The Rocker entertained in spite of the subject matter. Not a huge fan of movies about the music industry, I was very relieved at the quality of the ensemble cast, the story, and especially the lyrics to the music created for this film. And our CineVegas premiered it.

Rainn Wilson has a certain following. His characterization of the lead in the movie, Robert ‘Fish’ Fishman, was a bit too Jack Black for my taste; however the younger actors seemed to have a genuine chemistry going with him and each other. Here’s the thing, I wasn’t amused with the character. Poor ‘Fish’ is today a nobody, because in the 80’s he missed the heavy metal, big-hair band express train to stardom because his over-the-top rocker mis-behavior earned him a ticket to obscurity just before the band rocketed to fame. Then his nephew wants to be a rocker, and an unlikely string of events unfurl.

The young actors supporting this storyline were truly a pleasure to watch. Rainn’s Fish was not. The ageism undertones fell well short of the humorous mark intended. Rainn Wilson just isn’t old enough to pull off ‘old & broken’ slapstick. If his behavior derailed his career once, what makes him think it won’t in this gift of a second chance? The ending is focused on Rainn’s character arc, which is trite, but the youngster’s stories are so refreshing, The Rocker just works, overall.

Cast as the Mom of one of the musicians, Christina Applegate was awkward in the underdeveloped role, and she is also not old enough for the role, which is Hollywood at it’s worst. Ah well. At least she got a meatier role than her current TV gig.

The presence and talent of the younger actors made this movie. Adorable Josh Gad displays incredible tenacity and range in his role as Matt, Fish’s nephew. His portrayal of a needy, utterly shy, but talented high school musician is quite engaging. Matt has a ringer in his lyricist musician friend Curtis, breezily played by promising young musician Teddy Geiger, now 19. Geiger’s albums and TV appearances have him squarely in the pop star sights. He has gorgeous eyes and a personal charisma that jumps past the camera. He has been writing his own songs since he was ten. He’s one youngster I hope can make a smooth transition from teen star to adult star. If you aren’t one of the Ted Head’s fan club, you may not have heard some of his songs from his ‘Underage Thinking’ album…check him out at http://www.teddygeiger.com/news .

Emma Stone plays Amelia, the solitary girl in a band once all-male. She ‘gets’ to be in the band because they lose their bass player to an irate Mom, due to bad grades. That rubs. As does the ever-so-minor nod to her in this merry band of males whose success blossoms during her term. Matt does call attention to her presence in the room when the hype-oriented promoter (Jason Sudeikis) promises ‘T-A-I-L’ as part of their rock musician tour experience. The writers must have felt making Amelia ‘tough’ was sufficient onto itself. Her character was stilted. Emma Stone squeezes so much out of her screen time and lines, it’s admirable.

The story of these high school seniors was well structured and the angst believable. Fish’s nephew Matt has a band. Matt wants his garage band to play the high school prom, so girls will talk to him. Curtis writes songs and needs this outlet. They need a bass player. The bass player wants to play in a band. They have their own songs, courtesy of Curtis. Fish can tell they are good. Fish wants to rock again. Fish gets them a gig, and the show takes off. Everyone gets their wish, except Applegate’s Kim, who is not believable as the romantic match to Fish. The whole mashup works, and will probably continue do nicely in DVD circulation, as well.