![]() Emily’s destined to be what she is, with not much wiggle room for Aniston to give the character any real direction to take her, but be that as it is, she’s really convincing. ![]() There’s other good work though as well, with Aniston making the best of the mostly thankless role. READ MORE: That Moment In Jennifer Aniston‘s Along Came Polly He’s a bit more cartoonish here though it works for what it’s meant to be, the movie edged with a hint of dark comedy and silliness seemingly inherent in the system. Walhberg was well cast in that movie, his natural sort of naiveté adding much to the role of Dirk Diggler. There’s a knee jerk reaction to compare this with Wahlberg’s 1997 much celebrated Boogie Nights, a film that follows a nobody with big dreams who gets discovered and learns that life on top (in porn) isn’t to great, losing much to the price of fame. Holland’s Opus, Rock Star is much better in the first half than it is in the second, the story of Cole’s rise much more interesting, with plenty of great moments that feel exaggerated but authentic. Directed by Stephen Herek, who a few years earlier helmed the magnificent Mr. So, what do we have here? Sounds like your basic rock & roll celluloid saga again, and in most ways, it really is. Of course, by the time that happens, our dear hero has sunk to the lowest rung on the rock star ladder, boozing every chance he gets and sleeping with any girl who comes backstage. Unable and ultimately unwilling to travel around on tour like a groupie (she and the other girlfriends and wives aren’t even allowed on the tour bus), she promises him that she’ll be waiting for him when he gets back. She is the supportive girlfriend here, Chris’ lover at the start who adores him and his dedication to his cover band, but when he hits the big time, things get out of hand. In all this is the lovely Emily, played by then television superstar Jennifer Aniston, who was earning bucketloads of praise for her work on the hit series Friends while landing more and more roles in film. But of course, some dreams are really nightmares and it’s not long before life in the fast lane changes everything about who Chris really is. It’s the chance of a lifetime, and when Chris blows them away with his incredible stage presence and vocal skills, is hired as the new frontman. Unbelievably though, not long after, Steel Dragon’s founder and guitarist, Kirk Cuddy ( Dominic West), having seen a recorded performance of Cole with his tribute band, called him up with a surprising offer: come on down and audition for the group, they having also allegedly let Bobby Beers go for being a closeted gay man. This leads to Chris being let go from the very band he created, replaced by his rival of all people. It gets to its worst during a live show, when the two break out into a fight on stage. ![]() ![]() Chris is not easy to get along with though, his fanatical insistence on keeping his tribute band note-for-note the way the real band plays is driving a wedge between him and the others, most especially guitarist Rob Malcolm ( Timothy Olyphant), who take exception to the berating corrections Chris volleys at him. Rock Star follows Chris Cole ( Mark Wahlberg), not just a Pittsburgh fan of the (fictional) group Steel Dragon, but the leader of a cover band who is so dedicated to his idols, he knows everything, and I mean everything, about them, right down to the embroidery stitching on a leather jacket worn by the group’s singer Bobby Beers ( Jason Flemyng) on tour from years before. It’s based loosely on the real life story of Tim “Ripper” Owens, a singer in a Judas Priest tribute band who found himself suddenly leading the very group he copied for years, becoming front and center when the band’s frontman Rob Halford left. Stepping into the wayback machine, we arrive in 2001 (four days before the 9/11 attacks) to the release of Stephen Herek‘s Rock Star, an ode to the spirit of the music and a dream come true. From Oliver Stone‘s The Doors to Alan Parker‘s The Wall to Rob Reiner‘s This Is Spinal Tap and many more, livin’ large on stage might not be all it’s cracked up to be. The movies, however, have often taken to showing the darker side, the great toll is seems to ravage on those who fall too deeply into the grinder. The wealth, the freedom, the sex and wild lifestyle. The life of the rock star is a fantasy a for many on the outside. Rock Star is a 2001 drama about the lead singer of a metal rock tribute band who becomes lead singer of the real band he idolizes, leaving him a changed man
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |