Las Vegas Weekly

June 13, 2008 · 7:33 AM

CineVegas snares a winner with Wilson’s The Rocker

By John Katsilometes

Photo: Sarah Feldberg

Well, the first movie was a good movie.

CineVegas opened at the Palms’ Brenden Theaters with The Rocker, featuring Rainn Wilson as a deposed drummer from an ’80s hair-metal band called Vesuvius that rose to glory just after tossing aside Wilson’s character (Robert “Fish” Fishman). Fish winds up tumbling into a role with his teenage nephew’s band (called A.D.D., in case you’re wondering what that means when you start seeing the T-shirts) and, as they say, hi-jinks ensue.

In the opening moments, I feared this film would be a limp rip-off of This Is Spinal Tap, but it is really funny, sharply written and the cast, featuring Emma Stone, Jason Gad, Teddy Geiger, Christina Applegate, Jason Sudeikis and Jane Lynch, goes after the material full-force. (The film doesn’t open in wide release until Aug. 1)

There are dozens of great one liners in this one – especially from Sudeikis, who plays A.D.D.’s smarmy record-label rep. When he meets Applegate and is told she is the mother of the band’s frontman (played by for-real rocker Geiger), he says, “Yeah, I’d like to spend nine months inside you.” (Sudeikis was a member of the Second City troupe at the Flamingo before being plucked from the Strip by Saturday Night Live. There are a few Vegas references. From Wilson: “They play Celine Dion in elevators – that doesn’t make it right.” And from Stone, A.D.D.’s bassist, who says the band can talk their way onto a tour by asking to leave home for a few days to attend a church retreat. “Just print some fake flyers in Photoshop, and the next thing you know, you’re at a Killers show in Columbus.”

One moment to look for: Soon after he’s banished from Vesuvius, “Fish” plops down on a bench it a bus stop next to a gray-haired, mustachioed man who has no speaking role. Look closely at that guy, who represents an inspired bit of ironic casting. He’s listed in the credits.

Wilson appeared in character during the red-carpet arrivals and before the audience at the premiere screening. As he walked out of the theater, just before the film started, he shouted, “I die at the end!”

He was kidding. Or was he?

IT’S ALL POLITICS

For hordes of media and film fans, the Palms parking lot was a celebrity-splashed, red-carpet carnival.

For one former Nevada governor and U.S. senator, the Palms parking lot was … a parking lot.

“What’s going on out here?” asked a well-tailored Richard Bryan as he strode past the red-carpet arrival of Rainn Wilson and the rest of the cast of The Rocker. When I informed Bryan there was a film festival going on, he laughed and said, “Oh, that explains it.”

He did know of Wilson from his role as Dwight in The Office -- saying, “He’s the tall guy in that show, right?” -- and seemed bemused by all the hubbub.

Suffice to say he was not making an appearance at the festival.

“I just left a fundraiser for Lawrence Weekly,” he said, referring to the Clark County commissioner. When asked if he raised a lot of money, Bryan shrugged and said, “Hope so,” and went off to fetch his car.

NO 30 DAYS IN VEGAS – YET

I ran into Morgan Spurlock just outside the men’s room at Brenden Theaters. So I asked him if there might be a Vegas tie-in to his series 30 Days, which is starting its third season on FX. In the series Spurlock, who is a member of the CineVegas awards jury, spends 30 days in some sort of intriguing or challenging job or walk of life. It’s a premise similar to Super Size Me, his documentary about eating nothing but food from McDonald’s for a month.

“We’ve talked about Vegas a lot,” he said. “It always comes up. There’s so much that can be done here, with gambling addiction and the type of subversive culture that you find here – it’s literally, all bets are off. But we’ve had so many shows about Las Vegas, it’s too obvious to come out here and do what’s already been done. Maybe, though, for Season 4 we’d come out. I’d like to do that eventually.”

ONE TO WATCH

Passing out cards in the CineVegas reception lounge was John Corey, a former story producer for CBS in San Francisco who left that job to pursue the documentary Lost In The Fog. The film centers on the horse of that name and his acerbic 87-year-old owner Harry Aleo. Not to spoil anything, but given the dramatic state of horse racing over the past couple of years, this is a film to catch (Corey provided a stirring five-minute synopsis during our chance meeting). It screens at noon Saturday and 4 p.m. Monday.

WILDER TIMES

I’ll go ahead and disclose this now: A couple of months ago I had an idea to feature CineVegas Artistic Director Trevor Groth in a photo spread featuring him dressed as Gene Wilder in some of Wilder’s more famous films: The Producers, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles among them. When I had this idea, Groth had grown his hair out and he greatly resembled Wilder. Then I pitched this idea to Groth, who I think hated the idea (hence, the wince) but said he would think about it. Then he went out and got his hair cut, wrecking the entire concept. Yes, I’m still pissed about that, and no, I’m not letting it go.

IN THE PROGRAM

Glancing at the CineVegas program with the ubiquitous Robin Leach, we came upon the list of event sponsors and he said, “What other film festival has a strip club as one of its contributing sponsors?” Well, it wouldn’t be Sundance. We are nothing if not distinctive here in Vegas.

RANDOM THOUGHT

If there is a person who makes more events, galas and parties than local real estate entrepreneur and author Paul Murad, I have not met that person.

VALET FOLLIES

Four guys walked out of the Palms to the hotel valet late in the evening, ready to rock the Strip! One of them said, “I’m getting my second wind! Let’s go to the Bellagio!” Then he barfed all over (and around) the trash can at valet pick-up. His friends, or, if you will, baby-sitters, pulled him away and the quartet headed into the general direction of the Gold Coast.

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