cadfile So why was this movie so bad? You have Rainn Wilson with a paunch and terrible hair piece in the flashback scenes and the scenes set in the present, who played drums for a cheesy teen pop band, who were happy to have a video on 2008s version of MTV, who had a party hosted by MySpace, rode to gigs in a bus (really? A new band with no album yet), are scheduled to open for a heavy metal band (poor kids - the band not the audience), and have an out-of-left-field break up.Google the term tone deaf.There needs to be some parts of a movie that don't shatter the suspension of disbelief but every minute of this movie seem to do just that for me.The only good thing about the film was the kids playing the band.

TheNorwegianGuy "The Rocker" isn't a masterpiece, but it is a fun ride. It has it's clichés, but it's alright. I can allow that, and it didn't keep me from enjoying this movie.It tells the story about a drummer called Fish ( Rainn Wilson) who once was kicked out and betrayed by his band. The band, Vesuvius, became one of the most successful heavy metal bands, and Fish, 20 years later, has become nothing, and is still depressed. Then, suddenly he is given a second chance with a new band, called ADD.Rainn Wilson is the perfect actor for the role of Fish. I really like him in "The Office", and in this one, he plays in many ways the same type of character. He's still hysterically funny at times, and is the main reason for the success of this movie. Emma Stone is as always great, but I had some problems with the other two band members, played by Teddy Geiger and Josh Gad. Honestly, I don't know why, but anyway, I didn't like them that much. Last, but not least, I have to mention Jason Sudeikis, who made me laugh almost every time he made me laugh. . Putting aside the humor, the story is good. There are some drama- elements which is really good. At times it becomes a little emotional, in a positive way. Some may be touched by it. Watch it. Especially, If you like Indie-rock, you may like it even more than me.

RainDogJr There's a scene in Peter Cattaneo's THE ROCKER in which the main character (Rainn Wilson's sort of version of "rocker Jack Black", Robert Fishman aka Fish) correctly puts the, as he call it, "drive test" as a true indicator if a song does or does not work. I mean, who doesn't love to drive with a badass tune playing in the car? Who doesn't love to drive to some great The Doors album? Or to some killer Motörhead tunes and feel, like Fish says, "on top of the world"? Here Fish is out there driving together with one of his band-mates (Teddy Geiger's character Curtis). They will test a song Curtis wrote. For them the song does work, does rock, and does make you feel like you're sitting on top of the world. But if a movie with as a title like THE ROCKER says that a song like the one Curtis wrote totally rocks, something is pretty darn wrong. Nobody who truly loves rock music will drive to that song and f****** rock! Probably in every single review of this movie we have a comparison with Richard Linklater's THE SCHOOL OF ROCK. If you still wonder why, well I just say to you that Wilson's character is a frustrated rocker who now will find a new chance with a band of kids. Hell, it actually begins in the EXACT same way (with the main character being kicked out of a band) and ends in the… well enough with the spoilers. To finish my "drive test" point, here a real problem is that the kids don't rock (they are not really *kids* though, but adolescents). The music is closer to the Jonas Brothers than to The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Cream, AC/DC, or any of the other great rock bands that THE SCHOOL OF ROCK paid homage to. And certainly that homage thing was one of the reasons why that 2003 Linklater movie was a real blast. Yes, there's only one true rocker here, and Wilson as Fish really is good, darn good fun (just read again Fish's dialog I put as the summary!), but in the end he just can't help the *just plain unmemorable* rest of the movie. Also, in the end everyone sort of forgot that Fish was a real rocker, you know, he *has* to be around a so-so cast of kids, damn Jane Lynch playing the un-cool serious character (his husband was funny, though), enough said. A mixed bag, the kid of thing that makes you say, in the most convinced way, the "I will not watch this again".

Chrysanthepop While it starts off hilariously with some promise, Peter Cattaneo's 'The Rocker' quickly treads on a predictable path and the end result is a generic comedy about a rockstar's fall from grace and then climbing back up. The story lacks development and the pacing is uneven. It starts off with a decent pace and then moves very fast and then slows down in the latter portion. That is not to say that this isn't an enjoyable watch. Thanks, mainly to the cast, especially Rainn Wilson, that most of the humour works. It was also a relief that Cattaneo and the writers didn't rely too much on toilet humour. Rainn Wilson is terrific in his role and he easily carries the film. However, comedic talents like Christina Applegate and Jane Lynch are wasted. The younger cast is impressive despite the lack of development in their characters. While Teddy Geiger and Josh Gad turn in sincere performances, Emma Stone turns out to be the outstanding one of the lot as she continues to prove why she is among the best of the young lot. The songs are forgettable. Overall, it's not a great film but funny enough, thanks to Wilson, to draw some laughter.