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Is The Rocker a Crowd Pleaser?
Rainn Wilson's new comedy is as predictable as a Whitesnake song.
Fish’s girlfriend deserts him, so he moves in with his sister (Jane Lynch of Best In Show) and brother-in-law (Jeff Garlin, in freshly-mown hair and geek glasses). His teen nephew, a sluggish fat boy, needs a drummer for his band, which is about to play the prom. When asked to fill in, Fish makes it clear that this is the last thing he wants to do.
Everyone in the audience, of course, knows Fish will change his mind, join the band, help his new mates ride to fame, and finally get a chance to show up Vesuvius. So why are we even bothering to watch a movie that is as formulaic as a Whitesnake song without the virtue of a four-minute running time?
Because, supposedly, we have a desperate need to see Fish act nutty behind a drum kit, throw his drumsticks in someone’s face, and otherwise commit gross acts of slapstick. There’s a romantic subplot involving the mother (Christina Applegate) of one of Fish’s new bandmates that proves beyond all doubt that Wilson is not going to be taking any parts away from Tom Hanks. There are also endless scenes of the band (which includes Teddy Geiger, who starred in the TV series based on my novel Love Monkey, and Emma Stone, who was Jonah Hill’s love interest in Superbad) alternately bickering and laying down some hot tracks.
The songs put together by the new band, called “A.D.D.,” are pretty good light-rock numbers, but their winsome feel is miles away from the heavy-metal premise the movie rests on. The Fish character is equally mixed-up. At times he’s the exuberant hard charger who shows the kids how rock is done, but other times he’s just a bitter crank. Toward the end, Fish quits the band because they’ve been asked to open for Vesuvius at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but not only do we know he’s going to rejoin them, there’s no reason why he should storm off in the first place. This is obviously his big opportunity to show Vesuvius he did fine without them. What’s his alternative strategy — to humiliate them by going back to his job answering phones?
Never mind, let’s just cut to a shot of Wilson in animal-print trousers, Wilson vomiting into his hand, Wilson drumming naked. When he goes the full monty it’s a reminder that the movie of that name relied on believable character foibles, not cheap sight gags, for its laughs.
THE ROCKER
Directed by Peter Cattaneo
Starring: Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jane Lynch, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone
1 star/ 4
102 minutes/Rated PG-13
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Kyle Smith is a film critic for the the New York Post. His website is at www.kylesmithonline.com.
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2 Comments
1. Andrew Ian Dodge:Great review but no need to be unkind to Whitesnake. I think “as predictable as a Coldplay song” would have been more apt. There is far more variety in the different eras of Whitesnake that some realise.
Aug 20, 2008 - 9:30 am 2. Review: “The Rocker” | KyleSmithOnline.com:[...] Rainn Wilson takes on his first starring role as a has-been 80s heavy metal drummer trying to mount a comeback in “The Rocker,” but this movie is going to turn out to be one doodle that can’t be undid. My review is here. [...]
Aug 20, 2008 - 10:06 am