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