![]() As I revisited Rockstar after 10 years, I kept thinking about those animated Disney/Pixar films that always have something for everyone, no matter if you are six or sixty. When the film released, I was still in the hangover of my teens and much like the film, I romanticised tragedies and self-destruction but a decade later, when I am a grown-up, the film, unfortunately, is still stuck in its rebellious phase. But sadly, that’s where the good things end.Īs much as I enjoy the pros of Rockstar, the cons outweigh them. I remember being enchanted with his empty eyes while watching the film in the theatre, and 10 years later, he still had the same effect. The man gave his heart and soul to Jordan. Another major pro for the film was Ranbir Kapoor’s acting. With Mohit Chauhan giving the vocals, and Irshad Kamil penning the lyrics, the album of Rockstar was an instant classic, and in the years since, it has not lost even an ounce of its magic. ![]() AR Rahman gave one of the best Hindi film music albums with Rockstar and there are no two opinions about that. ![]() Note: ''Rock Star'' began production with the title ''Metal God,'' which is incomparably better at one point, it was called ''So You Want to be a Rock Star?"-the inspiration, no doubt, of a ratings-crazed executive who thought it could attract all the Regis Philbin fans.Firstly, let’s talk about the pros. Where was the juice and joy? By the end of the film I conceded, yes, there are good performances and the period is well captured, but the movie didn't convince me of the feel and the flavor of its experiences. I began to feel that Izzy lacked the imagination to turn the situation into fun that his rigidity in insisting that Blood Pollution copy Steel Dragon note for note was translated as a kind of paralyzing inflexibility. Instead of the life and energy in a movie like ''Almost Famous,'' set in roughly the same period, there was a glum disconsolance. It stopped being an adventure and started being a parable. Until the halfway mark I approved of it, and then slowly my enthusiasm faded. Timothy Spall anchors this section of the film with his observant, solid performance as the manager, who sees all, knows all, tolerates all until it affects the box office.Īware that Emily feels shut out while groupies cluster around the band, he counsels her to ''build up a little tolerance to it, you know?'' Watching ''Rock Star'' was an instructive experience. Eventually we, and he, understand that who can be hired can be fired. We follow Izzy's adventures as a lead singer he falls down a flight of stairs on his first entrance, and makes a good impression by singing while blood runs down his forehead. This is not the way the tour works, and Emily is banned from the band bus she and the other wives and girlfriends trail behind in a stretch limousine, although an astrologer and a drag queen are allowed on the bus. Izzy brings Emily along (''we traded in the first class ticket for two tourist tickets''), and indeed plans on keeping her by his side during the whole adventure. The members of Steel Dragon are revealed, behind the scenes, to be cynical professionals who casually boot out Bobby Beers, see a tape of Izzy performing, fly him to L.A. One of the funniest scenes in the movie involves what appears to be a fight with a cop who breaks into Izzy's bedroom I won't spoil the punch-line. The best parts of the movie are the early ones, as Izzy fights with his band, stands by his dream, and is supported by his girlfriend Emily ( Jennifer Aniston), who at one point goes beyond the call of duty by piercing his nipple so he can wear a ring just like his idol Bobby Beers, the lead singer in Steel Dragon. Most of the film's other details are, I imagine, fiction-but they portray a world which must be more or less the same for many bands, involving the ordeal of touring, personality clashes, the danger of violence, unhappy relationships, omnipresent groupies, and managers who must be liars, thieves, drug counselors and psychoanalysts, to keep the show on the road. An Ohio office supply salesman named Tim ''Ripper'' Owens actually did replace Rob Halford, the lead singer in Judas Priest, after warming up as lead singer in a tribute band. Miraculously, the lead singer of Steel Dragon is in the process of being kicked out, and the band sees one of Izzy's tapes and hires him as a replacement singer. Eventually his fanaticism makes him such a nuisance that his own band fires him. He idolizes the band Steel Dragon, and insists that his band do only their songs, and only in the exact way they perform them (''You're not nailing the squeal,'' he tells a guitarist during rehearsal). Wahlberg plays Chris ''Izzy'' Coles, a Pittsburgh office supplies salesman who sings in the church choir, loves and is loved by his parents and a loyal girlfriend, and leads a local tribute band named Blood Pollution.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |