Rocker-Born To Rock Edition (2008)

"...an engaging turn by [Wilson] that proves him more than capable of carrying a comedy feature.  Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
"...really good, clean fun that's fine for slightly older kids and a lot of fun for adults.  Ken Fox, TV Guide
"It's a lot of fun. Its spirit is genuine and, even with the odd vomit gag, fundamentally sweet.  Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"Wilson makes the most of it in this well-crafted, feel-good satire.  Peter Debruge, Variety
"...amusingly dopey, with its "Spinal Tap"-ish lampooning of rock idioms - and idiots.  Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Editor's Note Slovenly drummer Robert "Fish" Fishman (THE OFFICE's Rainn Wilson) is booted out of his 1980s hair metal band, Vesuvius, right as they're signed to a big label, crushing his dreams and leading to a 20-year stretch of office park employment. A second chance comes in the form of his overweight teenage keyboardist nephew (Josh Gad) who needs an emergency drummer for his band's gig at the prom. It's an odd match--an '80s metal guy in a teen emo-lite band (their name is A.D.D.)--but he's soon offering fatherly counsel to fatherless boy singer Curtis (Teddy Geiger), giving hair gel tips to the foxy bassist (Emma Stone), and working to get the band a club gig. Soon A.D.D. is signed to the same label as Vesuvius, poised for major MTV-stardom, all leading to a big arena spot as the opening band for the dreaded Vesuvius. Fish needs to overcome his tantrum-throwing ways and step up to the kit, if he wants to impress Curtis's hot mom (Christina Applegate) and outrock his former colleagues. A cross between rock star fantasia à la SCHOOL OF ROCK and the Will Ferrell School of man-child comedy, THE ROCKER benefits from tight editing and pretty decent songs. Real-life musician Geiger saves some rough stretches with his easygoing charisma, while Peter Best (the drummer dropped from the Beatles and hence the quintessential "dumped drummer") makes a cameo. It's directed by Peter Cattaneo of THE FULL MONTY

	Fred Armisen
	Lonny Ross
	Jeff Garlin
	Josh Gad
	Will Arnett
	Teddy Geiger
	Howard Hesseman
	Christina Applegate
	Rainn Wilson
	Jason Sudeikis
	Bradley Cooper
	Emma Stone
	Jane Lynch
	George Folsey Jr. - Editor
	Shawn Levy - Producer
	M. Wallace Wolodarsky - Screenwriter
	Tom McNulty - Producer
	Chad Fischer - Composer
	Patrick Houlihan - Music Supervisor
	Maya Forbes - Screenwriter
	Ryan Jaffe - Story
	Peter Cattaneo - Director
	Anthony Richmond - Director

New York Times
"The movie carries off the trick of conjuring nostalgia for the bad old days when bands trashed hotel rooms and drank themselves into oblivion while making such behavior appear pathetic." 08/20/2008

Los Angeles Times
"[T]here's something pleasantly old-fashioned about the movie's leisurely pace....Wilson is at his most animated when demonstrating what aficionados know as 'drum face,' his mouth stretched wide in a primal yell." 08/20/2008

Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] a game cast and a boisterous lead from Wilson....FULL MONTY director Cattaneo thumps out the tantrums-and-triumphs storybeats with ease....Likable..." 09/01/2008 p.63

Reel.com 5 of 10
To be frank, Peter Cattaneo's The Rocker has about as much to do with rock and roll as a baby hippopotamus has to do with the Battle of Verdun...Rainn Wilson, the talented comedian and actor behind Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office, plays Robert Fishman (Fish to his friends). Back when leopard-print stockings on men seemed like a stroke of genius, Fish was the drummer for burgeoning hair metal outfit Vesuvius. When the band was offered a contract with Matchbook Records, they found that the only catch to the deal is that the label wants the son of one of its bigwigs to take Fish's place. Fish is out...Will Fish overcome his hatred for Vesuvius? Will Curtis stand by him even as the drummer reportedly puts the moves on his mom? If you've made your way to the local movie theater in the last three decades, the answers present themselves. The film is directed by Peter Cattaneo, the English-born filmmaker who crafted the sleeper hit The Full Monty a decade ago. Cattaneo goes by the book: there's no charm or ingenuity, and about as much comic verve as an internment camp. Emma Stone, a bracing presence in last summer's Superbad, seems to be already playing spendthrift with her cred. As for Geiger, my liver convulses at the thought of him continuing to perform his mindless brand of cheese-pop, but his gross inability as an actor looms as a greater threat...Certainly nothing this year will compete with the inexcusable The Love Guru for its sheer inability to create laughs, but The Rocker does its best to at least come close. - Chris Cabin

ReelViews 6 of 10
What if they made a Jack Black movie and Jack Black didn't show up? That's sort of the feeling I get with The Rocker although, truth be told, Rainn Wilson does an admirable Black impersonation. This warmed-over, recycled stew brings the "comeback" concept so favored by sports movies into the rock-and-roll arena. It's pure formula, devoid of any creative impulses and, perhaps most damningly, the moments of genuine humor are too few and far between to be worth mentioning. For every clever line or amusing sight gag, there are fifteen minutes of lame dialogue and lamer plotting. The Rocker is more disappointing than it is outright bad. One expects something a little fresher from Wilson...Everything you expect to happen in this movie happens. It is assembled from stock parts taken off the script-by-numbers storeroom shelf...Rainn Wilson is a funny enough guy in his own right, so it's a mystery why he's channeling Jack Black for the majority of the movie. Maybe he just finished watching School of Rock or Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. Wilson's biggest laugh comes as a result of his baring his buttocks while drumming. The film's comic timing is consistently off, although this could be as attributable to director Peter Cattaneo as to Wilson...The film sets itself up for a fall in its opening moments when the first appearance of Vesuvius recalls Spinal Tap. For a movie as satirically weak as The Rocker, prompting viewers to remember the incisive and hilarious This Is Spinal Tap is not a good thing. - James Berardinelli