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PAGE 12, AUGUST 25, 2008, THE ISLANDER
“Goin* to
the Show...”
with...
Roland
Willis
THE R O CKER
Starring: Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Teddy Geiger,
Josh Gad, Emma Stone, Jane Lynch & Jason Sudeikis
Directed by Peter Cattaneo
Written by Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky & Ryan Jaffe
Running Time: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Rated PG-13 - Your guess is as good as mine!
The Rocker is a disappointing com
edy from director Peter Cattaneo; espe
cially disappointing since he gave us
the delightful The Full Monty.
This is the story of Robert ‘Fish’
Fishman (Rainn Wilson). As the movie
opens, he is the drummer of the up-
and-coming rock group Vesuvius. They
are on the verge of getting their first
record contract but, just as the Beatles
first drummer Pete Best was replaced
by Ringo Starr before their first record,
Fish is ditched to make way for the son
of a record company executive.
It is now 20-years later and Fish,
continually reminded of the success
of his former group from billboards,
magazine covers and popular CDs, has
never returned to music.
After a series of mind-numbing jobs,
he remains embittered and, finally pen
niless, he has to move in with his sister
Lisa (Jane Lynch), her husband Stan
(Jeff Garlin), her teenage son Matt
(Josh Gad) and her 12-year-old daugh
ter Violet (Samantha Weinstein).
Matt is in a fledgling rock group,
ADD, with his talented, handsome
friend Curtis (Teddy Geiger) and the
angry Amelia (Emma Stone).
They have snagged the senior prom
gig but their drummer has been ground
ed. Desperately seeking a replacement,
they turn to Matt’s uncle Fish.
Curtis is such a talented singer/
songwriter that success is inevitable
and the group is soon off on a concert
tour programmed by the record com
pany through its agent David (Jason
Sudeikis).
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The comedic juxtaposition is set up
because, with the exception of Fish, the
band just wants to play their lite rock
then relax. Fish, on the other hand,
wants to move them into his old hard
rock wild behavior of drinking, trash
ing hotel rooms and burning the candle
at both ends.
Pretty soon the parents delegate
Curtis’ mom, Kim (Christina Apple-
gate) to join the tour and chaperone
the group.
The Rocker uses the saga of this rock
group as the basis of a coming-of-age
film in which the kid is a 40-year-old
who has never grown up.
This is a lot like the plot of Almost
Famous which is a growing-up story
of an actual 15-year-old boy who was
given the assignment of following a
rock band around and writing articles
for Rolling Stone magazine.
Now this movie captured the edgy
wildness of the rock scene replete with
alcohol, wild parties, groupies, sex and
drugs.
This new movie, The Rocker, cap-
times none of this and is completely
unconvincing in its squeaky cleanli
ness.
The preview and the PG-13 rating
suggested that it might be for grown
ups. Unfortunately, adults will be bored
and teenagers will be disappointed.
However, although not advertised as
a children’s movie, the 10-year-old set
might enjoy it and buy into the con that
everyone gets a second chance.
The question is, ‘Will Rainn Wilson
get a second chance after this dud?”
This is his first major role after hav
ing excelled in bit parts in Juno, The
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MOVIES INFO. BARGAIN
. 634-9100 MATINEES DAILY.
THE DARK KNIGHT (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 2:00, 5:15, 8:30
THE HOUSE BUNNY (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 1:40. 4:10, 7:10, 9:40
LONGSHOTS (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 1:50. 4:20, 7:20, 9:45
MAMMA MIA (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 4:30, 10:00
THE ROCKER (R)
Mon-Thurs 2:10, 5:10, 7:30, 10:00
SISTERHOOD OF THE
TRAVELING PANTS 2 (PG-13)
Mon-Thurs 1:21, 7:00
STAR WARS:
THE CLONE WARS (PG)
Mon-Thurs 2:30, 4:50, 7:40, 10:05
TROPIC THUNDER (R)
Mon-Thurs 2:20, 5:00, 7:25, 9:55
Last Mimzy, Six Feet Under and The
Office. Will he get a second chance?
Where is Will Ferrell when you need
him?
I also found it difficult to disconnect
Christina Applegate’s role as a respon
sible parent from her defining role as
the sluttish daughter, Kelly Bundy, in
257 episodes of Married with Children.
I can’t recommend this one. My rat
ing is D. □
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