Plot
Lead singer of a tribute band becomes lead singer of the real band he idolizes.
Release Year: 2001
Rating: 5.9/10 (20,148 voted)
Critic's Score: 54/100
Director:
Stephen Herek
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Jennifer Aniston, Dominic West
Storyline Chris Cole was born to rock. His longtime girlfriend Emily believes his talent could take him all the way - but Chris worships at the altar of Bobby Beers, the fiery frontman for heavy metal legends Steel Dragon. By day, Chris still lives at home with his parents and spends his days repairing copy machines. But when Chris takes the stage, fronting Pennsylvania's premiere Steel Dragon tribute band, all of that disappears. Chris Cole is Bobby Beers - mesmerizing audiences with his perfect imitation of Beers' electrifying vocals. The night his bandmates boot him out of the group, Chris is devastated - until an unexpected phone call changes his life forever: He, Chris Cole, has been tapped to replace Bobby Beers as the lead singer of Steel Dragon. In an instant, Chris rockets to the dizzying heights of sudden stardom, rising from devotee to icon, from rock fan to rock god - the wanna-be who got to be...
Cast: Mark Wahlberg
-
Chris 'Izzy' Cole
Jennifer Aniston
-
Emily Poule
Dominic West
-
Kirk Cuddy, Steel Dragon Guitarist
Jason Bonham
-
A.C., Steel Dragon Drummer
Jeff Pilson
-
Jorgen, Steel Dragon Bassist
Zakk Wylde
-
Ghode, Steel Dragon Guitarist
Timothy Spall
-
Mats, Steel Dragon Road Manager
Blas Elias
-
Donny Johnson, Blood Pollution Drummer
Nick Catanese
-
Xander Cummins, Blood Pollution Guitarist
Brian Vander Ark
-
Ricki Bell, Blood Pollution Bassist
Timothy Olyphant
-
Rob Malcolm, Blood Pollution Guitarist
Dagmara Dominczyk
-
Tania Asher, Steel Dragon Public Relations
Matthew Glave
-
Joe Cole
Michael Shamus Wiles
-
Mr. Cole
Beth Grant
-
Mrs. Cole
Taglines:
Every guy wants to be you. Every girl wants to be with you.
Filming Locations: 1st Ave & Pike Street, Seattle, Washington, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $57,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $6,018,636
(USA)
(9 September 2001)
(2525 Screens)
Gross: $19,334,145
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Mark Wahlberg does NOT do the singing in this movie or for the soundtrack. The singing is done by Miljenko Matijevic who sang for Steelheart and Jeff Scott Soto who sang for Yngwie Malmsteen and Journey, among others.
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
As Izzy and Emily are being led through Kurt Cuddy's mansion they momentarily get sidetracked amongst Steel Dragon concert and historical memorabilia. At one point they both stare in utter amazement at a Korina wood Gibson Flying V where Izzy comments, in awed hushed tones, that the fretboard is made of rosewood. The problem with this scenario is the fact that more than 95% of ALL guitars and basses made worldwide have rosewood fretboards, as they are the industry standard. While a small number of guitars do have fretboards made of maple or rare tone-woods such as bubinga, most any working musician, as Izzy supposed to depict, knows that rosewood is by far the most common material used for this feature.
Quotes: Chris:
You know, I'm just a regular guy who grew up with the posters of these guys on my wall... and now I'm one of them! That's right, I'm standing here, living proof that if you work hard enough, and you want it bad enough... dreams do come true. So follow your dreams...
User Review
Music really saves it
Rating: 6/10
As a huge fan of 80s Hard Rock, I was really looking forward to seeing Rock
Star. As the movie started I was more than satisfied. A lot of the early
scenes were funny and entertaining. The concert scenes made me feel like I
was actually there. One major compliment I give this movie is that they made
the songs from the fictional band STEEL DRAGON sound realistic for the time
period the movie is in. If I didn't know better, I could've been fooled into
thinking Steel Dragon was a real band, and all their songs actually were
made in the mid 80s. The underdog portion of the story may not be original,
but it still works none the less. And by the time Wahlberg's character was
in his first concert with the band, I really thought Rock Star could be one
of the coolest movies of the year.
But at about the halfway point, I was lost. The second half of this movie
could've really used a lot of work on the script. I say that the second half
of the script needed work, but what I should say is the second half of the
movie actually could've used a script, period. The second half is held
together by some predictable sequences, all telling the story of a guy
indulging in the rock star life, which we've all heard and seen a thousand
times. There were very few moments that actually were used to progress the
story.
But I don't want to give the impression that Rock Star was no good. Although
some of the movie didn't work, I still had a blast watching it. The music is
what really holds it together. Both the original songs written for the film
(Steel Dragon), and the background songs used. It's not often that you can
hear bands like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Kiss, and Motley Crue used in a
movie. And like I said before, the concert scenes are awesome.So for people
who love great 80s Rock, this movie will be a lot of fun.
Rock Star is an average movie, with an above average soundtrack. Not a
perfect film, but it provides enough entertainment for your
money.
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