The Rocker

It should be a fun ride but the ­dialogue and plot are too predictable and Rainn Wilson has no fun with the old-fogey role.

The Rocker tries to follow the tune played by School of Rock, The ­Wedding Singer and This Is Spinal Tap and show that there is ­nothing more entertaining than failed ­musicians, but in the end proves to be just be a series of dud notes. A star of the US version of The ­Office, Rainn Wilson plays Robert "Fish" Fishman, a drummer in the band Vesuvius who is sacked just before they make it big. Unable to live down the fifth-Beatle tag he disappears into a loveless marriage and dull job. Twenty years later he loses them both but gets a second stab at rock stardom when his nephew's band ADD needs an emergency ­drummer. The band becomes ­successful after Fish finds fame as "the naked ­drummer" on YouTube and then the film enters Almost Famous ­territory. Fish's main groupie is a fellow band member's mum (Christina Applegate) sent on tour to make sure the younger ­musicians are not led astray. It should be a fun ride but the ­dialogue and plot are too predictable and Wilson has no fun with the old-fogey role. The characters all play Guitar Hero and I suggest you do too. It's much more fun than watching this B-side of a movie.