It's hard to overstate the impact Weird Al has had on my life. Even Worse, the album containing Al’s Michael Jackson sendup “Fat,” was the second full-length cassette I ever owned. Comedy music was obviously compelling from a young age, and I've somehow channeled that early enthusiasm into a full-time “adult” business: singing telegrams. “Cavity Search,” a U2 spoof about going to the dentist, was the first Weird parody funneled into my repertoire. My sister was in dental school at the time, so I learned it to entertain her and her classmates. Al's hilariously bipolar version of “Happy Birthday” was next, as birthday grams make up the bulk of our bookings. “Yoda” has become another useful Al spoof in my universe; I serenaded a vertically-appropriate performer who'd been transformed into the wrinkled green Jedi at a Star Wars-themed drive-thru baby shower in March. Feel free to re-read that last sentence, as it's a doozy;) I also patronized a Weird Al-themed burlesque show - The Clocktower Cabaret’s Dare to be Sexy - in January. I could go on, but you get the gist. Weird is wonderfully immeshed in my world.
Imagine my elation upon discovering that a film was slated to tackle Al's life. And in true Weird fashion, the movie parodies other music biopics. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is streaming for free on the Roku Channel beginning today.
WATCH NOW