I gotta say, this movie was pretty awesome! Yes, that's my official, film-geek assessment. Ok, so I guess I should elaborate a little more:

John C. Reilly kicks ass as a stereotypical musician going through the motions of his destined-to-be legendary (yet turbulent) life. Writers Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan (director) pull-off yet another gem in a seemingly unending stream of comedy consciousness. The jokes are over-the-top (in a good way), the sight gags are perfectly executed (no fat-suits or kicks to the crotch, thank God), and the songs are actually really good!

You all know the musician bio-pic set-up: Genius musician destined to rule the music world grows up from humble beginnings, somebody close to him dies (which no doubt racks him with guilt throughout the years), he hits the drugs, women and booze too hard, has a rise to fame, has a dark crash, recovers miraculously, only to come out realizing the true meaning of life. Whew! That's a lot to cover in one movie, but Apatow, Kasdan, and Reilly do it with ease as they take Reilly (Dewey Cox) from childhood to old-age; through decades of rock nostalgia with Elvis, to acid tripping with the Beatles -- and doing it all while he's gone "smell-blind" (you'll know what I mean when you see it).

The first Act is a good laugh every other line. The first part of Act II is just as good. Even though you know exactly where this is going, you want to go along anyway -- and that's the point -- Apatow, Kasdan, and Reilly are practically telling us -- literally in most cases -- what's happening from scene to scene, just to ensure we don't forget that this is a bio-pic spoof. It's got all the parts we wanted to laugh at in Ray or Walk the Line, but were too sentimental to fess up to. And this isn't the Scary Movie or Airplane type of spoof, it's actually got heart and some truly shocking scenes that I guarantee you won't see coming.

The second half of Act II is a liiiiiitle slow since the gags start to feel a bit worn and repetitious, but it picks up again to wrap things up real nice like in Act III. And make sure you listen to the song over the credits. You might just get a little choked up -- If you aren't still laughing that is.