Movie review and lead actor interview: The Rocker

by Alex Bentley

Prior to joining the American version of The Office in 2005, Rainn Wilson was arguably best known for his stint as a mild-mannered, unlucky-in-love mortician on Six Feet Under. Even with his hilarious-but-dry performance as Dwight Schrute, though, he might not have been anyone’s first choice to play Robert “Fish” Fishman in The Rocker.

However, underneath that staid exterior lies the heart of a great comedian, and Wilson puts all of his talents to great use in The Rocker. Perhaps his best talent is his willingness to do almost anything to get a laugh; the character of Fish affords him many such opportunities. Fish is the former drummer of the 80s hair band Vesuvius (fronted to hilarious effect by Will Arnett of Arrested Development fame). 20 years after being unceremoniously dumped by his bandmates, Fish is leading a down-and-out life that forces him to live in his sister’s attic.

When his nephew’s band, A.D.D., loses their drummer right before their prom gig, though, Fish makes the most of an invitation to join the group. Thanks to a re-born enthusiasm for performing and a fortuitous YouTube clip, Fish somehow takes A.D.D. into the big time. However, in addition to being over twice the age of his new bandmates, Fish also has a tendency to believe that he’s still part of a heavy metal band, and not a mid-tempo pop/rock band, leading to some awkwardly funny moments.

“Vanity” is apparently not a word that exists in Wilson’s vocabulary. He goes above and beyond the call of comedic duty, appearing disheveled and sweaty in the good majority of his scenes, and, in said YouTube video, even stripping down for the sake of a good joke. Thankfully, his efforts are not put to waste, as the rest of the film mostly lives up to the premise. Sure, the swiftness of A.D.D.’s rise may sound unrealistic, but in this age where a YouTube clip can be viewed around the globe in a matter of days, it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that a band could go from obscurity to stardom overnight.

The strength of the music is another key factor in the success of the film. Much like School of Rock, the songs don’t feel thrown together just for the sake of making a rock-n-roll movie; there was some actual effort put into them. The music was written and produced by Chad Fischer, who also composed the music for Garden State and wrote the theme song for the TV show Scrubs, so there’s obviously some talent involved.

Wilson’s costars do a solid, if unspectacular job. His bandmates (played by Josh Gad, Emma Stone, and Teddy Geiger) are all believable, but none of them really stand out. The one real disappointment is Christina Applegate, who really seems to be in the film just to have another “name” in the cast; in reality, her part as the lead singer’s mom could’ve been played by anybody as she is given little to do throughout the movie.

But Wilson carries the movie -- he turns in a star-making performance and could find himself on the short-list of go-to comedy actors after the success of The Rocker. If Wilson can run the gamut from Dwight Schrute to Fish, then there’s nothing that he can’t do.

I sat in on a round table interview with star Rainn Wilson at the Rosewood Crescent Hotel. Some highlights included:

-- Wilson’s affinity for the Crescent’s chocolate pebble candy (literally, candy that looks like pebbles)

-- How “vanity” is not in his comedic vocabulary (although apparently “vagina” is)

-- Why he loves dressing up as Xena, Warrior Princess

-- Who he would bring back to life and fight to the death (hint – he’s French and has a complex)

-- How movie magic made him even sweatier than he normally is