WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story chronicles the rise of the one and only “Weird Al” Yankovic, played by Daniel Radcliffe. The official trailer dropped on August 29 and gave a glimpse at all the weird and wacky adventures that are in store. When he “makes up new words to a song that already exists,” Weird Al’s life changes forever.
Weird Al crosses paths with Evan Rachel Wood’s Madonna, who shows up at Weird Al’s door one day. She asks him if he’s going to do a parody of her song “Like A Virgin.” They end up passionately making out in his mansion.
“I think Madonna’s a bad influence on you,” Weird Al’s manager, Dr. Demento, says at one point. Weird Al’s life begins to spiral out of control, and he has to find his way back to the weird.
Daniel does a complete transformation to play Weird Al. The Harry Potter alum isn’t holding back whatsoever and is having a total blast with this role. The cast also includes Rainn Wilson as Dr. Demento, Quinta Brunson as Oprah Winfrey, Julianne Nicholson as Mary Yankovic, and Toby Huss as Nick Yankovic.
The synopsis for the film says that WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story is the “unexaggerated true story about the greatest musician of our time. From a conventional upbringing where playing the accordion was a sin, Al rebelled and made his dream of changing the words to world-renowned songs come true. An instant success and sex symbol, Al lives an excessive lifestyle and pursues an infamous romance that nearly destroys him.”
The real Weird Al co-wrote the film with director Eric Appel. “The script is kind of ridiculous,” Weird Al told The New York Times. “It’s just fun having these top-notch actors doing this silly material. I just can’t believe that we’re actually getting to do this.”
The movie will be making its world debut at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8. WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story will be available exclusively on The Roku Channel on November 4.