Review: "The Rocker"

Seen on: August 21, 2008

The players: Director: Peter Cattaneo, Writers: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Cast: Rainn Wilson, Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin, Josh Gad, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis

Facts of interest: Cattaneo also directed "The Full Monty."

The plot: A failed drummer gets a second chance at fame when he's asked to join his nephew's high school band.

Our quick thoughts: Who ever thought Dwight Schrute had it in him to rock the stage? In Peter Cattaneo’s mildly entertaining comedy “The Rocker,” Rainn Wilson from NBC’s hit series “The Office” cuts loose in the role of Robert “Fish” Fishman, an enthusiastic drummer who slips into a deep crisis when he’s kicked out of his own rock band.

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EW's 22 classic rock flicks

The folks over at Entertainment Weekly have gathered their list of 22 classic rock and roll movies to salute the release of Peter Cattaneo's "The Rocker," in which Rainn Wilson plays a failed rocker who gets another shot at fame when he joins his nephew's high school band.

EW's list includes flicks such as "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," "Woodstock" and "School of Rock," of course. Some of their choices also go back in time quite a bit.

Click right here to discover the rest of the selection. Rock on!

'The Rocker' web reviews

I have to admit I almost totally forgot about the Wednesday release of Peter Cattaneo's comedy "The Rocker," but I will post my review sometime tomorrow afternoon. In the film, Rainn Wilson stars as a failed rocker who gets a second shot at fame when his nephew asks him to join his high school band. Let's take a look at what the Web's critics have to say about it:

• Mariana McConnell at CinemaBlend: "Relying mostly on sentiment to fill the gaps, 'The Rocker' takes a Keith Moon approach to narrative: big start, big finish, middle doesn’t matter."

• Cinematical's Eric D. Snider: "It's modestly entertaining, occasionally funny, and generally agreeable."

• Matt Goldberg at Collider: "A good portion of it is juvenile and Wilson, bless him, throws himself into every humiliation possible while still being lovable enough (barely) that we understand why his bandmates grow to respect him."

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