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09/04/08
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The Rocker (2008)
35 %
Reviews Counted: 93 Fresh: 33 Rotten:60 Average Rating: 5.1/10
Consensus:
With a predictable and lightweight story, the earnest efforts of the cast are squandered by The Rocker's bland script.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating]
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Theatrical Release: Aug 20, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $5,845,395
Synopsis: The Rocker tells the story of a failed drummer who is given a second chance at fame. Robert "Fish" Fishman (Rainn Wilson) is the extremely dedicated and astoundingly passionate (not to mention sweaty) drummer for the eighties hair band Vesuvius, who is living the rock n' roll dream until he is... [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone
Director: Peter Cattaneo
Screenwriter: Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky
Story: Ryan Jaffe
Producer: Shawn Levy, Tom McNulty
Director: Anthony B. Richmond
Composer: Chad Fischer
Screenwriter: Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky
Story: Ryan Jaffe
Producer: Shawn Levy, Tom McNulty
Director: Anthony B. Richmond
Composer: Chad Fischer
Reviews
There's nothing all that wrong with The Rocker. It's just that it's ordinary to a spectacular degree.
08/27/08
The pratfalls and naked jokes don't eek out enough humor, and Wilson's Fish never becomes someone you can truly root for.
08/26/08
One of the best things about this film is the insane commitment that Wilson has to get a laugh.
08/22/08
I had a really good time watching The Rocker. I laughed, I tapped my foot to the music, and I reveled in the extraordinary Rainn Wilson.
08/22/08
Wilson's amiably wild-eyed performance hits all the scripted notes in a comedy that is mostly tone-deaf.
08/22/08
It's a slave to formula, and it hits its marks satisfyingly enough to make for a pleasant time-passer, but Wilson and a loaded supporting cast are never as funny as they should be.
08/22/08
The Rocker ends up doing more to whet appetites for School of Rock 2 than it does to actually entertain.
08/22/08
The Rocker has the requisite vomit, the view of some very unfortunate hind quarters and the suds. It's also got a vein of sweetness and charm.
08/22/08
Top Critic
I don't doubt you can find some sort of enjoyment in watching The Rocker, but it's just one of those movies you'll forget about in a couple days.
08/22/08
It's totally predictable, but if you've ever nursed a rock-star fantasy at any age, it's impossible to hate this. And the three kids are really good.
08/22/08
As a satire of the music biz and in micro, long-haired heavy metal bands, the film's obviously no 'This is Spinal Tap,' and the new songs are forgettable, just like the overall film, even if (or because) Wilson does a good Jack Black impersonation.
08/22/08
Riff out? Please. This is about as hardcore as a wrestling match between Clay Aiken and Barry Manilow.
08/22/08
Memo to Rainn Wilson: A shot of a paunchy middle-aged man in jockey shorts is not automatically funny. Okay, it kind of is. But The Rocker is as formulaic as a Whitesnake song without the virtue of a four-minute running time.
08/22/08
Top Critic
Sadly, The Rocker is so rife with formula that a pre-school could wet nurse on it indefinitely and still never go hungry.
08/21/08
If you have marginal talent as a filmmaker, this is the kind of a film you make.
08/21/08
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