Own the rights?
51 out of 75 people found the following review useful: Pretty Surprised, 9 June 2008 Author: morten-summers from Chicago
So I just went to a pre screening of this film in downtown Chicago and Mr rainn Wilson himself was there to do a Q & A afterwards.This movie was actually laugh out loud funny, it shows a lot of character sub plots and builds a good and funny funny time telling about each character. This is a go for the win movie and even gave me tingles once and awhile. There is a lot of sub plots and it all works together for the ending. It is about Rainn's character who was in a in a rock band that was on their way to being huge and they kick him out of the band. He starts a band with his nephew and his friends and show them how to be true rockstar giving himself the chance and the dream that was cut from him. I give it a 8 out of 10 and Rainn was a true comic.
26 out of 35 people found the following review useful: Hugely enjoyable., 19 October 2008 Author: kevin_crighton (kevincrighton@btinternet.com) from Scotland
1986 - Robert 'Fish' Fishman is the drummer of an up and coming rock band called Vesuvius. However, on the night they are offered a massive record deal, they are told there is a catch.... they have to sack the drummer. Twenty years later, Fish is still angry about that, but when offered the chance to play drums for his nephew's rock band at the Prom, he see this as a chance get to live the rock lifestyle he always wanted....In many ways, The Rocker is a sequel to School Of Rock, in that you have the older band member, with much younger band members. The difference here though, is that they are all in their late teens. But even these similarities don't hide the fact that for it's running time, The Rocker is hugely enjoyable.The cast, lead by Rainn Wilson are all good. Wilson as Fish gets to over the top as he lives out his dream, and while some of his antics are a bit childish at times, they are probably no worse that what actual bands get up to at times. The fact that the rest of the band, are normal teens makes Fish's antics even funnier.As for the rest of the band members, yes you do have some clichéd characters. There is the sensitive lead singer/song-writer, the Indie- spirited girl, and the genius but shy keyboard player. Despite this however, each person develops as the movie progresses, even Fish and while some plot developments in the movie are very predictable, this doesn't detract from the enjoyment.Peter Cattaneo, who also directed The Full Monty, keeps things moving along nicely. The script, while not a laugh out loud riot (for me anyway), did keep a smile on my face all the way through. The music in the movie is also well done. Not only in the choice of background music, but also the songs that the band have written themselves.The Rocker will never be remembered as an all-time comedy classic. But for it's running time, it is very enjoyable, keeps you smiling and is very entertaining.
18 out of 21 people found the following review useful: Comedy - for laughs - not irony or sarcasm - and all the better for it., 28 December 2008 Author: intelearts from the big screen
This was the biggest surprise of the year - bar none.A great comedy - as in laughs, feel good, and just plain enjoyable.The plot of the loser who makes good at rock'n'roll second time around is very Jack Black and Rainn Wilson does a GREAT job - there is no recourse to gross or sarcastic humor here - rather it plays on its rock roots, chucks in some stupidity, and some kick-ass tunes, and lots of excellent one liners and like I say totally surprised us as to how genuinely funny and warm-hearted this is.Great cast and a great script - sure it's not perfect, but after all the pseudo-comedy and angst of 2008 it was refreshing just to sit back and enjoy an entertaining movie.we loved it and are normally really cynical about comedies - but this rocks and would recommend to anyone as a real effort by all involved to stop being smarter than the audience and just enjoy life - in two and a half words? - it rocks!
24 out of 36 people found the following review useful: The Rocker is a comedic charttopper!, 25 August 2008 Author: meeza (themeezaman@hotmail.com) from Miami, Fl
Some critics have called the latest "rock-n-roll world" lampoon flick "The Rocker" an incomparable imitation of the critical darling of the same theme "School of Rock". To drum it up in simplistic syntax, both films ROCKED!!!!! "The Rocker" is not a carbon copy narrative of "School of Rock"; it does have a musical story life of its own. "The Rocker" stars the zany Rainn Wilson as Robert "Fish" Fishman, an over-the-top boisterous drummer. Fish was about to dive into the school of "Rock-Roll Fame & Fortune" when he was the drummer of an 80's heavy metal band called Vesufius. Just before Vesufius made it to stardom, Fish got the firing bait when the band's agent persuaded the Vesufius band members to let the Fish go so he can be replaced with a recording studio hotshot's son. Therefore, Fish was a musician out of the musical waters for the next twenty years. That is until Fish's nephew Matt asked Fish to be the drummer of his high school band entitled A.D.D. (are you with me?, lol) because the original juvenile drummer boy was being a bad boy and got expelled. Fish accepts and the rocker show begins! Fish is one to rebel and follow the beat of his own ludicrous drum and therefore A.D.D. chaos follows. Due to parental control issues of the remaining A.D.D. band members, the band is forced to rehearse each from their own home utilizing technical wizardry so they can view each other. Fish chooses to rehearse in the nude and before you can say "a little bored girl put it on You Tube and got zillions of hits" it did that exact same thing. That undoubtedly is the scary "naked truth" on the Fish following. Consequentially, fame and fortune follow for A.D.D. as they land a recording contract and tour gigs all over the country. Rainn Wilson's breakthrough performance as Fish was a comedic vivacious delight that should rain him in some more starring comedic roles. I also loved Jeff Garlin's role as the rocker-fantasy suburban dad. Screenwriters Maya Forbes & Wallace Wolodarsky scripted a trendy and modern narrative that symbolized the present youth obsessions & dilemmas in combination with the 80's retro fixations of the forty-year old generation. It was also quite damn hilarious for those young and older. And Director Peter Cattaneo brought the script to cinematic life by orchestrating a fine-tuned comedic machine. "The Rocker" might not be nominated for any Oscars, Golden Globes, or even Grammys, but it's a flick that simply (well you know…) ROCKS in the comedic entertainment "hysterically laugh out-loud" record category. ***** Excellent
26 out of 44 people found the following review useful: Highly Recommended, 5 July 2008 Author: crimsonmnd from United States
I was lucky enough to see The Rocker at a free screening and laughed all the way through the movie. Very funny. I enjoyed the movie so much, I saw it again at another screening, and it was just as funny the second time. Rainn Wilson turns in a very good performance as Robert "Fish" Fishman in his movie debut, however the part could have just as easily been played by Jack Black. Wilson plays a rock drummer who is kicked out of his band just before they make it big. Fast forward 20 years and he has a chance to live the rock-n-roll dream again with a new band. If you liked "Almost Famous" or "School of Rock," then you will like this movie more. While rated PG13, the movie contains no F-bombs or sex scenes and is a movie parents can feel safe letting their teen and pre-teen children go see. Parents will want to see this movie as well.
9 out of 11 people found the following review useful: A lot better than expected, 7 February 2009 Author: metallipowerman5000 from United States
Saw the movie with very low expectations...but was surprised.I mean seriously, i thought this movie was going to be completely lame, and i was just waiting for that one "stupid" moment that defined the movie as a complete Flop,etc. But to my surprise, the movie just seemed to keep getting better! (especially the beginning, with Rain Wilson chasing after his ex-band mates in the van, WOW, i literally almost fell out of my chair! I love unpredictable crazy moments like that...and this movie was full of them.....)Im a huge fan of Rain Wilson, and I KNOW he's an underdog actor who is not being used to his full potential.I just LOVE how his character is throughout the movie, he's just got this whole Jack-Black meets Dwight(from the Office) thing going on! He does a very good job of portraying a kind of washed up crazy rock star, yet still very sharp and witty at times....he just seems to be able to switch them on and off during the movie.Overall this movie was A lot better than i thought, had a very good rock flow to it, yet positive mood.If you see this movie, go into it NOT expecting much!(just like the trailers make you think) You'll be most likely surprised by all the witty funny moments that just flare out of nowhere!-----THE GOOD - -Rain Wilson is VERY funny -He does a good job acting, "The Office" fans will like it -Movie has a decent positive storyline IMO -The costumes were PRICELESS -The faces Rain makes, and his quotes were excellent..(not quite as weird/good as the Office, but definitely good enough.) -Alot of unpredictable little quick moments and quotes!THE BAD --I couldn't stand the borderline EMO sounding songs the band played thru-out the movie sometimes!(although Rain was still his hardcore self and never missed a friggin beat!) -The storyline just suddenly moves REAL FAST...then all of a sudden slows back down to normal speed....like how they suddenly get a record contract,etc....
15 out of 24 people found the following review useful: The Rocker has a really funny beginning, even the middle is fun, but the conclusion was horrible, 26 August 2008 Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois
I don't know why, from the trailer I didn't really want to see The Rocker, it looked like another silly teenage comedy, but I had the opportunity to see it for free and decided to go ahead and give it a fair chance. So I saw it yesterday and honestly, I thought it was a pretty decent comedy, much better than I expected. But it fell flat and became a predictable movie, I don't mind them every once in a while, but this story could have had a better ending that surprised us all. I love Rainn Wilson, ever since I saw him way back in House of 1000 Corpses, I just thought something strange stood out about this guy, he eventually became bigger in the hit TV show The Office. He's now the new male lead in a comedy, now he's decent, he did make me laugh like crazy in a lot of his scenes, but I think he could have held his own a little better, he's good, but he's not great as a leading comedic actor.He plays Fish, a drummer for a rock band that later goes platinum after kicking him out. His life as an adult isn't so great, the band is doing very well even 20 years later. Fish moves in with his sister, his nephew asks him to play drums in his band when their drummer can't play with them any more, but later Fish gets in trouble with his sister and can't live with her any more. But his nephew sets up a way through the internet and camera's, but when Fish doesn't know the camera is filming him naked, a new internet era is born of the Naked Drummer. ADD, the band he's playing with his nephew, becomes huge and fame takes a tole on the kids as well as Fish's old age.Now over all, I did like The Rocker, I think it's worth a matinée price, it's a fun and silly comedy that gives you a few good laughs. Mainly by Rainn Wilson, I couldn't help but laugh hysterically when he finds out the band is kicking him out and he jumps on the van that they're driving away in and is holding on by his drum sticks, sounds stupid, but when you see the look on his face, it reminds you of The Terminator 2: Judgement Day with the T-1000. Like I said, the ending flops a bit though, I think they could have done something different, but it's a good movie for laughs. Like I said if you want to see it in the theater, I'd recommend the matinée, but otherwise it's just a rental.6/10
22 out of 40 people found the following review useful: Wilson is not Will Ferrell, 20 August 2008 Author: C-Younkin from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Late August used to be a dumping ground for crappy movies, but now look at how "The 40 Year Old Virgin" has changed all that. The "sleeper hit" genre has become a key part of August, so much so that it's hard to tell the difference anymore. Take "The Rocker" for example, the first starring role for Rainn "Dwight" Wilson from "The Office", a seemingly crappy movie that is already bouncing around the title of "The Summers Sleeper hit." Now usually the "sleeper hit" genre has been attached to Judd Apatow-related flicks like "Virgin" and last summers "Superbad", and its really hard to picture Wilson in a lead role at all so this all seems like a pretty hefty claim, but the question remains, is "The Rocker" a crappy movie or is it a sleeper hit? Wilson plays Fish, the drummer for up and coming 80's metal band Vesuvius. Just when the band is about to make it big, Fish is cut out of it, leading to 20 years of working dull, soul-crushing jobs while Vesuvius quickly becomes one of the biggest bands ever. Some salvation comes his way in the form of his nephew's High School band, A.D.D. The band has just lost its drummer to a High School prank and is in desperate need of a replacement, leaving them with no one else to turn to except Fish. The band, which includes nephew Matt (Josh Gad), brooding lead singer Curtis (Teddy Geiger), and lone girl bassist Amelia (Emily Stone) is at first reluctant to accept the nearly forty year old drummer but in a plot twist that can only happen in movies, a Youtube video they make leads to big time fame. Soon A.D.D is playing the clubs and Fish is even romancing Curts' young mom (Christina Applegate). Just like all bands, they are not without their conflicts.Wilson comes from the Will Ferrell school of comedy, in that he goes for cheap and sophomoric material. The movie relies on vomit, sweating, Wilsons flabby body jiggling in the wind, and when all else fails, him getting hit with something or a pratfall. Sure the shock value from these things is worth a chuckle sometimes but he doesn't have the same sort of buffoonish innocence that Ferrell does and a lot of what makes this kind of material hilarious is the sort of personality doing the delivery. Wilson doesn't seem to have it and so a lot of the jokes just look like what they are, cheap and sophomoric. And the story doesn't help either. It follows "School of Rock's" storyline pretty closely of build a band, learn life lessons, encounter a problem, and finally rock out in front of a huge crowd. Just "Rock" had an infectious enthusiasm for music as well as a sweet side but this is more a generic retread of most stories about the successes and perils of starting a band. No real surprises here.The cast does OK. I'm not saying Wilson is a bad comic actor but this material doesn't seem suited for him at all. All the 80's headbands and weird outfits can't disguise the fact that he's better playing a much weirder character like Dwight from "The Office". Christina Applegate seems to light up any film she's in and I wish she was given more screen time here. Emma Stone, Josh Gadd, and Teddy Geiger each get do their best in throwaway roles as musicians dealing with teenage angst. Will Arnett and Fred Armisen are both pretty funny as Fish's old band mates and Jeff Garlin and Jane Lynch are pretty much wasted in unfunny roles. There is one person who makes out like a bandit in this movie though and that is Jason Sudeikis as the A.D.D's asshole manager. Known to me only for a recurring role on "30 Rock", he gets the best lines and when he gets them he knocks them out of the park."The Rocker" itself just doesn't rock though. It just felt too cheap and sophomoric, too conventional, too much of a waste of talented actors, and above all, a completely wrong type of vehicle for Rainn Wilson.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: We Want More Rainn Wilson! Rock On!!, 30 March 2009 Author: dfeenz from United States
As a metal/rock musician with a desk job myself, I could really appreciate this simple inspirational story as well as the many laughs it dished out. One line plot summary: Washed up former drummer turned office drone joins nephew's band, gets his mojo back and gets the chance to show the former band, an obvious AC/DC parody/homage, who betrayed him, that he can make it to the top without them. OK so that was a bit of a run-on sentence but anyhoo, with a great setup like that, plus choice casting of Rainn Wilson in the lead, the comedy pretty much writes itself. The story reminds me a little bit of the Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) / Metallica rivalry/hatred what with Mustaine kicked out of the band for his wild antics only to make it on his own without ever selling out. There are several cameos from familiar faces, the casting is perfect. The younger kids in the band are believable characters, not totally reckless and sensationalized like The OC but not given the wuss WWJD treatment of other TV fair like 7th Heaven. There is some underage drinking and pot references, but nobody becomes an alcoholic or a drug addict, just kids experiencing the time of their lives and living their dream as rock stars. The movie never takes itself too seriously but it has plenty of heart and is more than just a vehicle for Wilson's brilliant penchant for playing strangely aloof, yet obsessive characters. One of the comic bits I really liked was where The Rocker is humoring the singer of his Nephew's band, telling him how sweet his mopey, whiny ass lyrics are in this sort of underhandedly sarcastic tone. The movie is not afraid to poke fun at the frivolousness of modern youth's current popular music. That's not to say the songs are no good, but they are definitely a tad emo and gay for this rocker's taste, and I think Rain Wilson's character secretly agrees, but is too excited at the chance to play again to voice his opinion. On the whole, I felt it delivered more laughs than School of Rock with Wilson giving an equally energetic performance to that of Jack Black in said flick. I would recommend one if you like the other for sure. If I have one complaint about this movie it's this oddly treated subplot of the chick in the band getting knocked up, presumably by the singer. It is sort of brought up and never really dealt with or resolved. Not that I care about whether or not they had a baby or whatever, just saying why put drama in a movie just for drama's sake and then not take it anywhere? Should have just left that out it was kinda irking me I think they threw that in there because they realized hey the movie's halfway over and nothing remotely serious has happened. The first ten minutes or so of this movie are yispecially hilarious, excellent opening. I would easily rank the chase scene in the top ten funniest movie moments of 2008. "Dude...he can't be killed...He can't be killed dude! Drive! Drive!"
25 out of 48 people found the following review useful: Decidedly average, 25 June 2008 Author: robnobleeddy from United Kingdom
I saw this when it was shown as the "Surprise Movie" at the Edinburgh Film Festival. However, the choice of movie was the only surprise I got that night, as this turned out to be an average movie with an entirely by the numbers plot.Comparisons with "School of Rock" and "Dewey Cox" are inevitable, but in reality you've seen this movie many times before. It's the classic story of the down and out who get's a second chance, almost messes it up, but pulls it off in the end. In this case, ageing rocker 'Fish' (Wilson) is still bitter about being dumped as drummer by hit rock band 'Vesuvius' some 20 years ago. At a low ebb, Fish finds himself being recruited in to his nephews band to the play their high school prom. One serendipitous moment later and the newly formed 'A.D.D.' are off on tour.Does the expected hilarity ensure? Almost. Unlike some other recent American comedies, this one remembers that it's supposed to make the audience laugh, but it does so too infrequently and without any stand out moments. The real problem is that, barring a few side plots, the entire course of the film can be predicted from the first ten minutes, and the occasional snigger is unlikely to be enough to hold the audiences attention. A few hours after the movie I struggled to remember one memorable scene - not the sign of a classic comedy.None of the cast offer anything other than a solid performance, although Emma Stone, and especially Jason Sudeikis as the band manager, do stand out as providing most of the good scenes and laughs. The band as a whole have little charisma, especially the moody lead singer, and I felt little desire for them to succeed.To some extent this movie is saved by its songs. To the best of my knowledge the score is original, and both the tracks played by the heavy metal band 'Vesuvius' and the more mellow, teenage angst of 'A.D.D.' are great. In the end it is the gig scenes that end up providing the films best moments.This film is best described as "School of Rock" without the school, or the screen presence of Jack Black. And without that there's not a whole lot left. This movie is not offencive, but there'll always be something better to see when you go to the cinema, and it's all the more disappointing when you consider that the director is capable of better things.
Add another review
