird after its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
In the end, it took home the Midnight Madness category’s People’s Choice award. Ross Bonaime, in his review, compliments not just Radcliffe but also a few of the other actors, saying, “While this may be a spoof, it more closely resembles a jubilant tribute to the man and his comic genius. There’s no better way to remember Al than to embrace your inner weirdo.” Strange: The Al Yankovic Story premieres on Roku on November 4th.