It’s tough for me to write a review
for The Rocker that is as negative as the one it deserves
because, all told, I’d probably pop the movie into my DVD player
and watch it again right now if the opportunity presented
itself. There’s something inherently pleasant and digestible
about the picture’s airy entertainment-value; it is as charming
as a project of its relatively-low level of intelligence could
be. Nonetheless, given that The Rocker presents itself as
a comedy, there’s something clearly missing from the equation:
fresh belly-laughs. Only on very seldom occasions did I actually
chuckle out loud as I watched the film, and never did I burst
into uncontrollable fits of laughter. A comedy without its share
of riotous moments is like (pardon the trite simile) a fish
without water: a work that is deprived of a crucial element of
its existence and therefore has no potential to reach full
operating capacity. Yes, I enjoyed The Rocker – enough to
be contented by the thought of re-watching it in a home-viewing
environment, at least. But did it show me any new or inventive
comedy? No, and that’s just the problem: we American moviegoers
are all too satisfied by settling for the familiar, a notion
that could very well be lending to the collapse of popular
entertainment as we know it. Truth be told, it’s probably better
for our artistic sensibilities that we not see The Rocker,
however benign and mildly-amusing the movie may be.
The
ever-reliable (but, as it would turn out, not always as
hilarious as he is on TV’s “The Office”) Rainn Wilson stars as
Robert “Fish” Fishman, a 1980s hair metal drummer who is dumped
by his band, Vesuvius, when it is offered a record-deal on the
condition that Fish is replaced by an investing executive’s son.
Vesuvius makes it big and Fish is still ailing from his unlucky
fate twenty years later. Kicked out of his job at a call-center
when he explodes at the sound of Vesuvius’ comeback CD being
played by a coworker, Fish unexpectedly finds a new band to play
in when he moves in with his brother’s (Jeff Garlin) family.
It’s called ADD, and it’s made up of Fish’s teenage nephew (Josh
Gad) and his friends (Emma Stone and Teddy Geiger), whose sole
goal is to play a decent set at the high-school prom. ADD
becomes much bigger than any of its three original members and
newfound drummer had planned, however, when a YouTube video of
Fish practicing in the nude—after Fish is forced to move out due
to his irresponsible behavior, the group must practice via
webcam, a device Fish does not fully understand the visual
capabilities of—goes viral. The band is signed to a record deal
and a tour, allowing Fish to stir up a great deal of commotion
and perhaps get back at Vesuvius.
While typing
up the above synopsis, I realized that I don’t have much more to
say about The Rocker. The movie exists and it is what it
is. While lead Wilson fits the bill as Fish, he does exactly
what the rest of the cast does: follow the script. And given
that the script isn’t that funny or original, the movie simply
tends to coast along on autopilot, nearly realizing that it is
the latest average product to be pushed out of the Hollywood
studio-system for mass consumption. With director Peter Cattaneo
clearly not allowing his cast any room for improvisation, The
Rocker becomes locked into the mediocrity of its material.
In fact, the movie’s best quality seems to be that it is always
quite comfortable with said mediocrity, remaining stylish and
spirited in order to keep things pleasant if uninspired. The
approach lends itself to an okay movie-going experience, but it
seems to me that there’s no real reason for one to shell out ten
bucks to see The Rocker when they could rent similar,
smarter music-based comedies like School of Rock and
This is Spinal Tap. Hell, even current releases Tropic
Thunder and Pineapple Express, while equally as
unsuccessful by definition, at least take a few admirable
comedic chances and prove to be superior films in the process.
As much as viewers may be comfortable with The Rocker,
the movie doesn’t merit anything more from them than a lazy
cable-viewing in a year from now.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 8.20.2008
Screened on: 8.18.2008 at the
UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas in San Diego, CA.
