The new trailer for WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story looks incredible, but you may be puzzled if you’re not in on the joke. What percentage of this film is a “genuine” biopic? The brief response is: barely anything. True Weird Al fans are aware that Weird Al’s virtuousness sets him apart from other “rock stars.” The purpose of WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story is to construct a twisted and humorous rendition of Weird Al’s actual history.
Weird Al’s Story
Although the main focus of WEIRD is to be an outrageously fabricated story of Weird Al’s (Daniel Radcliffe) ascent to stardom, there are certain general features of the retelling of Al Yankovic’s life that are true in spirit. For instance, Dr. Demento (Rainn Wilson) was a crucial figure in Al’s early career and encouraged him. Al ate bologna back then because he didn’t switch to vegetarianism until 1992.
While certain portions of this parodic “Hollywood biography” may be accurate, the specifics are as illogical and unreliable as an overturned box of hamsters. This is all good since it’s for Weird Al’s glory, but some of us would give everything to see just a little bit of the genuine Al. Thankfully, the teaser shows a scenario that takes place in a men’s restroom and it’s totally legit.
What Fans Can See in the Trailer
Fans can witness Al and his band—drummer Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, bassist Steve Jay, and guitarist Jim West—rocking and recording a song inside a restroom at the 2:20 mark of WEIRD. The sequence is based on a genuine recording session that took place in 1979 while Yankovic was a student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo studying architecture.
The Knack’s popular song “My Sharona,” which was frequently played while he was a DJ at the college radio station (KCPR), plus his exposure to other comedic songs inspired Yankovic to record his parody of it in a men’s restroom on campus. When the band performed at Cal Poly in late November 1979, Weird Al was able to get a cassette of the parody to The Knack’s lead vocalist Doug Fieger. The song, “My Bologna,” which can be heard in the WEIRD trailer in its full-band version, became a success on Dr. Demento’s radio program. History that’s been dramatized a lot follows.