Too much of everything

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The Rocker is a hugely enjoyable comedy about a man who gets a second chance at life and rock and roll. For Ranin Wilson those terms are interchangeable.Back in the 80s the rising band Versuvius was told they had to chuck their drummer in order to get a big break. Wilson got the heave ho much the same way Peter Best got it when Ringo Starr replaced him as drummer for the Beatles. Best became the answer to a much asked trivia question and we know what happened to those guys from Liverpool and their new drummer.Flash forward to the new century and these kids who do their music thing in the garage lose their drummer. Josh Gad remembers that back in the day his uncle Ranin Wilson was a drummer so Wilson joins Gad and his band mates Emma Stone and Teddy Geiger and becomes part of their band.It's quite a rocky road and the band's first gig at the high school prom ends in disaster. But Wilson starts fitting in with the kids and the mixed generation band starts drawing real attention.Wilson is totally outrageous in a part that must have been offered to Robin Williams, just the kind of material Williams used to specialize in. Christina Applegate also appears as Geiger's mom who has a rock and roll background of her own just might be a permanent romance once Wilson realizes that she is a mom first.The climax at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame where this band originates from is nicely staged. Wilson with some angst gets to meet the guys that dumped him. What happens to them is positively poetical.The Rocker is a film for those who want to be young forever. Some really do make it like that. For the future Mick Jaggers of the world.

If you read my other reviews, I tell the overview plot of the movie in a few sentences. Robert Fish (Rainn Wilson) would be booted out of a band that would be extremely successful, Vesuvius due to politics. Vesuvius would continue to be popular for over 20 years. Fish is recruited by his nephew Matty (Josh Gad) in need of a drummer for his own band. Fish, tired of living life as a couch potato accepts the offer and tries to take the limelight and be as successful as Vesuvius.My biggest gripe with the movie overall is that it's EXTREMELY predictable. An unnecessary scene of drinking at a bar after a gig? Check. Emma Stone in the movie only there to act as eye candy to the audience? Check. You can essentially write the script in it yourself. Another issue is that character development is really only given to Rainn Wilson and nobody else. Near the end of the movie, the band Matty formed (A.D.D) plays as an opening gig for Vesuvius and there's NO chemistry given between Rainn Wilson and his former band mates and if they should let the past be behind them or not but, no.There's no apologizes given for the two former band mates. And there's no real character development for the rest of the A.D.D. band that would make you care for why they formed a band in the first place (minus Fish)The ending of the movie comes with A.D.D. stealing an encore presentation from Vesuvius after they were caught lip syncing and the movie ends in bittersweet fashion. I didn't laugh once in the movie, but that's probably because Rock Band and Myspace (some of the gags in this movie) are not even relevant anymore in 2015.Not a very good movie. I only recommend you check it out if you are musically inclined.

I believe this was Rainn Wilson's first leading role in his own movie, the first time a movie revolved around his character. Unfortunately the movie isn't exactly an original concept, some might say it kinda rips-off the 2003 movie 'School of Rock' to a degree, maybe even touching on the Brit flick 'Still Crazy' here and there.The plot centres around the fictional drummer Robert Fishman (Wilson) of the heavy metal rock band Vesuvius. Back in the 80's this band are on the verge of hitting the big time with their heavy metal/glam rock songs and outrageous onstage antics. Alas the record company that wants to sign them sets an ultimatum, they must drop their drummer Fishman...and replace him with the record companies nephew. Eventually the band agree and Fishman is out. We follow Fishman years down the line, his life has crumbled, he loses his job, his girlfriend and he is forced to move in with his sister. But it is here, with his sisters family, he finds a lifeline in his nephews high school rock band.So yes, it is very much like 'School of Rock', the main difference of course being this is based around teenagers instead of young kids. Does that make the film any better? well sort of I guess, its not exactly a riveting tale of originality as said. Bottom line the film survives purely because of Wilson and his goofiness along with his non- Hollywood looks. This is Rainn's appeal, the guy is not good looking, he is not fit or ripped in any way and he's not a ladies man type. This guy is just a regular looking bloke, the kind of guy you would actually find serving you in a retail park electronics store. Its this that makes Wilson likable as the everyman up against it, he uses his, dare I say, pug-ugly looks and out of shape physique to great effect. Indeed in this film we see his flabby toneless torso quite often, and its admittedly amusing, it works (I especially liked the brief moment at the start where he hurls his sweat soaked vest into the crowd, and it slaps some poor fan across the face).The rest of the cast are made up of stereotypical teens that fit the stereotypical mould. You have the good looking male lead singer that has all the girls swooning over him, yet he's somehow not fulfilled. The fat, curly haired, awkward kid who doesn't really fit in, but towards the end totally gets into it and snatches a hot girl way out of his league. And finally you have Emma Stone who obviously plays the cute female band member who secretly has the hots for the good looking male lead singer (guess what happens in the end). The supposedly funny bit is the fact they hire Fishman as their drummer, a man in his forties who thinks he's still a young rocker and likes to live the dream, real life responsibilities aside. Oh and their manager is a creepy untrustworthy cad...so again, not much originality.Much of the bands tomfoolery is played out through Wilson's Fishman character and it is slightly amusing as said, but it grows old very quickly. The whole aspect of his life going through a downhill spiral of rejection after losing Vesuvius is completely predictable and dull frankly. The sequences where he goes all wild and crazy in true rock n roll fashion are also slightly amusing but again so obvious, you just know at some point he'll trash a hotel room. The romance angle between Stone and the good looking lead singer is hammy as hell as is Josh Gad's fat kid character...hell its all clichéd to the max. This is the films problem, there is nothing here you haven't really seen before, every plot angle, every character development, the predictable face to face reunion with Vesuvius and their ultimate downfall in the concert finale etc...Its not exactly terrible stuff, its just completely average and actually kinda boring. THE only reason to watch this movie is for the sporadic moments of lunacy from Wilson, as in his other movie 'Super', he does show he can actually act and deliver emotion well. Other than that its a total by the numbers comedy. Heck even the films promotion efforts were similar to that Jack Black comedy I mentioned earlier. The main difference being that movie actually felt more like a homage to rock despite being a kids flick, you just don't get that with this movie.5/10

What brought me to the film was really just Rainn Wilson playing a rock-star. I kept imaging Dwight having been a failed rock-star and knew that it would be nothing less than epic. 'The Rocker' tells the story of Fish, a failed drummer who joins a band filled with high-school goers and sees his second shot at pursuing his dreams. Halfway into the film, you could tell that it was a bit of chick flick. A funny, enjoyable one, but a chick flick nevertheless. The acting in the film was good, and they were all likable characters. I almost missed Bradley Cooper in a black wig and a tacky vest with a fake British accent, but in case you wonder watching the film, it is Bradley Cooper. The music was not too bad either, in a Disney sort of way. Overall, 'The Rocker' was funny and cute and it's worth a watch, but not to be taken too seriously.