Stephen Herek
Rock Star

"I grew up with posters of these guys on my wall, and now I'm here singing with them, this means that dreams can come true"

Young Chris lives in total devotion to his favorite Heavy Metal band, the Steel Dragon. He sings in a cover band of the same and dresses, styles his hair, and even speaks like his absolute idol, Bobby Beers, singer of guess which band???

By day, he works as a photocopier repairman, by night he plays with his band, Blood Pollution, a Steel Dragon cover band. Supported in his dreams of glory by his parents, who are surprisingly rockers, but mocked by his older brother who reproaches him for not having his own personality but living in the myth and shadow of another person, Chris goes on his way until... the unexpected happens, the Steel Dragon fire their singer Bobby Beers because he is no longer able to withstand long tours and is increasingly disinterested in his own band. Chris auditions and after singing just one song, he is hired as the singer of his favorite band, THE DREAM COMES TRUE.

What had until then been just a cover band singer performing in small venues, finds himself in packed stadiums with fans in a frenzy, earning millions of dollars, and living according to the most tried and true cliché Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll. All this initially seems like the realization of a dream, the crowning of a life of sacrifices. Rock 'n' Roll all night and party every day, is not just a song by Kiss, but becomes the daily reality in which young Chris moves. At first, his girlfriend Emily (the beautiful Jennifer Aniston) is by his side and shares with him the joys of success, but then inevitably he begins to change, becoming more and more a slave to his character and drifting away from Emily herself, who no longer recognizes the man she loved. In the end, the young singer will find himself choosing between success and love, and then something begins to change inside him.....

It's quite evident that essentially the story mirrors that of Judas Priest, with Rob Halford replaced by the singer of a Judas Priest cover band, namely Tim "Ripper" Owens who assumed the position left vacant by the Metal God between '96 and 2004. 

A special mention must be made for Steel Dragon, which, despite not being a real band, is formed by musicians truly belonging to the Hard n' Heavy scene: Zakk Wylde in the role of the guitarist Ghode, Jeff Pilson (Dokken) in the role of the bassist and absolute leader of the band, Jorghen, Jason Bonham (do I really need to tell you the name of his father???) in the role of drummer A.C., and finally Jeff Scott Soto who, although not appearing in the film, lends his voice to Chris.

The same soundtrack cannot be made up of anything but tracks from some of the greatest bands of the 80s, ranging from Rainbow to Bon Jovi to Motley Crue, passing through Kiss and Ted Nugent and AC/DC. Additionally, there are some unpublished tracks written by Zakk Wylde and Twiggy Ramirez, tracks obviously in line with the rest of the Soundtrack.

A little treat at the end (remember the film is from 2001, and the Rob Halford-Judas Priest reunion was yet to come) where in an interview Bobby Beers says he has no intention of reuniting with his old band, being first of all now totally disinterested in the world of Rock, but especially because he is now totally taken by his new passion, Celtic music. Fortunately, in reality, the Metal God returned among the Judas Priests, but could you have imagined him in the guise of a Celtic music singer??? With a green St. Patrick's Day outfit instead of the leather and studs of the Metal God????