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 | Rock Star | Heavy Metal | 1980s

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14	12:10 PM	MAX
Thur. Nov. 19	8:40 AM	MAX

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

Colour:

Colour (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:

In the early scenes, the brother is a policeman for "Keystone"; obviously a reference or homage to the Keystone Cops (and he seems as effective as well - his Mom must "rescue" him from his little brother).

Goofs:

Factual errors: As Izzy and Emily are being led through Kurt Cuddy's mansion they momentarily get sidetracked amongst Steel Dragon concert and historical memorabilia. At one point they both stare in utter amazement at a Korina wood Gibson Flying V where Izzy comments, in awed hushed tones, that the fretboard is made of rosewood. The problem with this scenario is the fact that more than 95% of ALL guitars and basses made worldwide have rosewood fretboards, as they are the industry standard. While a small number of guitars do have fretboards made of maple or rare tone-woods such as bubinga, most any working musician, as Izzy supposed to depict, knows that rosewood is by far the most common material used for this feature.

Quotes:

Ricki: Dude, do I have too much foundation on?

Movie Connections:

References Three Kings (1999)

Soundtrack:

Sheedys

Comic book cynicism

Surprisingly well-acted, well-written movie about hard rockin'-but-decent young man getting that much-hoped-for ticket to stardom: his favorite heavy metal band wants him to replace their lead singer. Not far-fetched, the film tries keeping things in perspective and doesn't go over-the-top; it certainly makes you think twice about those lingering adolescent fantasies about being in the music business. But the script, despite solid dialogue, follows a tried-and-true, formulaic pattern, and gets bogged down by its own clichés in the final act. I enjoyed it much more than the sugary fluffball "Almost Famous". It has a nice, bitter edge to go with its heavy metal decadence, but a stronger finish might've made it more memorable. **1/2 from ****