Jennifer Aniston and Mark Wahlberg in "Rock Star."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: Mark Wahlberg Director: Stephen Herek Rated: R, with profanity, sex Length: 106 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(September 7, 2001) -- Sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) lives for the music, but he's too naive to recognize the dangers in the rest of that infamous formula.

On the surface, that seems to be all the film Rock Star is about -- which is the reason it never rises to the rarefied air of last year's poetic Almost Famous. The hint that Rock Star is about a search for identity is barely examined.

Still, on terms as simplified and generic as its title, Rock Star entertains.

It's the 1980s, and Chris is a young man obsessed with a popular heavy metal outfit, Steel Dragon. By day, he repairs office machines, but at night, he sings with Blood Pollution, a Steel Dragon "tribute band."

Chris knows every lyric, every vocal inflection and every riff.

Of course, that makes him the ideal candidate when the big-time band fires its lead singer. Out of the blue, Chris gets the call that a first-class ticket awaits for a flight to Los Angeles. Once there, he's whisked to a Beverly Hills mansion, where he auditions.

Just like that, Chris goes from obscurity to the rock-star fame.

Chris' new gig strains his relationship with Emily, his hometown girl (Jennifer Aniston). Chris and Emily seem shocked -- shocked! -- to discover the decadence of Steel Dragon: the women, booze and drugs.

He's forced to consider: Is this what he wants?

Rock Star emerges as a simplistic cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for, because you might get it.

Writer John Stockwell and director Stephen Herek lean on rock cliches and overworked techniques. Herek likes the time-lapse sequence of an arena stage being set up so much he employs it twice.

Still, Wahlberg makes a convincing rock star, something of a cousin to the innocuous rap star he once was as Marky Mark. Though his vocals have been augmented -- as they say -- his performance looks authentic.

The actor is at home as a working-class hero pursuing a limited dream, whether it's to be a porn star (Boogie Nights), a commercial fisherman (The Perfect Storm) or a heavy metal star.

Aniston has less to do as the supportive and ultimately disappointed Emily. However, British character actor Timothy Spall (of Topsy-Turvy) nearly steals the film as the band's road manager, an amoral den mother, procurer and fixer.

Heavy metal fans are the most likely to revel in Rock Star. The authentic-sounding rock is performed by drummer Jason Bonham, Verve Pipe's Brian Vander Ark and Dokken's Jeff Pilson. The rest of us will find the rewards of Rock Star to be modest, at best.