Rock Star

A 1980s garage-band singer (Mark Wahlberg) gets the chance to sing with his favorite heavy-metal group; before long all the sex-drugs-rock-and-roll goes to his head and alienates him from his girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston). John Stockwell’s script follows a familiar arc without putting any new wrinkles into it. Stephen Herek’s direction is flat and doggedly unexceptional; he gets the job done, but barely. The film’s chief asset is Wahlberg, going from an early gee-whiz excitement (trying to strike a hard-rock glower while his grin keeps breaking through) to a disillusioned, drugged-out stupor as his new life swallows him whole. Wahlberg doesn’t get much help; Aniston is game but her character is barely in the film at all, while Timothy Spall has a few good moments as the band’s road manager.