ROCK STAR (2001) / **
Directed by Stephen Herek. Screenplay by John Stockwell. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Timothy Spall. Running time: 106 minutes. Rated AA for nude scenes by the MFCB. Reviewed on September 24th, 2001.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Chris Cole (Wahlberg) is the lead singer of a tribute band which covers his heavy metal idols, Steel Dragon. But Chris is so obsessed with getting the imitation precisely right that he finds himself drummed out of the group. As it happens, this coincides with Steel Dragon's ousting of their lead singer, and soon Chris -- together with girlfriend/manager Emily (Aniston) -- finds himself summoned to audition for the gig of his dreams.
Review: "Rock Star" probably could have been a much better movie had it been either much more humourous or much more serious. As it stands, it's an uncomfortable hodgepodge of melodrama and comedy, stuck in a hopelessly formulaic script by Stockwell, uninspiringly directed by Herek. "Rock Star" is like "Almost Famous" without a soul; there are no true characters here to explore, no situations of genuine pathos or wit. Instead, we are subjected to yet another brainless average-joe-makes-good plotline; there are a few decent laughs -- a fight between two competing tribute bands is a definite sight to see -- but more which fall flat. Stockwell's script is marred by moments of truly bad judgment; a post-concert orgy is apparently intended to demonstrate the seedy side of fame, but simply feels gratuitous. Some of the performances are worthy of praise; Spall in particular is good as jaded Steel Dragon road manager Mats. And Wahlberg brings a lot of enthusiasm to Chris, despite his lack of depth. But Aniston is just dull as Emily, and the rest of the supporting cast is singularly unmemorable. (Actually, I lie: Matthew Glave has two great early scenes as Chris' brother, but sadly is thereafter forgotten.) So trifling is the synergy between characters and audience that by the time we get to the pat, syrupy ending, it's frankly hard to care much anymore.
Copyright © 2001 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html
| Shannon Patrick Sullivan | shannon@mun.ca | +---------------------------------+---------------------------------+ / Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) go.to/drwho-history \ \__ We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars __/
========== X-RAMR-ID: 29577 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 251159 X-RT-TitleID: 1109935 X-RT-SourceID: 886 X-RT-AuthorID: 1699 X-RT-RatingText: 2/4
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