The Rocker
User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 29 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 29
  3. Negative: 2 out of 29

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  1. ChadS.
    Aug 20, 2008
    4
    Got Yow? Not Curtis, no way, contrary to the poster hanging on his bedroom wall, the frontman for A.D.D.'s got no Yow in him. The real-life Teddy Geiger might be a Jesus Lizard fan, but his alter-ego is more like The Jesus Meerkat than the influential late-eighties noise band from Chicago(named after the "basilicus basilicus", the lizard that walks on water). A.D.D.'s meteoric rise to fame has almost no basis in reality, but that's nothing compared to Vesuvius' surprising viability in the music industry. Imagine if the Seattle music scene in the early-nineties never happened. That's what "The Rocker" did. A "hair-band" like Vesuvius sells out arenas, and worse yet, gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "The Rocker" is no more realistic about the music biz than "Alvin and the Chipmunks". For A.D.D. to make any headway towards legitimacy, the up-and-comers have to overcome the gimmicky notoriety of being a "You Tube" sensation. They're the band saddled with "The Naked Drummer". In a smarter movie, the suits would force the kids to replace Robert(Rainn Wilson) before signing them to a record contract. In a smarter, funnier movie, it's the kids who act like decadent rockers, not the middle-aged uncle. Make Amelia(Emma Stone) a lush; Matt(Josh Gad), a womanizer; and Curtis(Teddy Geiger), a heroin addict. A.D.D. is one boring band. Shouldn't fame change them in some essential way? The kids are worse than alright, they're underwritten. "The Rocker" is too Fish-centric.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
53 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 28 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 28
  3. Negative: 1 out of 28
  1. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Sam Adams
    50
    For the most part, The Rocker is content to simply keep the beat, marking time as the summer movie season moves on.
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  2. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    50
    Wilson works overtime to hold Peter Cattaneo's flimsy comedy together.
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  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    75
    This familiar scenario works because of well-written and acted characters. The disciplined direction is by Peter Cattaneo, who tackled somewhat similar material in "The Full Monty" a decade ago.
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