Teenagers these days will never understand the glory of sneaking out after curfew, crashing a ride with your friends, and heading to the most coveted event of the week: a polka party. Remember the good old days? In the new trailer for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a young Al Yankovic (David Bloom) faces the wrath of his parents for going against their word and being, well, weird.
The Roku Channel biopic will trace the very early days of Al Yankovic’s weirdness—as in, everything that gave him the nickname “Weird Al.” But we’ll also get plenty of adult Weird Al (Harry Potter alum Daniel Radcliffe) on the rise in pop culture. We even get a glimpse of Weird Al’s shoddy college apartment, the spot where the musical mastermind first developed his groundbreaking idea for a new genre.
“My whole life, all I’ve wanted is to make up new words to a song that already exists,” he says. Cue “My Bologna,” a hammy knockoff of The Knack’s “My Sharona.”
As if things couldn’t get any better, as Dr. Demento (Rainn Wilson) leverages Weird Al’s career into new heights, he’s spotted by a certain famous talk show host: Oprah Winfrey, played by none other than Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson.
There’s also a quick run-in with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood), who begs Weird Al to do a parody of one of her songs. In the trailer, in fact, Weird Al seems to confirm his mythical relationship with the popstar, fooling around with Madonna during their very first interaction. Their relationship quickly devolves in the trailer, leading Weird Al into some dark alleys full of bad decisions.
If the film’s first trailer hinted at a buff, sexy (?) side of Weird Al, this new one doubles down on the idea. Not only is Weird Al furiously making out with MADONNA, he’s also stripping on stage, burning cigarettes into the hands of music execs, and just being attractive in the oddest (one might say weirdest) ways possible. There are a lot of feelings to be felt in the short two minutes and 50 seconds we’ve been given in this new trailer.
Silicon Valley’s Eric Appel directed and wrote the biopic alongside Weird Al himself, who has been posting updates since the film was announced earlier this year. In just a few weeks, Weird: The Al Yankovic story will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
After its grand debut, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story will premiere on The Roku Channel (of all places!) on November 4.
