The Rocker, 2008

When Fish (Rainn Wilson), the drummer for up-and-coming rock band Vesuvius, is dropped from the band just as they hit it big, his life is ruined. 20 years later he gets a 2nd chance when his nephew's garage band suddenly needs a drummer for their gig at prom. Refusing to grow up, Fish convinces the young band (and their parents) to go out on the road for a tour. But when their manager books them to open for Vesuvius, the band's commitment is tested.





I had very high hopes for The Rocker because the cast list is filled with comedic talent: Will Arnet (George on Arrested Development) Fred Armisen (Obama on SNL), and Christina Applegate. As Fish, Rainn Wilson had too much Dwight in him (the character he plays on NBC's The Office) and not enough Rock'N'Roll. The style of deadpan humor that works so well for Dwight's character, is painfully out of place. The best part of this movie is actually Demetri Martin's cameo as a music video director.

In the same way that a comic who laughs at his own jokes isn't funny, The Rocker failed because it tried too hard.

Directed by Peter Cattaneo. Writing credits go to: Maya Forbes & Wallace Wolodarsky for the screenplay and Ryan Jaffe for the story.


Melody's Stars: 0


Rating System:
*****=Worth Buying
****=Worth Seeing in Theaters
***=Worth Renting
**=Worth Watching on TV
*=Worth Watching if also cleaning house or doing paperwork
0=Total waste of time
Fail=So bad it doesn't even make the rating system