‘Walk Hard’ Opens Soft: Jenna Fischer’s New Flick Needs Your Help

Now I wasn’t expecting this, especially considering all the excellent word of mouth and critical praise the movie generated before its release, including coveted Golden Globe nominations for star John C. Reilly (Best Actor in a Comedy Movie or Musical) and the eponymous theme song.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, the latest release from Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin writer and producer Judd Apatow, opened last Friday with box-office ticket sales so low, it only qualified for an eight-place finish over the weekend. The $4.1 million the music-biz parody earned was a whopping $40 million less than the top movie, Nicholas Cage’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets, which raked in $45.5 million all together.

Office actress Jenna Fischer, who has been getting increasingly juicier roles in feature films thanks to her obvious talent, stars as the title fictional character’s second wife Darlene Madison. Fischer’s role is a major one—she’s billed second after star Reilly—so, if you love her and happen to be looking for a great movie to see during the holidays, consider giving Walk Hard a try.

Need some incentive? Then check out the movie’s official website after reading the Sony Pictures synopsis below.

The up-and-down-and-up-again story of musician Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly), whose songs would change a nation. On his rock ‘n roll spiral, Cox sleeps with 411 women, marries three times, has 22 kids and 14 stepkids, stars in his own 70s TV show, collects friends ranging from Elvis to the Beatles to a chimp, and gets addicted to — and then kicks — every drug known to man… but despite it all, Cox grows into a national icon and eventually earns the love of a good woman — longtime backup singer Darlene (Jenna Fischer).