Not Perfect, But Whatever. \m/

Rating: 9/10 (11 March 2018)

As a metalhead, it makes me so happy to see movies about heavy metal and rock & roll. Metal does not get the amount of praise and respect it deserves. That's something I never understood. These are some of the most talented musicians in the world making music that takes the listener on journey. The best music genre is mixed into a glimpse of life on the road an finding your true self.
'Rock Star' is loosely based on the story of Tim "Ripper" Owens. Judas Priest's Rob Halford wanted to try a solo career and the rest of the band got Owens to fill in for him. Owens was in a Priest tribute band first, similar to Wahlberg's character. He did a couple of albums with them until Halford came back.
Mark Wahlberg plays talented singer Chris Cole. He worships Bobby Beers, the frontman of the world's top metal band, Steel Dragon (is that not a badass name or what?) During the daytime, Chris is an IT guy at an office building. By night he is the frontman of a Steel Dragon tribute band called "Blood Pollution." Chris takes every little detail of Dragon so seriously to be incorporated into Blood Pollution that they eventually kick him out. He doesn't know where Bobby Beers ends and he begins. Chris soon finds out that Bobby Beers gets booted out of the band and Chris gets the gig as Dragon's new frontman.
The beginning of this up until right after Chris' first performance with Steel Dragon is golden. Living life as a wannabe and fulfilling his dream was very relatable. And him becoming Dragon's new lead vocalist was nice as we could totally feel a starstruck Chris. But after Chris' first concert, the movie completely lazes out. When you're a rockstar (and in the world's biggest band), life is full of parties, sex, drugs, and travelling. We see Chris doing all of these and how it effects his longtime girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston), but none of these things are done in a very clear and concise way. In the first chunk, we feel exactly what Chris feels. Then we get pulled out of Chris and become just speculators getting little peeks into Chris' time on the road. We can't relate to Chris wanting to find himself and wanting to change like we could in the first half. If the second half of the script was re-written so that it was stronger than the first half (movies need to keep building and move up), the whole movie would be as revered as 'Love & Mercy' and 'The Buddy Holly Story.'
Whatever. Since only part of the script is weak and the music is perfect, 'Rock Star' is a great time to have.
3/4