Okay, so one day actor Rainn Wilson is shaving and while doing so bugs out his eyes in the mirror. “Hey, he says to himself, I look just like Jack Black!” And thus begins the downward spiral towards the production of a film that attempts to marry “School of Rock” with “That Thing You Do”. But it’s different, see, cause this time Dewey is a drummer NOT a guitar player! And the brooding songwriter in the group who has a decent voice DOESN’T have girlfriend issues! And the band decides on a name that ISN’T the Wonders! True, there is a female bass player and lots of parental interference like in School of Rock, but what if one of the moms is like really cute and goes on the road with the band! And what if the Dewey-like character has a fear of marionettes (puppets) so that he can say the word “marionettes,” thereby slipping in a really clever nod to “That Thing You Do”! Maybe the problem with this movie is that it just tries too hard to be what it isn’t: a Jack Black vehicle, and Rainn Wilson is no Jack Black. Let’s just hope he figures that out before someone offers him The Rocker II.
The Rocker
