Virginia Beach

Rating: Null/10 (26 October 2003)

The Death of Rock
Spoilers herein.
Yet another funny man with a limited vocabulary searching for that one perfect vehicle, by trying a formula. Its getting pretty tiresome.
Let's see: Jack was terrific in `High Fidelity,' an original notion cleverly pulled off. He is also in a rock band. So, (we can see the creative team around Rudin saying) let's just let him be funny doing his rock faces, in a `Mighty Ducks' deal.

And why should I object to that? Because, friends, I am sick of films that preach one thing and themselves contradict that thing. Usually these are movies about being individual and not a copy, but everything about the movie is cookiecutter. In this case, we are talking about a culture of energy that is de-energized..
All movies are about other movies, never life. Music is similarly always about other music as well, but has the advantage that for us to connect it to life, we have to invent a cultural container. Rock isn't music at all, but the container we made up to contain some music made by folks we think fit the template. Rock music is what rock stars do, not the other way around.
The vehicle here is that large formula that has an unlikely bunch (often kids) excelling in a performance. Sometimes it is a sporting performance, otherwise - as here - it is a stage performance. Usually there is an unlikely mentor. Ho hum, push those buttons, connect the dots and we get ersatz rock and just the kind of movie which rock is against.
`Spinal Tap' was an ode to rock disguised as a satire, and funny as all getout. This is a travesty of rock disguised as an ode, and not a funny bit in the whole thing if you take out Cusak.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.