Apatow, Kasdan and Co. clearly have affection for this character, and for this kind of movie. As Reilly says in the production notes, “We treated Dewey Cox as if he really existed.” And it shows. They toss in all the cliches you’d expect, such as the obligatory montage of album covers, newspaper clippings and screaming crowds as Dewey makes his rise up the Billboard charts. And the grainy, black-and-white section, straight out of D.A.

Pennebaker’s 1967 Bob Dylan documentary “Don’t Look Back,” is a nice touch.