The Rocker

The Rocker is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo and written by Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky, from a story by Ryan Jaffe. The film stars Rainn Wilson as a failed musician who goes on tour with his nephew's band after one of their songs goes viral. Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin, Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger and Emma Stone also star. It was released on August 20, 2008, received mixed reviews and was a box office bomb, grossing just $8 million against its $15 million budget. Plot In 1986, Vesuvius, a rock band from Cleveland, Ohio, performs at a local theater. After the show, their manager informs them that a record company is interested in signing them, but only if they replace drummer Robert "Fish" Fishman with the nephew of the record company's president. At first the band refuses, as they have been together since high school and agree that Fish is the heart and soul of their band, but when their manager tells them they would get to tour as the opening act for Whitesnake, the band relents and drives away in their van, without Fish. Twenty years later, Vesuvius remains an immensely successful band, while Fish is living a normal life. Matt Gadman, Fish's high school-aged nephew, plays keyboards in an alternative rock band called A.D.D., along with his friends Curtis Powell and Amelia Stone. The band is scheduled to play their school's prom but the gig is in jeopardy when their drummer gets suspended from school. Matt convinces the others to allow Fish to fill in. The concert goes well at first, as Fish is still a natural talent on drums (in spite of not playing in 20 years), but he ruins the gig when he gets carried away and launches into an impromptu drum solo during a ballad. However, Fish is so excited by Curtis' songs and the chance to play again, he convinces them to let him join the band if he can deliver another gig. After repeated failed attempts, he finally succeeds in securing a gig at a club in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Because the other members are all minors, they have to sneak out to the gig but are apprehended in the process, as Fish borrowed his sister's minivan without permission, which she reported as stolen. Fish is forced to leave and rents the basement of a Chinese restaurant. The band invents a new way to practice via four-way iChat. To the dismay of his bandmates, Fish performs in the nude due to the heat of his new residence.