The Rocker Review
Posted by John Campeaon 20. 08. 2008in Reviews
Thanks for checking out our “The Rocker” review. If you’d like to see a video version of “The Rocker” review, you can watch it at the bottom of this post.
Rainn WIlson is one of the very best characters on TV’s “The Office”. He is the main comedy engine that drives that show. Wilson has a mastery over the art of expression that feeds so much life into his Dwight Schrute character that I could honestly say I’d watch an entire episode of just him talking to the camera about his life and it would still be hilarious.
But having said that, “The Rocker” (Wilson’s real first feature leading role) has looked ify at best and like an impending disaster at worst. Could Wilson punch out a winning performance and save the movie? Nope… no he couldn’t and no he didn’t. The Rocker is 4 flavors of shit.
THE GENERAL IDEA
Here’s what the basic synopsis of “The Rocker” looks like: “The Rocker tells the story of a failed drummer who is given a second chance at fame. Robert “Fish” Fishman is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n’ roll dream until he is unceremoniously kicked out of the band. Twenty years after his rock star fantasies are destroyed, just when Fish has finally given up all hope, he hears that his nephew’s high school rock band A.D.D. is looking for a new drummer. They reluctantly make him the newest member of the band, giving him a chance to reclaim the rock God throne he’s always thought he deserved, and taking the young band along for the ride of their lives.”
THE GOOD
Dear sweet heavens I’m trying to think of something… ANYTHING to write in this section.
Ok, how about this. There is this one scene in a Chinese restaurant basement where Wilson has a rat sitting on his face. Yeah… that made me grin for a second.
The poster is pretty cool.
Oh, and I don’t know how she does it, but Christina Applegate manages to look and act better and better with age.
That’s all I’ve got.
THE BAD
Where on earth do I start with this thing? Well let’s begin with the biggest thing… this “comedy” has zero laughs. The two or three times I giggled were because I was laughing at how completely awful this sack of shit movie was. I just took a look at the Rotten Tomatoes meter for The Rocker, and I’m completely SHOCKED that it’s got a 34% right now. This movie is so bad, that I’m having a really hard time accepting that 34% of the critics who have seen this movie actually LIKED IT?!?!?! Are they kidding me?
Rainn Wilson should not lead a film. Don’t get me wrong, I think it was a good move to give him a shot at leading a movie, but it becomes obvious pretty quickly that Wilson’s amazing talents are much better suited and taken advantage of when they’re used in supporting roles where he is more free to just bring the hilarity. As the lead in the film he didn’t work, his stuff often felt forced, painfully out of place with the rest of the film, and I couldn’t like or dislike him.
Dear heavens, if you’re going to do a film like this you better make sure the “kids” in the band are likable and have some sort of charisma and charm to get the audience invested in them. But all I wanted to do most of the movie was claw my eyes out or kick those kids in the face. Especially the lead band kid “Curtis” played by Teddy Geiger. He was pretty damn annoying and every time he opened his smug little emo face I wanted to spit in it.
There’s no point in me going on. It’s really just more of the same.
OVERALL
As good as it is to see Rainn Wilson get a shot at leading his own film, this movie is beyond awful. I can think of no redeeming element that would give me pause. The worst thing about The Rocker is that even though there isn’t a LOT of horrible things about it… there is absolutely NOTHING good about it. Is darkness the absence of light? If so, The Rocker is just totally filled with happiness darkness. Overall I can’t give “The Rocker” anything more than a 2 out of 10.
You can watch the video version of The Rocker review here (please forgive the audio problems, we had the wrong mic plugged in)
This post was written by :
John Campea who has written 6783 posts on The Movie Blog
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Was John Campea’s cameo the best thing in the film?
lmao fuck me sideways, a TWO john?
is there an echo in there? you can tell that you filmed the review in a big empty room lol , well thanks for bringing back video reviews.
anyway, was john an extra in the fim?
Hey HDPunk,
As I mention in the post, we had the wrong Mic plugged in for the recording.
Yup, I’m on screen in the second or third last shot of the movie… but I certainly wouldn’t brag about it. Ug… what a horrible mess of the movie.
That’s too bad Rainn is a real funny guy.
Another exapmle of how the Rotton Tomatoes system dosnt give an overall REAL score.
I was afraid this would happen. Sometimes I wonder if good comedic actors like Wilson get offered a movie like this and are afraid that if they turn it down no more offers will come.
thankyou John! i mean i new it was going to suck, but i’ll review death race for my site instead because death race looks awesome! anyway thanks for the heads up
i actually liked the movie. i had a few laughs. i mean, it wasnt great, but i enjoyed it.
DARKNESS! CHARLIE MURPHY!
Oh boy, I so disagree with your review. This film had something that none of the other Judd Crapatow films have – it had heart (aside from 40 YOV). Thank christ it didn’t have Jonah Hill in it with his acerbic, caustic and unfunny sarcasm. The cast was great – especially the supporting ones – the son Matt (keyboard player), Stan, the brother-in-law and even Christine Applegate. They all rang true. Is it perfect? No. It was flawed at the beginning with the terminator-type sequence that fell flat – which was a shame because people might be turned off after seeing it. (there are a few places it could have used some fine turning) Sticking with this movie is worth it because after that, it was heart-felt and genuinely compelling and funny.
I am so sick of movies (read as : I won’t waste my money on them) whose only reason for existing is to use played, laboured and non-humourous four letter expletives – plus a cast of uncaring and sarcastic individuals that make me dispell any illusion of film, sit up and say ‘man, I really don’t like that character and actor’. This latest craze of, for lack of a better word, unfunnadies (my term) has had its day. More movies like THE ROCKER is a far cry better then piss-poor screenplays and films with false dialogue that have supposed ‘right out of my childhood’ experiences (I am looking at your Seth Rogan).
this movie was stupid and gay
Lol, aaron
Post your site !
This film would have been good, but for some reason they evidently felt the need to have an emo guy involved, what a load of crap.
It’s obviously to make 14 year old girls interested.
That guy would never join an emo band, he’s an old school heavy metal rocker, not some emo sellout.
Vesuvius would not have an emo band as support, this movie basically shits on the name of old school heavy metal.
It’s like My Chemical Romance supporting Iron Maiden.
And if Vesuvius did actually decide to have an emo band supporting them, the crowd wouldn’t be so welcoming, and they certainly wouldn’t have wanted A.D.D back on.
Plus, A.D.D is a crap band name.
Some bits were funny, bit either make it all heavy metal, all emo, or don’t fucking make it, because this shits on one of the best genres of music ever.
For fuck sake! Just enjoy it for what it is and stop reading too much into it. It’s just a feel good movie.
I’d had a shit day at work, I went to the cinema, watched this and left feeling happy enough, so I guess it did it’s job.
It was less funny than I expected but i still liked it as I’m a frustrated rocker myself so I kind of empathised with the guy.
I can’t help thinking that people who have enough time and inclination to analyse, rant and rave and be basically bitchy about a film should go out and get a job, a girlfriend or simply a life. It aint worth it buds!
After reading THE GENERAL IDEA, this movies sounds similar to “The School of Rock”. Which is any time better then this.