Never give up hope. Never give up your dream. Never let anyone keep you down. Those are the first three things that came to me after I watched “The Rocker.” This comedy is about hope and keeping your dreams alive. Yes there is a naked drummer. And yes, there are some penis jokes. And yes, it does star that other guy from TV’s “The Office.” But deep down there is a message in this movie and I felt it.
Cleveland, 1986. The up and coming metal band Vesuvius is on the rise. They have a chance to go from local bar-room favorites to a major recording contract. The only catch is they have to can their drummer and take on the head of the record company’s nephew as the new drummer. Done. And just like that Robert “Fish” Fishman’s (Rainn Wilson) world comes crashing down. His vision of being a rock-and-roll legend have been shattered as his band moves on without him.
Twenty years later, Fish still has not gotten over his one time dream. Every time he hears the name Vesuvius mentioned it puts him into an angry rage. He has lost relationships and his job many times due to this repressed anger that will not go away.
Staying at his sister (Jane Lynch) and her husband Stan’s (Jeff Garlin) house, Fish is left to ponder what will happen to him and his boring life. Their house is in the shadows of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Fish can see the life he never had each and every time he looks at the building
His nephew Matt (Josh Gad) is in a bad called A.D.D. and they are set to play the Prom that weekend. However they have one problem…their drummer just got suspended from school so he isn’t allowed to play. The band needs a drummer and Matt just happens to know the guy. Enter Fish and his 20-year wait coming to an end.
The band A.D.D. is just what Fish needed to relive the life he never got to live. Fish, on the other hand, is what the band needed to jump start their career and get out of Cleveland. Fish teaches Curtis(Teddy Geiger) and Amelia (Emma Stone) along with Matt what it takes to be a rock band.
I enjoyed this movie. I went into it thinking that it would be so-so as I’m not a big Rainn Wilson fan. Yet I came out of the movie very happy that it wasn’t bad at all. There are laughs from the first minute up to the 80’s freeze frame ending. The pace was very good and with only one to two slow spots, I wasn’t worrying about the length of time. This is a great date night movie and when finished, you won’t feel as if you had spent all night at the movies
Last impressions - SEE THIS MOVIE - you won’t regret it.
“The Rocker” is rated PG-13 for drug and sexual references, nudity and language. Directed by Peter Cattaneo and has a run time of 102 minutes.
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Written by: Plus1 on Wed, Aug 20, 2008