Rock Star Review
by Robin Clifford (robin AT reelingreviews DOT com)September 4th, 2001
"Rock Star"
Director Stephen Herek made a name for himself with his 1995 Oscar-nominated flick, "Mr. Holland's Opus," a story about one man's mission to convey his love of classical music to his students. Now, the helmer does a 180-degree turnaround and takes on heavy metal music and the ravages of stardom as his subject in "Rock Star."
"Rock Star" is a modern rock and roll fantasy that follows an ambitious young musician, Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg), who heads an amateur band that tributes (not covers) their favorite group, Steel Dragons. Chris is happy to duplicate his idols' music, but there is dissention in his band's ranks when the other members demand that they take on their own personality and not that of Chris's beloved hard rock band. The young musician is rudely forced out of the band that he began.
When he gets a fortuitous phone call from the leader of Steel Dragons, Kirk Cuddy (Dominic West), Chris is invited to audition for the band's lead singer spot when the former lead, Bobby Beers (Jason Flemyng), is fired. In typical Hollywood fashion, the unknown crooner is immediately hired and his career skyrockets. He takes the stage name of Izzy and is, right off the bat, a big hit. He and his manager/girlfriend Emily (Jennifer Anniston) head on tour with the Dragons, but the price of fame is high and the couple soon learn that the glam life is not all that it seems. Emily opts to go back to her own world and Chris immerses himself in the perks of stardom.
"Your job is to live the fantasy that other people dream about" is the advice Izzy, nee Chris, is given by Steel Dragons' road manager, Mats (Timothy Spall). This is part and parcel of the larger-than-life nature of "Rock Star" as it chronicles the meteoric rise and not-such-a-hard fall of the film's central character. Basically, the statement made is that the stars that make the music for their young auds must live the hedonistic lifestyle of sex and drugs (and rock 'n' roll). Chris, initially, falls for this "good" life but realizes that the price may be too high to pay in the long run. Too much of a good thing turns into way too much of a good thing.
Mark Wahlberg is personable as the rock star wannabe and maintains his innocence through his rise from unknown club singer to teen idol. His character, Chris, is a bit too goody two shoes, but, then again, that's the impression the actor gives throughout the film, even when Izzy hits bottom on the hedonism scale. Jennifer Anniston is a very pretty lady but doesn't give any real depth to her character, Emily, and seems too old for the role The rock band members are real musicians but, since heavy metal is not my kind of music, I recognize few names and faces. The always-versatile Timothy Spall ("Topsy-Turvy") does a fair turn as the road manager who has seen it all and, by his own admission, lost a lot. He is Chris's muse who unwittingly opens the younger man's eye to the true cost of fame.
Techs, from direction by Stephen Herrick to staging of the rock concerts, are handled ably and keep things moving along briskly. The music, by Trevor Rabin, hits the right note (pun intended) of the 80's heavy metal scene, but, truth be told, I have never been a fan, so it is not fair for me to judge. I'd be interested to get the opinion of that music's devotees to see what they think.
My main problem with "Rock Star" is the leap of faith required to believe that Chris would be hired to front a major rock band with little more than a how-do-you-do. It would be like the members of Aerosmith suddenly dumping Steve Tyler and hiring an unknown replacement without so much as a hiccup in their popularity. What if the Beatles dumped Ringo? I just don't believe it and give it a C+.
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