Comedies, especially feel-good comedies, have the purpose of making you feel good and getting you to laugh. That’s pretty obvious, right? They part the clouds of a bad day to let the light of satisfaction shine through. One could say watching one of these movies has a feeling equal to getting a new, cute little puppy. It makes you feel happy, even if you don’t know the reasons why.
I normally despise feel-good comedies. They are degrading to the brain and can be almost complete carbon copies of each other. The reek of commercialism and corporate manufacturing makes my gag reflex go haywire. Due to repetition, they are the epitome of comic and creative constipation. You’re waiting for either a laugh, or for the movie to end, but end up waiting for another hour and a half. It’s a waste of time.
If you thought that was corny, wait until you watch “The Rocker”. It’s about a drummer (Robert Fishman played by Rainn Wilson) who is in a band called Vesuvious during the 1980s. Eventually, the band has to make a choice: whether or not to leave the drummer and play one of the biggest gigs in their career. They choose to leave the drummer for prolonged fame. Too bad for Fishman or “Fish.”
I think Rainn Wilson is pretty funny in “The Office,” so I hoped he would be at least somewhat funny in “The Rocker” despite the horrid trailer.
It wasn’t. I laughed twice throughout the whole movie.
Anyway, ‘Fish’ eventually gets a real job and is fired from it. He’s forced to leave his girlfriend’s apartment and ends up living in his sister’s loft. Her son is in high school and happens to be a member of a band called ADD (short for Attention Deficit Disorder).
Wow, a catchy name.
ADD loses their drummer and Fish takes over. They don’t claim fame until a video on YouTube catches the eye of Matchbox Records. The video is composed of Fish drumming naked during a rehearsal session. They get famous, have an argument and, in the end, get back together and ‘rock’ their hearts out. They put Vesuvious to shame after their lip-syncing disaster.
“Rock” was said only because the music was not rock at all. It was commercial pop. One would think the title “The Rocker” would at least include rock songs. Maybe my perspective on rock music is drastically different than other people’s views.
Oh, so the parts where I laughed were when Fish swallowed a fly while screaming through the emergency exit on top of the tour bus. The other “funny” part was when Christina Applegate asked, “Do you know what a PILF is? It means a Person I’d Like to Stab.” I have a strange sense of humor. So what?
If you want a mindless, manufactured feel-good comedy to watch, then this movie is for you. If you want something with substance and actual humor, don’t watch it.