Dissolves into lazy clichés and hollow moralizing.
Rock Star (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:119
Fresh:62
Rotten:57
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Like its title, Rock Star is rather generic, being not so much about the heavy metal scene than about rock cliches and formula.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Mark Wahlberg plays Chris Cole, a local guy from Pittsburgh who is a copy-machine repairman by day (still living at home), and the lead singer of Blood Pollution, a Steel Dragon tribute band, at... Mark Wahlberg plays Chris Cole, a local guy from Pittsburgh who is a copy-machine repairman by day (still living at home), and the lead singer of Blood Pollution, a Steel Dragon tribute band, at night. (Steel Dragon is a heavy-metal hair band living it big in the 1980s.) Cole prides himself on getting everything exactly right when he's onstage, every note, every costume, every shade of mascara; he even gets a nipple ring right after Steel Dragon's lead singer does. Chris's dream turns into reality when Steel Dragon fires its lead singer and brings Chris in to audition for the job. He gets the gig, but he also gets a lot more than he bargained for. Wahlberg is brilliant as Cole, playing the role to perfection, both as the young dreamer and the rock star living to excess. Jennifer Aniston is also excellent as Emily, his longtime girlfriend and manager who stands by him for as long as she can. The music nails the 1980s heavy-metal explosion, both in the original songs that Steel Dragon plays and the incidental music, from such groups as Kiss, Jon Bon Jovi, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Motley Crue, and Dio. As good as Wahlberg and Aniston are, Timothy Spall, as Steel Dragon's manager, nearly steals the picture. ROCK STAR is an invigorating, intoxicating, thrilling ride of a movie; at times it even feels like it's the true story behind Spinal Tap. (In fact, it is loosely based on the true story of Ripper Owens and Judas Priest.) As an added bonus, the film features, in small roles, musicians who have played with such metalheads as Dokken, Slaughter, Ozzy Osbourne, and more. [More]
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Dominic West, Timothy Spall
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Dominic West, Timothy Spall, Rachel Hunter, Heidi Mark, Carrie Stevens, Jason Flemyng, Dagmara Dominczyk, Timothy Olyphant, Stephan Jenkins
Director: Stephen Herek
Director: Stephen Herek
Screenwriter: John Stockwell
Producer: Robert Lawrence, Toby Jaffe
Composer: Trevor Rabin
Studio: Warner Bros.
Reviews for Rock Star
A movie lampooning dimwitted '80s heavy-metal rockers was already made much more cleverly. It was called This Is Spinal Tap.
The erratic, cliched and superficial plot that can't seem to figure out where it wants to go or what it wants to prove or explore.
A sordid, stupid and amusing little saga, about as nourishing as a big bag of Cheez Doodles and equally addicting.
The tone of Rock Star is perfectly balanced between affection for and satire of hair bands.
Provides a fair amount of shallow fun pretending that 1980s heavy metal was actually heavy.
The production's refusal to try anything edgy condemns Rock Star to the rock pile of cinematic mediocrity.
Writer and director are content to plod the old walk of fame without much irony or questioning.
If the head-banging hype doesn't turn you off to Rock Star ... the hilarious miscasting and archaic rags-to-riches story line should do the trick -- and then some.
Summons every cliche of the rock world and then clings to the hoary scenarios with the fiercest gravity.
As vacuous as the backstage glitz and debauchery it pretends to criticize.
If you don't leave Rock Star wanting to do some head-banging and squealing at the top of your lungs, well, you can always pop in an old Air Supply cassette.
Herek's made a bloated concept album about faith and redemption and left off all the good songs -- the ones that make you wanna pump your fist in the air, wave your Bic and scream for vengeance.
Latest News for Rock Star
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August 29, 2001:
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