History Film / WalkHard

* DoubleEntendre: The entire [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi9Gc31SauI "Let's Duet" sequence.]]
--> '''Dewey:''' In my dreams you're blowin' me, some kisses / You and I could go down, in history / I'm gonna beat off, all my demons.
**** Here I am a-sneaking up behind you/You can always come in my backdoor

** A deleted scene had a variation on this joke with him performing moody NeilYoung-esque folk-rock, which is dismissed by his peers as "sounding [[{{Grunge}} grungy]]

''Walk Hard'' stars Creator/JohnCReilly, who spent a year recording 40-plus of the songs that his character supposedly wrote. He proves himself to be a more than capable singer and he approaches the ludicrous situations with the same sincerity he uses in his more serious dramatic turns (''TheAviator'', ''{{Magnolia}}'', ''GangsOfNewYork'').

* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Dewey's brother was ludicrously talented and ambitious. Dewey, not so much.

** Music/TheBeatles deliver one to their bandmate Ringo, as they remind him he should be glad they let him keep playing the drums.

* DawsonCasting: Parodied. John C. Reilly plays Dewey as a fourteen-year-old and keeps mentioning his age just to underscore the ridiculousness.
** To say nothing of Edith, played by 34-year-old Kristen Wiig!
--> '''Edith:''' I'm his girlfriend! I'm his 12-year-old ''girlfriend!''
** Also a parody of several biopic where this happens, such as John Goodman playing a teenage Babe Ruth in ''Film/TheBabe'' and Dennis Quaid playing an early 20s JerryLeeLewis in ''GreatBallsOfFire!''
** Don't forget 33-year-old Gary Busey in ''Film/TheBuddyHollyStory'', wherein he plays [[Music/BuddyHolly Buddy]] from 19 to 22.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Sony cut over twenty minutes (including an entire subplot that was shown in the trailers) from the film before it opened. They also released it in a crowded Christmas season, letting it die against the also music themed ''Film/SweeneyTodd'' and ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks''.

* NonSingingVoice: As Jenna Fischer has admitted, she can't sing. Angela Correa dubbed over the songs for the Darlene Madison character.

* StuntCasting: Parodied - many of Dewey's buddies are themselves (RealLife) famous musicians... who are often played by (intentionally) [[WTHCastingAgency ludicrously miscast]] famous actors (such as [[MalcolmInTheMiddle Frankie Muniz]] as Buddy Holly and Creator/JackBlack as Paul [=McCartney=]). Similar to the DawsonCasting example, they intentionally keep referring to themselves by name to underscore the absurdity.
** Or extremely famous [[ElvisPresley musicians]] played by merely famous [[TheWhiteStripes musicians]].
-->'''Dewey''': What do you think, George Harrison, [[LampshadeHanging of the Beatles]]?
-->'''George Harrison''': It's so dark in this tent, you know, it reminds me of when we, the Beatles, the four Beatles--
-->'''[[Creator/JackBlack Paul McCartney]]''': From Liverpool.
-->'''John Lennon''': Oh, we are [[ShownTheirWork from Liverpool]].

* CreatorBreakdown: In-universe; Dewey's lengthy and bizarre production of his masterpiece during the TheSixties is taken from Brian Wilson's infamous ''Smile'' album.

* CreatorBreakdown: Dewey's lengthy and bizarre production of his masterpiece during the TheSixties is taken from Brian Wilson's infamous ''Smile'' album.

* TemptingFate: Pretty much every single thing Nate says before they play machete fight.

** Even when the scene when he FINALLY starts to enjoy his son's music and dances with his wife, his wife dies tragically when she dances out the window and blames Dewey for it.

''Walk Hard'' stars John C. Reilly, who spent a year recording 40-plus of the songs that his character supposedly wrote. He proves himself to be a more than capable singer and he approaches the ludicrous situations with the same sincerity he uses in his more serious dramatic turns (''TheAviator'', ''{{Magnolia}}'', ''GangsOfNewYork'').

** Also a parody of several biopic where this happens, such as John Goodman playing a teenage Babe Ruth in ''TheBabe'' and Dennis Quaid playing an early 20s JerryLeeLewis in ''GreatBallsOfFire!''

* ExecutiveMeddling: Sony cut over twenty minutes (including an entire subplot that was shown in the trailers) from the film before it opened. They also released it in a crowded Christmas season, letting it die against the also music themed ''SweeneyTodd'' and ''AlvinAndTheChipmunks''.

* DrugsAreBad: Parodied -- Dewey frequently opens a door to find Sam behind it, indulging in some illicit narcotics in the company of some beautiful women. Sam always insists that Dewey wants no part of it, only to then insistently list all the benefits of doing that particular drug. Dewey inevitably ends up hooked on it.

* StuntCasting: Parodied - many of Dewey's buddies are themselves (RealLife) famous musicians... who are often played by (intentionally) [[WTHCastingAgency ludicrously miscast]] famous actors (such as [[MalcolmInTheMiddle Frankie Muniz]] as Buddy Holly and [[SchoolOfRock Jack]] [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda Black]] as Paul [=McCartney=]). Similar to the DawsonCasting example, they intentionally keep referring to themselves by name to underscore the absurdity.

-->'''[[JackBlack Paul McCartney]]''': From Liverpool.

* ThrowingOffTheDisability: Dewey regains his sense of smell when reuniting Darlene, [[CrowningMomentOfHearthwarming smelling her hair]], then [[CrowningMomentOfFunny sniffing horse manure rapturously]].

* EasilyForgiven: Dewey lies to Darlene (and probably cheats on her with AnythingThatMoves), ignores all his children, is a {{Jerkass}} to his band, is extremely selfish in general, but they all take him back with open arms when '''he''' needs them.

* EasilyForgiven: Dewey lies to Darlene (and probably cheats on her with AnythingThatMoves), ignores all his children, is a {{Jerkass}} to his band, but they all take him back with open arms when '''he''' needs them.