Starring Rainn Wilson, Emma Stone. Written by Maya Forbes, Wallace
Wolodarsky. Directed by Peter Cattaneo. (PG) 102 min. Opened Aug 20.
As if we needed another reason to big up School of Rock, here comes The Rocker, which tries to work the same affable groove as Richard Linklater’s 2003 crowd-pleaser and comes up well short. Office star Rainn Wilson (see: Interview) takes the Jack Black role — the rock-scene burnout who gets teenage kicks by kicking it with teenagers — and does reasonably well by it. In lieu of Black’s antic hobgoblin shtick, Wilson evinces credible bitterness as the ex-drummer of the world’s biggest heavy-metal band. Resigned to an office-drone existence, he’s convinced to pick up his sticks by his schlubby nephew (Josh Gad), whose garage band is — of course — short one member for their big gig at the school dance.
From there, the screenplay-writing software takes over as the band — which also includes the requisite frowny-foxy bassist (Superbad standout Emma Stone) and a Jonas Brothers–looking lead singer/songwriter (Teddy Geiger) — struggle with Wilson’s arrogance, get an unexpected big break, head out on a cross-country tour, bond, splinter and finally reunite for a redemptive performance. The direction, by Full Monty pap-meister Peter Cattaneo, is as Version 1.0 as the plotting — the man never met a reaction shot he didn’t like — while Christina Applegate, who showed lip-smacking comic chops in Anchorman, is relegated to bemused-girlfriend duties.