A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Mark Wahlberg dreamed of being a Rock Star. He did have one hit, of course, but his music career never matched his brother’s. Now the shoe’s on the other foot as his acting career (Planet of the Apes, Perfect Storm) heats up and Donnie W. is stuck in supporting roles. But to the movie: Wahlberg plays Chris Cole, a heavy metal singer wannabe in a tribute band where he obsesses over every guitar lick and scream. The real singer in the real band comes to a parting of the ways with the group (a kind of English Van Halen, I suppose) and they reach out to Chris as his replacement. Does it work out? If you have to guess, you haven’t watched enough movies lately.
I blame director Stephen Herek mostly; Herek’s career has been all over the map as his previous directorial efforts range from 101 Dalmations to Mr. Holland’s Opus to the Eddie Murphy bomb Holy Man to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. But like a bad heavy metal record, the audio here was mixed down low and the guitars and drums up high, making sure we couldn’t really hear the inane dialog. Probably just as well. Jennifer Aniston plays the love interest who throws Wahlberg over after he gets too close to the rock star lifestyle for her comfort. Dominic West is not too bad in his first major role as the star guitar player who hires Wahlberg. I did really appreciate Timothy Spall as the band’s road manager as he really place the voice of cold hard reality for Wahlberg. Not recommended
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