The Rocker

By Kate Xian
August 20, 2008

Taking his cult like popularity of Dwight Schrute from the US version of Ricky Gervais’ The Office, Rainn Wilson stars as an ex-drummer for legendary metal-rock band Vesuvius, a mix of Aerosmith and probably every other legendary metal-rock band of the 70’s. Robert “Fish” Fishman (Wilson) is booted from the group on their cusp of stardom and 20 years later he lived out his life as an average Joe working the 9-5 crunch while Vesuvius shot to stardom, crushing his rock star fantasies. After being dumped by his girlfriend and fired from his job, Fish moves in with his sister and her domesticated family.

Step in Fish’s nephew, Matt, who belongs to a misfit garage band with an MIA drummer because he’s grounded. Also starring Superbad’s Emma Stone and the preteen version of John Mayer, Teddy Geiger as frontman Curtis of their high school band A.D.D. More like a long running Geiger music video, The Rocker felt like it put Wilson in the backseat and Geiger in the front, almost literally as Wilson sits in the drummer’s seat…behind Geiger. Though Fish did have his moments (those clothes, that hair!), from a Robert McKee standpoint, Fish plateau-ed early on in the film, and it is A.D.D. that developed through Fish’s binge drinking, late night partying and sad attempts at womanizing.

Opening with cliché and predictable jokes, namely ripped off from Terminator 2, I had little expectations of the laughs that The Rocker could provide. Though laughs were still few and far between, I became engrossed more so in the endearing story of these underdog high school kids who were surprisingly incredibly relatable. They were the type of kids I grew up with; they weren’t spoiled brats a la The Hills or the kids from the other side of the tracks. Not that either of those images are detrimental to our impressionable youth audience of today (ok, who are we kidding – can we stop teaching prepubescent girls that sex, over processed blonde hair, and liquid eyeliner isn’t the be all, end all?!)…

Ahem, getting back on track…the teens were kids who knew their legal limitations and didn’t try so hard to be cool. Still, the flick tried to cash in on certain trends to make it funny, the most obvious the casting of Matt (Josh Gad), banking on the “curly haired fat kid” (I say that with no judgment whatsoever) started by Jonah Hill’s successfully funny smart-ass Seth in Superbad. Unfortunately Jonah’s laughs got lost in translation in The Rocker, Matt more funny endearing than funny in a potty mouth way. (Quick tip: if the funny “curly haired fat kid” is your thing don’t forget to check out another Apatow production with your name on it – Drillbit Taylor).

Christina Applegate also steps into a starring role as Curtis’ MILF (hard not to resist…we know that’s the character) mother. Chaperoning after Fish proves himself more a liability than an asset, sparks are destined to fly while on the road. I’ve always said it, close proximity and 24/7 schedules are guaranteed to make you hate someone or make you love them. Fortunately for Fish things seem to go his way – until he has to encounter Vesuvius, now drugged up, severely confused and funnier than ever. Will Arnett as lead singer Lex, is always able to pull out a laugh for you.

With those little synopsis tidbits it’s clear where the story is headed. Will you laugh yourself silly? Depends on whether slapstick humour is your thing. Personally I found the jokes to be rather mediocre and Curtis to be too Teddy Geiger. But overall it’s decent entertainment and the pace was strong enough to keep you engaged. It falls into the “cute” category but nonetheless its always fun to see someone in a mullet.

Release Date: August 20, 2008
Running Time: 1 hour, 42 minutes
Director: Peter Cattaneo
Producers: Shawn Levy, Tom McNultyr
Screenplay: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky
Director of Photography: Anthony B. Richmond
Editor: Brad E. Wilhite
Composor: Chad Fischer