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Are you ready to continue ROCK-in' through our #JenJourney? This movie's main character is probably 80's rock hair, with great support from Jen and Mark Wahlberg. In a movie that comes full circle, Jen plays one of her strongest characters. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you may cry laughing.... this movie caught us by surprise. Find out why!
Thanks for listening!
Hello, and welcome to the Girl Crush Podcast. I'm Anne.
Ally:And I'm Ally.
Anne:We're obsessed with Jennifer Aniston. So this season, we're watching all of her movies and ranking them. If you want to give us your own thoughts, be sure to connect with us on Instagram @GirlCrush_Pod. And as always be sure to rate and review. On today's episode we'll be talking about Rock Star. This was released in 2001 and Jen plays a character named Emily. You can rent this on iTunes or on amazon prime. And the brief plot summary before we ruin this for you is that in the movie, Mark Wahlberg plays Chris. And Chris has a regular day job but spends his nights as the lead singer of a Steel Dragons tribute band. And the movie kind of follows his experience as he's chosen to replace the actual lead singer of the real Steel Dragons, and Jen is his girlfriend throughout the movie. So it's kind of their relationship, and so on and so forth. So if you haven't seen this yet, pause, go watch it, and then come back, because from here on out there will be spoilers.
Ally:So let's get into the plot. As a reminder, we rate a few of these different categories. So we have Plot, Character, Acting, her Hair, and whether we'd watch it again or not. So for Plot, we gave this movie an 8.5 out of 10. And to get into the plot a little bit. We were talking about this right before we started. And we think that we might talk a little bit long about the plot, but that's just because it's so good, and neither of us had heard of this movie before we watched this, and this is one of the first ones we watched. So we were super excited once we saw this movie, and so we will probably get into a lot of the details.
Anne:Yeah, and also I feel like a lot of our first episodes have pretty good plot ratings. They're all like 7.5-8.5. And that's on purpose, because we start with some good movies. And I agree that I think this was a movie that we weren't expecting, neither of us had watched before, and it was just really pleasant. And we have a billion notes on the plot. So this one really does deserve the 8.5 and later in the season will for sure get get to some lower ranking movies.
Ally:Yes, definitely. So the movie is set in the 80s and Chris, who's played by a young Mark Wahlberg with super long hair, is obsessed with his favorite band, Steel Dragon.
Anne:His hair is like one of the most entertaining parts of this movie. He has better hair than me. It's not better than Jen's hair, but his hair is this beautiful, wavy... I think it's a wig.
Ally:We need to try and find that out.
Anne:We didn't research whether Mark Wahlberg grew his hair out for this, but the hair overall in this movie is really great.
Ally:So good. So Jennifer Aniston plays Chris's girlfriend, Emily. And she's super supportive of him and the band and she's actually the manager of their band. In the movie, Chris loves the band Steel Dragon so much that he actually helped form a tribute band and he's the lead singer in the tribute band for Steel Dragon. And he's so dedicated to them, and he's so obsessed with them that he gets really, really frustrated if his bandmates can't play to the caliber of the real Steel Dragon. And eventually, this leads to some tension between him and his friends who are in the band together, and he wants to really remain true to the music, and true to what Steel Dragon does, while his bandmates kind of want to take their own liberties or write their own songs. So eventually, this leads to the rest of the band kicking Chris out, which kind of lines up to happen at the same time as the lead singer of Steel Dragon getting fired, and Steel Dragon starts to look for a new singer. So one day, this is the part that gets a little bit unrealistic, but Chris gets a phone call from one of the members of Steel Dragon, who saw a video of Chris performing one of their songs. And Chris thinks it's a prank because obviously, who would actually believe that a member of their favorite band was calling them on their house phone? So he thinks it's a prank, so he hangs up on them. And the guy calls back and they talk a little bit and Chris realizes it's the real guy, and he offers him an audition based on the video that they saw. So of course, he goes to the audition. One part that I liked was he and Emily go to the audition together, and they had given him a first class ticket. And they mentioned they traded in the first class ticket for 2 coach seats, so that she could go with him. But anyway, the audition goes well, he ends up joining the band, he has a stage name of Izzy, and from there things escalate pretty quickly. He's totally thrown into the life of a rock star, he has to cope with the pressures of sudden fame, and the band goes on tour and he starts experimenting with drugs, alcohol, etc. And as this is going on, Emily's on the tour with him but they eventually start to become disconnected just because he's getting so caught up in this life and the bandmates don't want her around as much because it kind of messes with the rock star lifestyle.
Anne:And they put all the wives and girlfriends in a separate car. They're not allowed on the bus.
Ally:Yeah, exactly.
Anne:Which other women are allowed on...
Ally:Yeah, super dumb. But at some point, Emily decides that she doesn't want to continue on the tour with them anymore. So she tells him that she's leaving, and their relationship is kind of left in a questionable position. But they decide that they're going to see each other once the tour gets back to Seattle. So I don't know what you thought. When I was watching that part, I didn't really see this as necessarily a breakup. But it sort of seemed like a question mark to me. It didn't seem like the book was closed for them. But it also didn't seem like they're like, "oh, we're gonna do a long distance relationship."
Anne:Yeah, I don't think so either. I think she's very, like, straightforward throughout the entire movie, and she's very logical. And I think she was just like, hey, this life isn't for me, and I don't even see you, so what's the point of me being here, like, I don't have a life like this. And so she was like, I'll be in Seattle see ya later, like that felt kind of like that was it? I feel like she kind of saw the writing on the wall, obviously. But he was still at that point, kind of naive. So they kind of part ways.
Ally:They leave it sort of like open ended, but they're supposed to meet up again, when he gets back to Seattle for the Seattle show. So that show rolls around, and Emily meets him at his hotel like they previously talked about. But when she gets there, there's like a ton of groupies hanging around. And it's just a really uncomfortable scene. And she's kind of getting this glimpse into what his life has been like since she's been gone. And when she finally gets to Izzy, it becomes really clear that he has forgotten that they planned to do this, he doesn't even remember that he's in Seattle, or he doesn't even realize he's in Seattle. And this part is sort of where things fall apart. So Emily's just super heartbroken, really disappointed, and kind of sees what this lifestyle has done to him. And she leaves. So at that point, the tour ends, the band goes back to writing new music and kind of doing their next thing. And Izzy gets upset, because he wants to contribute and help write new music, but the other band members aren't really taking his ideas into account. And it seems like there's a little bit of tension building there between him and the band, and he's realizing, maybe he isn't as much a part of the band as he was hoping to be.
Anne:So kind of interesting, because it's almost like total opposite ends of the equation, right? Like his tribute band, he was too serious with wanting to commit to it, and his bandmates were like, you're too serious about this, get out. And then once he's actually part of the real band, he's like, "Hey, I'm trying to contribute. I'm writing these songs. I've spent a ton of time on them." And they're like, "no, you're taking your role too seriously, again." So no matter what he's way too dedicated to what he's in.
Ally:Right, exactly.
Anne:And like both situations at both ends of the "fame spectrum" he ends up in the same situation.
Ally:And then at that point, they have a concert and he's singing on stage and notices a guy in the audience who kind of mirrors what he looked like in the beginning of the movie... like dressing up exactly like the band, singing along to the songs, at the very front, right up against the stage for the concert. So it's kind of like a flashback to before he became famous. And he ends up pulling the guy up on stage and getting the guy to sing a few snippets of the song. And eventually He's like, "Do you know the rest of the song?" And the guy's like,
"Of course I do.:And he just walks away, and he decides he's just gonna leave it all behind. It's kind of crazy. But he's also sort of peaceful about it. It becomes this full circle moment, because, like I said, the guy who he brought up on stage is like a flashback to the old Chris. And then Chris has just decided he's taking his future into his own hands, and he kind of wants to figure out who he is and what he wants to do with his life. And it's this moment of maybe this wasn't everything it was cracked up to be, I had my shot, now it's somebody else's turn. I'm gonna go do something else.
Anne:Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Ally:So eventually we see that time has passed. Chris is doing an open mic night in Seattle, and Emily shows up, and she has tears in her eyes. And she just looks so proud of him because he's kind of back to his old self- like he's cleaned up, he doesn't seem like he's on hard drugs and alcohol, and he's just performing music right there. And they have this really sweet moment of looking into each other's eyes and taking it in. It doesn't say exactly how long they've been apart, but it's implied that sometime's passed and...
Anne:Well their hair is so different!
Ally:Yes! He cut off his hair.
Anne:Okay. That scene when he was doing the open mic night, I legitimately thought it was Heath Ledger
Ally:I could see that
Anne:Like, 10 Things I Hate About You? It looks just like him! I was like, is that the same guy? Totally is, and then Emily shows up, and she doesn't have bangs anymore. It's like this new Emily! She's very confident and sure of herself. If any movie was gonna end up pulling the breakup card, and they went their separate ways at the end, this would be it. But somehow they freakishly meet back up - she sees a piece of paper hanging on a cement block that he's performing and finds him and they end up back together. It's satisfying, but also you weren't expecting it.
Ally:Yeah, you're like, how would that be possible?
Anne:It would have been okay, if they hadn't ended up together.
Ally:Yeah, yeah. But it's extra sweet that they did.
Anne:Yeah, for sure.
Ally:And I just love that scene. Because she just looks so proud of him as the tears are welling up in her eyes, and she's just like, this is the guy I know.
Anne:And perfect, like tear wellness?
Ally:Yes. How do they do that?
Anne:I'm like, are those eyedrops? Or is she just that good?
Ally:I know, these are the things we want to know. And to me, the ending kind of feels like it comes full circle, you get that happy ending of them being together. And it kind of feels like there's this unspoken forgiveness, because Chris not only ends up getting back together with Emily, but he also reconnects with his best friend. And they're playing music together again. And I don't know, maybe it's super cheesy of me, but you know I like cheesy things. It just reminds me of those people in your life that you know, no matter how far you go, or what mistakes you make, or anything like that, you can always count on them to have your back and be there for you at the end. So I liked that.
Anne:But also he gets away with it like a little too easily?
Ally:Well, yeah, I mean, it's a movie..but yes.
Anne:What? Thought this was a documentary.
Ally:I do want to look up about his hair, though, because I'm not sure about that. I did look up whether he actually sings or not, and it doesn't sound like he does the singing in the movie. I think there might be one scene where he sings a little bit in.
Anne:I'm trying to think if he sings "I only want to be with you" in Ted. But I can't remember if that's him or Ted singing.
Ally:Spin off!
Anne:That's like him a decade later...goes insane, talks to a bear. Anyway, this is Jennifer Aniston podcast, not a Mark Wahlberg podcast. I agree, I think this plot is super good. There's so many little moments where you're just like, Oh, this is amazing and one of the moments isn't about Jen, it's just the plot in general, but it's when he goes in to audition for the band The real original lead singer of Steel Dragons is there and he is super dramatic, obviously he's upset, he's getting fired. And he reveals he's gay. And I was like, okay, that's normal, whatever, and then all of a sudden, he takes off his wig of long hair and I literally gasped. I was like "What?! It's not real?!" I have so much faith in people's hair, I get so disappointed when it's not real...gets me every time. When you told me Jen might wear extensions...I've been thinking about that for weeks.
Ally:I don't want you to be disappointed.
Anne:I haven't gotten over it.
Ally:That's hilarious. I'm literally looking it up right now. I'm pausing. Okay...seems like they're extensions.
Anne:Did you say Mark Wahlberg has extensions? You mean it's like a wig.
Ally:The thing I'm seeing are extension.
Anne:So he grew it out a little bit and they just added more?
Ally:Maybe he was like "I'm gonna try" and then it was like at that really awkward shaggy-boy length hair...That's not 80s at all...
Anne:Listen, we've all tried to grow up bangs. It never ends well.
Ally:It's horrible.
Anne:They don't show Jen in this movie in her bang growth stage, they're just gone. So clearly, it's been a long time. Right? For her bangs to be completely gone. A lot of time has passed.
Ally:Okay, some other good plot points that we liked. When Izzy's doing his first concert with Steel Dragon, I honestly rewound this and re watched it multiple times. He's doing his first concert with Steel Dragon. It's in front of a giant arena. He has this big entrance, where he comes up from below the stage. And he's on this giant staircase...I literally can't get through it. And he takes a few steps down as he's singing, and he just totally eats it. And he falls down the stairs. And the movie goes into slow motion. Like, for some reason all the instruments crash as if everything had been run into. And slow mo him falling down the stairs, and he lands and he has this giant cut over his eye and has blood running down his face. After a second he gets up and just starts performing again. All I could think about was what if that happened to me? Which it absolutely would.
Anne:What you have in our notes is "it's got to be his worst nightmare...first show and he tumbles," which is hysterical to me. All I can think of is a really old YouTube video called Scarlet Takes A Tumble. I cry laughing every time. which is horrible. But one of my top 10 YouTube videos of all time.
Ally:Why is people falling so funny?
Anne:I don't know. But yeah, that is hyseterical. And Scott rewatched this with me. And because just FYI to everyone we were ill prepared to actually start this podcast and did not take enough notes during our initial round. So now we're re watching every movie as we're doing this, and when we were coming up to this moment, Scott turns and looks at me and he's like, "Do you remember what happens?" And we both just started laughing out loud because it is like your worst nightmare.
Ally:It is my worst nightmare, it would definitely happen to me. Except I would not be able to get up and keep singing. I would just curl up in a ball.
Anne:Right? Well, he was just full of adrenaline.
Ally:Yeah, totally. And actually, I was thinking , does this ever happen in real life? And then I remembered, Kale and I were at the Logic concert and JID was opening for him, and he was getting all hyped up, and he totally bit it while he was performing. So it really does happen in real life.
Anne:Interesting. All right. Yeah, if I were a pop star, there would be no stairs anywhere near me.
Ally:Seriously.
Kale:There's a video of Justin Bieber falling through a hole on the stage. There's a video of Bieber falling, but then I think there's a video of either Future or Drake falling, and they're using an aut-tine mic, and you hear it go "ahhhh" It's the best.
Ally:We'll post some of our favorite falling clips on Instagram when we post this episode.
Kale:That's a great idea.
Ally:Okay, so other fun plot points?
Anne:Beverly from the Mindy Project, plays Chris's mom, which is hysterical, because I love her as that character. And it's another one of those people who I'm like, you are that character forever to me. Even though obviously this came out before Mindy Project did but it's so funny. And then, at the beginning of the movie, there's this showdown in the parking lot at a Steel Dragon concert between rival tribute bands. And it's so funny because Mark Wahlberg and whoever the other lead singer is of the other tribute band are dressed identically except Mark Wahlberg is making fun of the other guy having red lapels on his jacket, which is super outdated, apparently. It's just so funny. And Jen's like one liners during that time, it's just a great scene.
Ally:Yeah, so funny. And another fun fact: the drummer of Steel Dragon in the movie is played by Jason Bonham, who's the son of Led Zeppelin's drummer John Bonham, so that's kind of fun.
Anne:Oh, nepotism. Okay, we've gone very long on the plot. Okay, so we have lots of good things to say about the pot, but we gave it an 8.5. So it's not 10 out of 10. Is there anything that you did not like about it?
Ally:I hate Tanya in this movie. She's so sexual. It's the worst. I hate the scene with the after-party after the first show. That scene makes me super uncomfortable. I actually think it's a really well done scene, but I just hate it because it makes me really uncomfortable. And it's almost like a big orgy. And I don't know, I just don't like it. There's also the next morning, a very low key moment where Mark Wahlberg stumbles out of this living room and sees Tanya and she's standing up peeing. So then you're like? And then they never address it again!
Anne:No, no, never. So you're you're just like, oh, what? There's also a nipple piercing scene at the beginning, where Jen pierces Mark Wahlberg's nipple, and it gives me chills. My brother, this might be folklore because it was like 15 years ago, but my brother's friend in college, pierced his nipple, and thought there was a string or a hair on his chest and cut it and it was a nerve. He passed out. And I cannot look, not that I look at nipple piercings, but I cannot look at them the same since. Again, maybe this isn't true. I don't know. Ally's gasping
Ally:I'm in shock. I might pass out at the thought. He cut a nerve.
Anne:Yeah, it was like sticking out, apparently it looked like a like a chest hair. I guess I don't know. Your your frontal lobe isn't fully developed until your mid 20s. Okay. Plot - 8.5 out of 10, we are done talking about it. If you fast forwarded because you hated that. Sorry. We're gonna talk about Jen now. Okay so this is her character. And honestly, she had a great character. So we actually gave her character a 9out of 10, which I didn't check, but it might be one of her highest character ratings that we gave. Yeah. So Jen in this movie is super supportive. She's been Izzy's longtime girlfriend, she's super easygoing. At his first concert that he has, she sits with his parents. Emily and Chris sing in their church choir together, and deep down I think they're very wholesome. And she kind of maintains that the entire movie, and he kind of strays from that and then I think that's kind of what you see reconnecting at the end is they're just good people deep down. And a moment I really liked was when the tribute band fires Chris. The the band asks her to continue being their manager, after they fire her boyfriend. And she goes, "I'm in business, and rule number 1 in business is that you go where the talent is, and it just walked out of the room." And I was like, "Damn, good burn, also true and way to stick to your guns" That was very well managed.
Ally:Yes. I loved it. She she had such a good character.
Anne:She really did. And I also really liked that she was super straightforward. I think she's very logical. And I was impressed by her character recognizing that being a roadie was not for her, and she walked away from it knowing what it could cost her.
Ally:Yeah, definitely. And she didn't spend a lot of time making him feel guilty for following his dreams either. But she just kind of accepted that okay, we want two different things right now. So I'm going to go on this different path.
Anne:Yeah, she was just a very mature character. Was there anything you didn't like about her character?
Ally:So the one thing I didn't like, but I'm kind of torn about it, is at that first after-party scene that I don't like, she kind of gives him a nod that it's okay to do a body shot off of these girls. And you can tell she's not happy about it. But it seems like she doesn't want to be the girlfriend who's telling him what to do and stuff. So I don't know. I like that he kind of looks to her, but she just nods. And then he does it. I don't know, it didn't set well with me.
Anne:Yeah, I think from that moment on until the moment where she goes to Seattle, she does put up with a lot of discomfort for his sake. And he doesn't really acknowledge that very well. Yeah, that's true.
Ally:But overall, I don't think there was anything else I disliked about her character. I think she was super strong, like you said a really mature character. So 9out of 10, really strong rating. Yeah.
Anne:Yeah, I agree.
Ally:Okay, so wanna move into acting?
Anne:Yeah.
Ally:Okay, so for Jen's acting in this movie, we rated 8 out of 10. We already kind of talked about her cracking some of the one liners with the rival band or with some of the other girls who were trying to get with Steel Dragon. I think her delivery of those lines is really good. I love the scene - this one really stuck out to me - when they're singing in the church choir. First of all, they're the youngest ones there. Everybody else was middle-aged. And her acting when Chris adlibs the Hallelujah in the middle of the song is so good. She looks like this perfect combination of slightly embarrassed, but she also thinks he's adorable and she likes it. That stuck out to me as seeming very genuine.
Anne:Yeah, I think her acting throughout this movie, she had a lot of small perfect moments where it just felt so genuine and real. So when he's auditioning for the band, her behaviors is just so natural. I just think her character's evolution of going from almost protecting him and his ego at the beginning to how he kind of pushes her aside and gets carried away and how she kind of reacts to that throughout the movie. It's just perfect. I just thought it was so good. I think she did a really good job,
Ally:Me too. And another part that I really liked is when, even though this part of the movie is sad, her acting, I thought was so good, is when she meets back up with Chris in Seattle. And he is really out of it because he's drunk or high, and he doesn't even know he's in Seattle. He's confused, like "oh, what are you doing here?" I think her acting is so good. She looks at him, and she's so disappointed. And all her hopes have been dashed. I just think it's heartbreaking. And she does such a good job.
Anne:Yeah. So I guess we don't actually know how old they are. Emily and Chris. But young adults, I guess. But when she's forced to go on the road with the wives and girlfriends, and she's not allowed with the band, all of the other women in the car are telling her "Oh don't be jealous" and kind of introducing her to the life of being with a rock star. And one of the girls is talking about like, "oh, as long as he says sorry with expensive jewelry it's fine." And she goes, "I hope I'm not as cynical as you when I'm your age." And then you find out the girl who said that is 22 and a half, she clarifies. And Jen's face is like oh my god. So we know, she's older than that, but I just thought that was very relatable.
Ally:Yeah, that's super funny. Yeah. Okay, one other thing we have to talk about is how in movies, women always get up when they're in bed, and they're naked. And they perfectly wrap the sheet around them, and it looks adorable. And they just walk out like that perfectly covered up, and they look really cute. And I just don't think that would ever work in real life. I would either end up looking like a ghost or I would trip over the sheet and be totally exposed.
Anne:Well, also, I tucked my sheets in like a non-psychopath.
Ally:Absolutely! So how could you so easily pull it up when there's other people in the bed with you too?
Anne:There was two other people in that bed when she got out of it. And I'm like, how did you end up with the sheet?
Ally:And she gracefully wraps the sheet around her, and it looks like a gown.
Anne:Yeah, and also in those scenes no one ever has mascara under their eye. And I'm like, okay, in the scene, especially after a night of hardcore rock star partying. You wake up like that? Get outta here.
Ally:Yeah. So unrealistic.
Anne:Not real.
Ally:So yes. Overall, we gave her acting an 8 out of 10.
Anne:The sheet was not her fault. Um, and then for her hair. So we gave her hair a 1 out of 2. I thought the hair was good. She has bangs, and I feel like Jen is one of the few people where I'm like, how is your forehead small enough where like you somehow pull off long bangs, but it's short enough that when you don't have bangs, you don't have a big forehead. I don't understand that. It's an optical illusion.
Ally:I love her hair at the first concert. It's a big half pony. And she had the face glitter to go along with it. I just love that.
Anne:Yeah, I think her hair throughout this entire thing is messy but cute. You know, when you do your hair, and you're just at home, you throw it up. And then you're about to go to bed and you're like, why is this the best messy bun I've ever made? It never does. What you want it to do when you want it to do it? Her hair is like that the entire time.
Ally:That's that's the perfect way to put it. Yes, I absolutely agree.
Anne:Okay, hair 1 out of 2. Oh my god, we've almost made it.
Ally:So would we watch this again, we rated this a 5 out of 5 because we both said we'd watch it again. And I would continue to watch it again even though I just watched it last night, I would still watch it again, for a third time.
Anne:Totally agree. So good. Just an unsuspecting good movie.
Ally:Yes. And I think we're just so shocked because we hadn't heard of it.
Anne:Yeah. And it's so weird, because people who I've told about this movie when they ask what's one of your most unexpected great Jen movies. And obviously I say our one that's in first place. But I also say this one. And I feel like a lot of people are like, Oh, yeah, I've seen that movie. It's great. But then when you look on Amazon, there's like, under 600 star ratings on it, so how many people have actually seen this? It seems like a not well known well known movie, if that makes sense.
Ally:Alright, so to recap our total scores for this episode, we gave the plot an 8.5 out of 0, her character a 9 out of 10 Jen's acting an 8 out of 10, he hair a 1 out of 2, and would you watch again a 5 out of 5. So that brings us to a total sco e of 31.5.
Anne:Yep, so that is ranked number 6 out of 38, which I think was totally unexpected, but well deserved.
Ally:super impressive.
Anne:I really liked this movie. I would totally watch it again. It's a lot of emotions, but I think it's good. And I think Jen's perfect in it,
Ally:And everything comes full circle. I just love that everyth ng comes full circle and it's a feel good movie even though in t e middle you're kind of sad.
Anne:Yeah, exactly.
Ally:Thanks for listening to the Girl Crush Podcast. Let us know your thoughts on today's movie. You can find us on Instagram @GirlCrush_Po or you can email us at podcastg rlcrush@gmail.com. Tune in next time when we'll e talking about Jen's first thre films. Bye!
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