Rainn Wilson stars as Robert "Fish" Fishman, a once upon-a-time rock star and founding member of one of the biggest rock bands in the world, Vesuvius. It's been 20 years since he was booted from the group in favor of the nephew of a record exec, and he's having a tough time letting it go and joining the real world. After losing another job, Fish moves in with his sister to try for a fresh start. Her son has a little band called A.D.D. They're about to play the prom until their drummer gets grounded and can't attend. Without a better option, the group asks Fish to be the new A.D.D. drummer.
Part
Spinal Tap, part
Rock Star,
The Rocker opens strong and then quickly drops off into a series of predictable, oft-repeated jokes and montages. Sadly,
Rainn Wilson has already been typecast as "that weird, crazy guy" in every role he plays, but he seems capable of more. As the story progresses and the inevitable moment must come where Fish grows up, Wilson looks as uncomfortable with the awkward shift in tone as the audience does.
Where
Rocker does shine is in its terrific cast, including
Emma Stone,
Josh Gad,
Will Arnett,
Jeff Garlin,
Fred Armisen and
Christina Applegate. Even
Jane Lynch makes an appearance, but playing a straight character? Why get Jane Lynch?
The Rocker is a Saturday Night Live skit extended to feature form. But unlike
Wayne's World, director
Peter Cattaneo never found a way to make this into something more. There are cheap laughs throughout, but in the end a terrific cast is largely wasted. Take a pass and re-watch
This is Spinal Tap.
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