superficial but entertaining film

Rating: Null/10 (18 February 2002)

So what happens when a person's dreams actually DO come true, especially when the context of that dream turns out to be superstardom in the celebrity driven culture of modern America? Does that individual, in attaining the summit of fame and fortune, find true happiness and fulfillment there or does he come to realize that it is all mere ashes in the long run?
These questions have formed the basis for any number of films in the past and `Rock Star' doesn't bring much new insight to the theme. However, in style and spirit, this film by director Stephen Herek is just loopy enough to be entertaining. Although writer John Stockwell provides a basically superficial - and in some ways even sanitized - survey of the rock star culture, at least we are spared some of the heavy-handed rebel angst that usually accompanies films on this subject.
From the beginning, the film incorporates elements that go against the grain of the subject matter. For instance, the main character, Chris Cole, is less a wannabe rock star than an obsessed devotee of his favorite rock band known as Steel Dragon. Chris emulates the band's adored lead singer to such an extent that the people around him - including his own band members who spend most of their time covering Steel Dragon's tunes - begin to feel that Chris might actually be having trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy, that he may actually be coming to think that he IS his idol. The screenplay also breaks out of the mold by having Chris's parents be supportive of his endeavors and by making Chris himself a rocker without a societal chip on his shoulder. Chris simply loves rock music and the band that he feels has come to epitomize it for him. Unlike in most of these stories, the lead character is not an ambitious, driven, trailblazing artist but rather a follower content to bask in another person's glory.
Until fate one day intervenes in an astonishing way and Chris gets that rare chance to live out his ultimate life fantasy. He receives a call from the leader of Steel Dragon who has heard Chris's renditions of their songs and offers him a job as replacement for the burnt out lead singer, Chris' idol. At this point the film lapses into more familiar territory, with Chris and his girlfriend taking the inevitable downward spiral from wide-eyed innocence to the hedonistic trap of unbridled sex, drugs, booze etc. - and all the interpersonal strain this places on once-solid relationships. Happily, `Rock Star,' although it shows all these conventional aspects, doesn't go overboard into total despair and misery as so many previous films on this topic have. In fact, it is surprising just how upbeat the film remains even in its darkest moments. Even though that adds to the superficial quality of the film, it also keeps it from becoming fashionably cynical and clichéd.
Mark Wahlberg gives an energetic performance as Chris and Jennifer Aniston conveys a real transcendent sweetness as Emily, Chris' devoted girlfriend. One ends up not believing a minute of `Rock Star' (at least not after that fateful phone call arrives), but it has a nice fairytale quality nonetheless.