Wheeler (2017)

An aspiring musician from Kaufman, Texas travels to Nashville with the lifelong dream of trying his hand at country music.

Director:

Ryan Ross

Writers:

Stephen Dorff, Ryan Ross

Stars:

Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, Audrey Spillman

Cast

Credited cast:
Stephen Dorff	...	Wheeler
Kris Kristofferson	...	Self
Audrey Spillman	...	Self
Bobby Tomberlin	...	Self
Bart Herbison	...	Self
Jim Norman	...	Self (as Jim Ed Norman)
Travis Meadows	...	Self
Anastasia Munoz	...	Jill
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Josh Adelstein	...	Bobby T's Friend
William Todd Austin	...	Toddzilla
David Bates	...	Curb Studio Assistant Engineer
Eddie Bayers	...	Self
Frances Bell	...	Self
Dena Brown	...	Bobby's Idle Hour Bartender
Sherri Callahan	...	Hermitage Waitress

Storyline

WHEELER is the story of an aspiring musician from Kaufman, Texas who travels to Nashville with the lifelong dream of trying his hand at country music. By embodying the title character under prosthetic make up, actor Stephen Dorff successfully infiltrates Music City and takes his character on an authentic singer / songwriter journey. With the help of key allies on the ground, "Wheeler" converses with real people in real locations, with every musical number performed live. The line between reality and fiction blurs as Wheeler chases his dream in this touching tribute to old school country legends.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | written by director | written by star | pickup truck | southern u.s. | 

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Taglines:

It all begins with a song.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, language, a nude image, and for smoking throughout

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the song's in this movie are Dorff's originals!

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Soundtracks

Tribe
Composed by Robert Mark Wallace, Stephen Dorff
Sung by Stephen Dorff
Music Publisher: Cutting Edge (Music) Holdings Ltd / Infected Chords Music, Admin. by Songs Of Kobalt Music Publishing (BMI) / Robert Mark Wallace II (BMI)

User Reviews

A star is born

Wheeler is a faux documentary about an aspiring country singer Wheeler Bryson (Stephen Dorff.) A 41 year old ordinary guy from Texas who travels to Nashville to make it big as a country singer. Going along with him for the ride is his friend Bobby who documents his endeavours.

In Nashville, Wheeler takes part in some open mic evenings, impresses industry executives and he even gets to meet the legendary Kris Kristofferson. In fact things go swimmingly for Wheeler. His songs are a mixture of new country and folk with Bruce Springsteen like sensibilities.

Apparently Dorff under heavy makeup actually sang in clubs without telling the patrons who he was or that it was being filmed. However I had no idea why this film was being shot as a documentary. Even worse as the film goes on Dorff starts to sing again and again. The songs are not that good.

I actually thought it might be a mockumentary and somewhere it would be played for laughs. However it is all a serious drama and you get the feeling there will be some tragedy involved.

Dorff obviously wants to show his acting and singing chops. The movie is just boring and some of the songs are just dirge.

The most interesting aspect about the film is when Wheeler tells a friend a story about how all Texans are illegal immigrants. People moved there in the 19th century from other parts of the USA as it offered free land and low taxes. It was then owned by Mexico before it became its own country and then joined the rest of the USA. You see not all Texans are rednecks.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 February 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wheeler

Filming Locations:

Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color