Life and rock and roll

Rating: 6/10 (12 August 2018)

The Rocker is a hugely enjoyable comedy about a man who gets a second chance
at life and rock and roll. For Ranin Wilson those terms are interchangeable.
Back in the 80s the rising band Versuvius was told they had to chuck their drummer in order to get a big break. Wilson got the heave ho much the same
way Peter Best got it when Ringo Starr replaced him as drummer for the Beatles.
Best became the answer to a much asked trivia question and we know what happened to those guys from Liverpool and their new drummer.
Flash forward to the new century and these kids who do their music thing in
the garage lose their drummer. Josh Gad remembers that back in the day his
uncle Ranin Wilson was a drummer so Wilson joins Gad and his band mates
Emma Stone and Teddy Geiger and becomes part of their band.
It's quite a rocky road and the band's first gig at the high school prom ends in
disaster. But Wilson starts fitting in with the kids and the mixed generation
band starts drawing real attention.
Wilson is totally outrageous in a part that must have been offered to Robin
Williams, just the kind of material Williams used to specialize in. Christina
Applegate also appears as Geiger's mom who has a rock and roll background
of her own just might be a permanent romance once Wilson realizes that she
is a mom first.
The climax at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame where this band originates from
is nicely staged. Wilson with some angst gets to meet the guys that dumped
him. What happens to them is positively poetical.
The Rocker is a film for those who want to be young forever. Some really do
make it like that. For the future Mick Jaggers of the world.