Rock Star (2001)

Directed by Stephen Herek. Starring Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Timothy Spall, Dominic West, Dagmara Domińczyk, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Flemyng, Stephan Jenkins, Matthew Glave. [R]

Superficial, single-chord saga of a hair metal tribute band singer (Wahlberg) getting a once-in-a-lifetime shot at stardom when Steel Dragon, the group he worships, needs a replacement for their just-dropped frontman (Flemyng). But will fame go to his head and will excess derail his relationship with girlfriend Aniston? If you don’t already know the answer to those questions (and have a high tolerance for generic cock rock), maybe you’ll find something fulfilling here, but others will quickly tire of its predictability. A tonal trainwreck that reads as parody with its abundant clichés and pat storytelling, but aside from a few isolated moments (a drag race with the Batmobile, a couple of Spinal Tap-esque throwaways during the end credits, etc.), nothing from the direction or performances suggests that any of ‘em are in on the gag. Wahlberg fails to sell the drive or the devotion to the milieu, and miscast Aniston sticks out like a sore thumb in her underwritten role. The original tunes played by Steel Dragon get tiresome so quickly that the most enjoyable soundtrack selections are the ones that go against the chest-beating grain: Talking Heads and INXS, for example, to say nothing for the in-joke inclusion of a little Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch; another potential in-joke is the meta-“self-own” found in a late film lyric: “Stayed for drama, though you’ve paid for a comedy.” Liberally inspired by the story of Judas Priest, which also replaced their frontman (Rob Halford) with a “fan” who proved to have the pipes (Tim “Ripper” Owens). Several real life musicians (Jenkins, Zakk Wylde, Jason Bonham, etc.) have supporting roles and bit parts.

40/100