Um, hi. Sorry if I'm distracted, but I've only just become aware of an alarming trend, quietly diabolic in its... er... diabolical quietude. Have you noticed that an exponential number of movie trailers now include a frame reading "From the guys who brought you ‘Knocked Up' and ‘Superbad,' ALONG WITH EVERY SINGLE MOVIE FROM NOW UNTIL THE RAPTURE"? Granted, that last part is usually in very, very fine print - barely visible to the human eye, even - yet it seems colossal to me, and as soon as whatever Judd Apatow has dosed the bongwater supply with wears off, you might be concerned, too. 

The latest project from the prolific filmmaker/aspiring King Midas is "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," which takes the tried-and-true musical biopic and exposes it for the blueprint of clichés that it's become. Apatow produced and co-wrote "Walk Hard" with the movie's director, Jake Kasdan (2007's "The TV Set"), and the result is a sporadically funny recounting of the life and times of Dewey Cox, a musician who Gumps his way across the rock-n-roll landscape of the 20th century's latter half. A blend of Apatow's patented dirty-sweet immaturity and "Airplane"-style humor, "Walk Hard" inevitably stalls when hindered by the limitations of the genre it's trying to send up, in a bit of you-can't-have-it-both-ways irony.

The frantic pre-show plea "Guys, I need Cox!" sets the initial subtlety bar really low and leaves little doubt regarding the wit (read: 968 dick jokes) in store. Shockingly game Oscar nominee John C. Reilly does his own singing as he handles the titular Cox (yikes, it's contagious!), and most of "Walk Hard" unfolds in flashback as Cox reminisces before taking the stage at his own tribute. An Alabama childhood spent in the looming shadow of the brother he accidentally macheted in half, Cox lights out at 14 years old (still played by the 40-something Reilly, mind you) to follow his musical dreams.

Obvious allusions to Academy Award winners "Ray" and "Walk the Line" abound, as Cox botches his first marriage and succumbs to the sex-and-drugs part of the equation, eventually finding possible deliverance in a June Carter-type singing partner (a vamping Jenna Fischer, "The Office") with whom he warbles one of the film's more juvenile tunes (this from "Duet": "In my dreams you're blowin' me... some kisses"). Then Cox romps through a number of phases, such as his Dylan-ish "Don't Look Back" period ("Stuffed cabbage is the darling of the Laundromat" goes one rambling lyric), followed by a dissonant Brian Wilson-esque freakout ("Open your mind and learn the fuckin' theremin!"), and, of course, the cheesy ‘70s variety-show comeback shot. Oh, and somewhere in there, Cox unintentionally invents punk.

The beady-eyed and boxer-snouted Reilly clearly got schooled by "Talladega Nights" co-star Will Ferrell in Naked Abandon 101, as evidenced by his willingness to go for the cheap, pasty-skinned laugh. His supporting cast is equally eager, the standout being underrated SNL vet Tim Meadows as Cox's drug-loving drummer, who uses the worst logic in his side-splitting efforts to convince Cox to just say no. Look for a heap of cameos that I won't ruin, except to say that the dude playing Elvis (I first thought it was Giovanni Ribisi) should be in more movies, and Justin Long's ("Live Free or Die Hard") George Harrison impression is almost as good as the Matthew McConaughey he nailed in the "Superbad" DVD extras.

But as with spoofs like "Airplane" or "Scary Movie," not every gag in "Walk Hard" sledgehammers its target, and those who aren't giggling are bored. Even done well (last year saw the decent "Control" and "La Vie En Rose") the musical biopic is a dull genre anyway, with most following the same trajectory of adversity, opportunity, prosperity, dependency, and recovery. "Walk Hard" must adhere to the outline in order to ridicule the topic while still engaging the viewer, but that's a near impossible balance to achieve, and "Walk Hard" ultimately falls flat.

Oh, my point! Previews for no less than three Apatow projects unspooled before "Walk Hard" - though not the David Gordon Green-directed "Pineapple Express," sadly - and Apatow's got about five chances in 2008 to redeem himself. But anyone with enough clout to slide that hysterical pearl-necklace crack in the "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" trailer past the MPAA is OK with me. For now.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

(R), directed by Jake Kasdan

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