Countless are those movies that have been made about people staring down middle age, getting older, and worrying about losing their youth, charm, and relevance. It's effectively a genre unto itself, and with it we know generally what to expect: the awkwardness of someone older trying to be hip and rejuvenate themselves; the awkwardness of those younger thinking that their antics are cool; probably some toilet or gross-out humor to one extent or another; heart-warming introspection; cartoonish masculinity; and so on. Most of that holds true here, and to that list one can surely add a bit of ham-handedness in how the movie is written or directed. None of this means a new rendition can't be enjoyable, or worthwhile on its own merits; sure enough, while 'Rock'n roll' mostly fits neatly into a broad formula, it's mostly just as delightful as one would hope - and often as cringe-worthy as one would assume. Guillaume Canet has more than proven himself elsewhere as a writer and director in addition to his work as an actor, and while this title itself may not be anything super special or noteworthy, it's overall a good time and a credit to those involved as they kick back and let loose. It's also much less than perfect, though, and while I suppose something is to be said for how Canet bucks the common trend of such titles, I'm not sure the final product entirely makes the grade.
The picture as we see it is imbalanced as it careens between moods, and this is reflected to some extent even in how characters are written. Sure, at large this is within the bounds of how the genre operates in the first place, but we swing from one type of comedy to another, to more dramatic beats, to some scenes that are all but abjectly horrifying for the far-flung extremes Fictional Guillaume goes to, from gauche kitsch to welcome sincerity, and back again. Even from beginning to end there's a considerable shift from lighter humor to flavors so dour and serious - or just plain outrageous - that we're one step away from watching a Charlie Kaufman film. There comes a point where the feature feels more than a little self-indulgent, and it would have benefited from Canet reining in his impulses so the end result was more centered; emphasizing the point, the length of two hours is simply excessive. Moreover, these issues persist all the way through to the very end, where 'Rock'n roll' makes its biggest leap of (in my opinion misplaced) faith, and of turning away from the formula: by not having Fictional Guillaume realize the value of the life he has, but instead completely leaning into his astonishingly garish self-reinvention. All this is done for laughs, yes, but the greater and weirder the extremes are that this goes to, the more it loses its heart, and its core strength - and the laughs become fewer along the way. One might also say that as the length goes on the movie just embraces outright satire, but then we have a problem of significant tonal inconsistency.
All this is unfortunate, for the underlying strength is undeniable, and Canet knows perfectly well what he's doing. Though the writing is uneven and troubled, there are a lot of splendid ideas all throughout in the characters, dialogue, and especially the scene writing as our wayward protagonist stumbles ever further down the rabbit hole of desperation. The man's direction is never in doubt. There was unmistakably so much skill, intelligence, and wit that went into this at its best, and no small amount of of this is thanks to those behind the scenes. The screenplay penned between Canet, co-star Philippe Lefebvre, and Rodolphe Lauga gives opportunity for the hair and makeup artists to let their proverbial "freak flag" fly in ways that most titles don't; the costume design, and even production design and art direction, really get into the game a bit, too. It turns out that an actor making a movie about his fictional self having a mid-life crisis is a swell opportunity to let one's imagination just run wild. And the cast is obviously having a terrific time, too: not just Canet, but Yvan and Alain Attal, Camille Rowe, Lefebvre, and more. And if we're being completely honest, I don't think there's much questioning that Marion Cotillard quite steals the show as her own fictionalized self. I think Cotillard actually benefits from the best writing of the film, for that matter, and it's not that often that I've seen actors clearly having as much fun as she is, especially when it comes to Fictional Marion totally going overboard with the "language" she's trying to learn.
I do, genuinely, like 'Rock'n roll.' I think it's entertaining, and well made, and it illustrates in varying capacities the skills of all on hand. I just think the screenplay has issues, wobbling back and forth too much as the story advances and straying from what it does best, and while I don't think the ending is bad, it's not exactly great, either. This doesn't specifically change my opinion of Canet or anyone else involved, mind you; I just think it's a bit of a regrettable misstep. I still think it earns a very soft recommendation, but it's surely suggest above all for those who are diehard fans of one person or another who participated. Temper your expectations here, as far as I'm concerned, and don't go out of your way for it, but it's a decent enough way to spend one's time all the same.
