Home » Film & TV » Film & TV Reviews » Rock Star

Rock Star

© James C. Hess

Despite its overall reputation for perversion, deviance, hedonism, depravity, and immorality, rock and roll has a redeeming quality: It is one of the last, symbolic, outposts of The American Dream.

It is: The American Dream, at its base, is about capitalism, and rock and roll, despite implications and explicit defenses otherwise, is about money--it is about business.

Because it is about business, and because business, at its base, is the art of war, rock and roll--business--behind the scenes, is not a pretty or pleasant thing.

Now this is an interesting premise.

So, why, then, did Hollywood not persue it?

Because Hollywood, the Hollywood Machine, one of the last, symbolic, outposts of The American Dream, has a reputation: Perversion, deviance, hedonism, depravity, and immorality, and looking in the mirror of truth is not something it wants to do.

Because it declined to do this it doomed "Rock Star" to box office failure.

"Rock Star" is a film school formulaic movie about a copy machine repairman who pursues The American Dream: He becomes the lead singer in a famous heavy metal band, acquiring wealth and fame along the way.

As noted, a fine premise, this. And, as noted, one not pursued as it should have been because to do so would require a certain measure of soul-searching on the part of Hollywood.

Of course, to pursue this premise accordingly the Hollywood Machine would have had to have done things differently: A legitimate acting talent in the lead instead of Mark Wahlberg, whose acting range seems comprised of superficial expressions beginning with constipation and ending with extreme bowel and crotch region discomfort.

Further, it would have required a screenplay that presented the behind-the-scenes unflichingly. Instead, as is often the case, we get what amounts to peaches-and-cream: A superficial, gloss fantasy of what rock and roll wants to be but will never be.

As noted Wahlberg plays a copier repair man, Chris 'Izzy' Coles, who lives in Pittsburgh, who has aspirations of being a singer--he sings in the church choir and leads a local band named Blood Pollution. His parents love him, as does his girlfriend.

And life is good.

Until one day, that is, when things start coming apart: He fawns after the band Steel Dragon--so much so he demands his band play covers of their songs. Period. Exactly as Steel Dragon plays the songs. Eventually this behavior costs him his place in Blood Pollution, and his girlfriend wonders what the dismisal will mean for them.