Other Titles • Rock Star (2001) • Metal God (2000) • So You Wanna Be a Rock Star? (2000) • Untitled Stephen Herek Project (2000)
Synopses for Rock Star (2001)
1.
Chris Cole (MARK WAHLBERG) was born to rock. His longtime girlfriend Emily (JENNIFER ANISTON) believes Chris's talent could take him all the way — but instead of writing his own music, Chris worships at the altar of Bobby Beers, the fiery frontman for Steel Dragon, the heavy metal rock legends that both inspire and consume his life.
By day, Chris still lives at home with his parents and spends his days repairing copy machines, push-starting his sputtering Dodge Dart and fighting with his brother.
But when Chris takes the stage, all of that disappears. When he's fronting Blood Pollution, Pennsylvania's premiere Steel Dragon tribute band, Chris Cole is Bobby Beers — mesmerizing audiences with his perfect imitation of Beers' electrifying vocals and sexy snarl. Blood Pollution's low-rent recreation of the Dragon's elaborate arena shows drive the locals (including Chris's loving parents and amused choir director) into a head-banging. hair-whipping frenzy.
The night his bandmates boot him out of the group he founded, Chris is devastated — until an unexpected phone call changes his life forever: he, Chris Cole, has been tapped to replace Bobby Beers as the lead singer of Steel Dragon. In an instant, Chris rockets to the dizzying heights of sudden stardom, rising from devotee to icon., from the ultimate rock fan to the ultimate rock god — the wanna-be who got to be.
So what happens when an average guy gets everything he wants.. . and discovers it's not enough?
(20 votes)
2.
Marky Mark tears down the house in Stephen Herek's ROCK STAR, in which he plays Chris Cole, a local guy from Pittsburgh who is a copy-machine repairman by day (still living at home), and the lead singer of Blood Pollution, a Steel Dragon tribute band, at night. (Steel Dragon is a heavy-metal hair band living it big in the 1980s.) Cole prides himself on getting everything exactly right when he's onstage, every note, every costume, every shade of mascara; he even gets a nipple ring right after Steel Dragon's lead singer does. Chris's dream turns into reality when Steel Dragon fires its lead singer and brings Chris in to audition for the job. He gets the gig, but he also gets a lot more than he bargained for.
Wahlberg is brilliant as Cole, playing the role to perfection, both as the young dreamer and the rock star living to excess. Jennifer Aniston is also excellent as Emily, his longtime girlfriend and manager who stands by him for as long as she can. The music nails the 1980s heavy-metal explosion, both in the original songs that Steel Dragon plays and the incidental music, from such groups as Kiss, Jon Bon Jovi, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Motley Crue, and Dio. As good as Wahlberg and Aniston are, Timothy Spall, as Steel Dragon's manager, nearly steals the picture. ROCK STAR is an invigorating, intoxicating, thrilling ride of a movie; at times it even feels like it's the true story behind Spinal Tap. (In fact, it is loosely based on the true story of Ripper Owens and Judas Priest.) As an added bonus, the film features, in small roles, musicians who have played with such metalheads as Dokken, Slaughter, Ozzy Osbourne, and more.
(19 votes)
3.
The story of a wanna be who got to be.
By day Chris Cole repairs photocopiers. By night he takes the stage as frontman for a tribute band emulating Steel Dragon, the world's hottest heavy-metal band. Then, suddenly, opportunity rocks: Chris is tapped to become Steel Dragon's new lead singer. Just like that, he goes from small-town nobody to megastar. Just like that, he and his manager/ girlfriend Emily enter a world crazier than either imagined.
Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston headline and Stephen Herek (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) directs this knowing, chord crunching, hair-whipping look at 80's arena rock and the price of fame. Filled with the style, strut and feel of an era, Rock Star gets it right. Long may it shine.
(19 votes)
4.
If you've ever indulged a rock & roll fantasy, Rock Star will give you the vicarious thrill of seeing that fantasy come to life. That's what happens when talented tribute-band singer Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) is tapped to replace his idol as frontman for 1980s metal gods Steel Dragon. Chris becomes the groupie-laden "Izzy," his manager girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) grows weary of sex 'n' drugs on tour, and Rock Star plays out its utterly conventional plot line. Despite the casting of real rockers to support Wahlberg's underrated performance (nicely matched by Aniston and Timothy Spall as Steel Dragon's road manager), his character is too rigidly written to follow an obligatory rise and fall, and even its basis in fact (inspired by Tim "Ripper" Owens's recruitment into Judas Priest) can't conceal the movie's predictable formula. As a cautionary tale it's routine, but as a leather-pants love story, Rock Star's got enough good karma to keep its dream alive. --Jeff Shannon
(19 votes)
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