Rock Star (2001)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writer (WGA):

John Stockwell (written by)

Release Date:

7 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Every guy wants to be you. Every girl wants to be with you.

Plot:

Lead singer of a tribute band becomes lead singer of the real band he idolizes.

Plot Keywords:

Tribute Band | Cover Band | Heavy Metal | Rock Star | Tour Bus

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Mark Wahlberg	...	Chris 'Izzy' Cole
Jennifer Aniston	...	Emily Poule
Dominic West	...	Kirk Cuddy, Steel Dragon Guitarist
Jason Bonham	...	A.C., Steel Dragon Drummer
Jeff Pilson	...	Jorgen, Steel Dragon Bassist
Zakk Wylde	...	Ghode, Steel Dragon Guitarist
Timothy Spall	...	Mats, Steel Dragon Road Manager
Blas Elias	...	Donny Johnson, Blood Pollution Drummer
Nick Catanese	...	Xander Cummins, Blood Pollution Guitarist
Brian Vander Ark	...	Ricki Bell, Blood Pollution Bassist
Timothy Olyphant	...	Rob Malcolm, Blood Pollution Guitarist
Dagmara Dominczyk	...	Tania Asher, Steel Dragon Public Relations
Matthew Glave	...	Joe Cole
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	Mr. Cole
Beth Grant	...	Mrs. Cole

Also Known As:

Metal God (USA) (working title)
So You Wanna Be a Rock Star? (USA) (working title)
Untitled Stephen Herek Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality and some drug content.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:K-7 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | South Africa:13L | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #37887) | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

1st Ave & Pike Street, Seattle, Washington, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The majority of the musicians in the movie are actual musicians: Mark Wahlberg fronted Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch; 'Jason Bonham' (A.C., Steel Dragon drummer) is son of John Bonham and founder and drummer of 80's hair band Bonham; Jeff Pilson (Jorgen, Steel Dragon bassist) is bassist for 80's hair band Dokken; Zakk Wylde (Ghode, Steel Dragon guitarist) has played with a ton of bands including Ozzy Osbourne and has his own band, Black Label Society; Blas Elias (Donny, Blood Pollution drummer) is drummer of 80s hair band Slaughter; 'Brian Vander Ark (Ricki Bell, Blood Pollution bassist) is singer and guitarist in The Verve Pipe; Nick Catanese (Xander Cummins, Blood Pollution guitarist) is guitarist in Wylde's Black Label Society; Stephan Jenkins (Bradley, Black Babylon singer) is singer for Third Eye Blind; Colleen Fitzpatrick (Guitarist outside the Steel Dragon mansion) is better known as Vitamin C; Myles Kennedy (Thor) joined Alter Bridge with ex-Creed members after leaving his band, The Mayfield Four. The majority of the songs are also played by original 80's hair band musicians,including Wahlberg's singing voice which belongs to 'Mike Matijevic', lead singer of Steelheart. Steve Plunkett was the lead singer of Autograph, an 80's hair band band with a Top 30 hit "Turn up the Radio". He plays the photographer in the scene where "Chris" does his first photo shoot with Steel Dragon. Steve Plunkett also co-wrote the song "Living the Life".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the first concert, while they are dancing, when Jennifer Aniston's character is dancing with two people, one clearly looks at the camera.

Quotes:

Bradley: Maybe you can make me some pants like his... or did your girlfriend already rip out the seats in the Dodge?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Rock Star (#8.12)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Blood Pollution

Rock N' Roll with a side order of excess

Where have all the rock stars gone? The bubble gum pop bands with their virginal image and the hip hopping wannabe baddies bore me. Where's the flash and excess of groups like Led Zeppelin, or the old Motley Crue? These were the hard rocking, and even harder partying bands who brought the sex and drugs to rock n' roll. Whether trashing hotel rooms, engaging in debauchery that would make Caligula blush, or caught up in a deluge of chemicals and booze, there were no half measures. Women wanted them and men wanted to be them. Sometimes, life is good.

Life as a photocopier repairperson is less than riveting. For Chris Cole the only way to cope with the daily tedium of toner and paper jams is in his alternate guise as the lead singer in a "Steel Dragon" tribute band. Chris acts, dresses and sounds like his idol, hoping beyond all reason that one day he will join his idols. Lucky for him, rock and roll is a fickle business.

As anyone who follows heavy metal (or reads previews) knows, "Rock Star" is loosely based on the true story of salesman-turned-heavy-metal-frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens, who was tapped to fill in as lead singer for Judas Priest when Rob Halford left the band. However, the similarities end there - when Judas Priest pressed for increased creative control over the project, the producers opted to distance themselves from the band and change the story and the exploits of "Steel Dragon" are a composite of several apocryphal rock legends.

With strong performances in such films as "Three Kings" and "The Perfect Storm" Mark Wahlberg has proven that he is more than a living underwear mannequin. Wahlberg brings the same combination of innocence and wide-eyed wonderment to Chris that he displayed in "Boogie Nights" (without displaying much else). These qualities keep Chris' transformation from nobody to rock god from becoming a ridiculous parody. Keeping him grounded is Jennifer Aniston as his girlfriend/manager, the one person who realizes his talents and for once Aniston breaks free of Rachel, and delivers a decent performance. The supporting cast, drawn from real rockers and solid character actors, gel well onscreen. Overall, the story is well paced, light-hearted, the soundtrack is great (I felt my head moving back and forth more than once) and you actually buy the group as a real band. Definitely worth the price of admission, and remember not to leave before the outtakes are finished.