Entire seasons and retrospectives for the IFI were discussed just to give Pete the opportunity to screen the criminally overlooked Walk Hard, his favourite laugh-out-loud comedy of recent years, and a good example of his eclectic taste. It’s a smart and very funny parody of the biopic, in which John C. Reilly is Dewey Cox, an aspiring musician. Wrestling with the guilt of accidentally cutting his brother in half when they were children, and seeking the approval of his disappointed father, Dewey is driven to succeed, and the film follows him across the decades as he moves from musical style to style, chasing love and adulation. 

The affectionate musical pastiches are spot on, cameos include Jane Lynch, Paul Rudd, and Jack White of the White Stripes, and the eminently quotable script keeps the laughs coming.

This film is screening as part of our special tribute season, dedicated to Pete Walsh (March 9th – 31st).