Rocker

Theatrical Release Date: 2008 08 01 (USA) / 2008 07 30 (USA) / 2008 08 20 (USA)

UPC: 024543541615

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Nudity, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content]

Summary: The Office star Rainn Wilson portrays a drummer named "Fish," who gets a second shot at fame 20 years after getting kicked out of his band on the very night they signed the record contract that made them stars. Fish has spent the past two decades languishing at soul-crushing day jobs while his old bandmates became legends, continuing to grace magazine covers and dominate the radio. He might just get another chance at musical success, however, when his teenage cousin invites him to drum for his high school garage band, and they end up catching the ear of record executives. Now, Fish is determined to live the hedonistic rock & roll lifestyle he missed out on 20 years ago, but his new bandmates don't appreciate his hard partying -- and neither do his middle-aged knees. This Fox Atomic comedy co-stars Christina Applegate. Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) and Tom McNulty co-produced the feature, which was penned by Wallace Wolodarsky and Maya Forbes, and directed by Peter Cattaneo (Opal Dream). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Features: Disc 1:
Audio commentary by director Peter Cattaneo and actor Rainn Wilson
Audio commentary by actors Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger, Emma Stone and Jason Sudeikis
Deleted scenes
Gag reel
MTV Panel featurette
Matt gags
Internet podcasts
Vesuvius gags
Pete Best interview
Vesuvius Public Service Announcements
Rainn Wilson Office Rocker featurette
Behind the Band - Vesuvius featurette
Rock Tales featurette
The Music featurette
Rock Beat With Fish Fisherman featurette
"I'm Not Bitter" music video
Fox Movie Channel presents In Character With the Rocker

Disc 2:
Digital copy of The Rocker for Portable Media Players

Rocker

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 01/27/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DTS Digital Theater Systems, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 102 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Cammila Collar

There's a high probability that studios keep piles of generic comedy scripts like The Rocker sitting around in the vaults. They probably lie in stacks, divided up based on type, each pile with a Post-it note on top baring a hopeful casting suggestion; the stickie on the Sports Comedies says "Will Ferrell," the note on the Cringe Comedies says "Ben Stiller," and while the one on the Rock Comedies probably says "Jack Black," fortunately for us in this hypothetical scenario, Mr. Black's agent noticed a tad too much similarity between The Rocker and Black's 2003 hit School of Rock, so this film was handed down to Office vet Rainn Wilson -- who turns this fun, simple story into something fresh. That isn't to say that the uncomplicated plot doesn't remain totally uncomplicated (or at least vaguely similar to School of Rock), it just works well that way. Wilson plays "Fish," a drummer booted from his '80s hair-metal band Vesuvius on the verge of their big break. He henceforth plows straight through to middle age on a 20-year diet of crappy day jobs, until he gets an unlikely second chance at stardom by joining his teenage cousin's high-school band ADD -- which lands a record deal based on a viral video of Fish rehearsing naked. What ensues is a basic fish-out-of-water story (no pun intended) built around a super-bombastic lead, but unlike many of Hollywood's other Post-it-worthy comedians, Wilson hasn't worked this schtick into the ground. On the contrary, his only ubiquitous character is the righteous and nerdy Dwight from the hit series The Office, and Fish is just about Dwight's complete opposite -- dressing up in red leather pants and partying until his fourtysomething knees give out. Wilson's take on the classic Terrifyingly Enthusiastic character type that so many comedians have made their careers on is endlessly endearing, and even his young co-stars pull off their pubescent, sometimes-whiney roles (almost) without ever crossing the line into grating angst. In fact, the movie is full of cheesy "just be yourself" moments where the kids briefly learn a lesson about kissing or self-esteem or whatever, but the sappy stuff never takes a front seat to the hilarious and often-insane humor. That's what you get when it's become the standard for all available members of the SNL/30 Rock/Apatow in-crowds to show up and play all the minor roles in a comedy starring anyone vaguely connected to their clique. Jason Sudeikis is particularly awesome in this regard, playing the band's sleazy manager, though Will Arnett turns in an equally memorable performance as the spandexed, eyelinered frontman for Fish's old hair-metal band -- this is probably the role he was born to play. Of course, even with all it has going for it, the movie still has its flaws. It isn't exactly edited perfectly, and the story plays out a little clumsily as a result, leaving it smattered with events that don't end up going anywhere and subplots that don't end up panning out. But this isn't really the kind of movie where plot matters that much anyway. It's good for laughs, and it proves that Rainn Wilson can earn them -- in or out of the Office. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Shawn Levy  Producer 
Wallace Wolodarsky  Screenwriter 
Peter Cattaneo  Director 
Maya Forbes  Screenwriter 
Tom McNulty  Producer 
Chad Fischer  Composer (Music Score) 
Rainn Wilson  Actor 
Christina Applegate  Actor 
Josh Gad  Actor 
Teddy Geiger  Actor 
Emma Stone  Actor 
Will Arnett  Actor 
Fred Armisen  Actor 
Jeff Garlin  Actor 
Ed Helms  Actor 
Jason Sudeikis  Actor 
Jane Lynch  Actor 
Bradley Cooper  Actor 

Country: USA