Teddy Geiger may be a better singer than actor. The Rocker's story of a middle-aged wash-up finally making it with his high school nephew's band may sound a bit familiar. But even so, The Rocker may easily be one of the best comedies I've seen in the last nine months.

The Rocker is the story of Robert Fishman, aka Fish (Rainn Wilson). One night in 1986, he was the star drummer of the up and coming rock band Vesuvius. The next morning, he was the drummer Vesuvius replaced in order to seal the band's first big record deal. And twenty years later, he is no more than the long forgotten drummer of the multi-platinum hit band Vesuvius, who still refuses to let go of the stunted dream that left him behind long ago.

When a Vesuvius-focused outburst causes him to lose his latest job in a customer call center, Fish takes temporary refuge with his sister (Jane Lynch) and her family. When his nephew's band ADD loses their drummer days before their much anticipated prom gig, Fish reluctantly agrees to pick up his drumsticks for the first time since being kicked out of Vesuvius. And so begins the story of an unlikely family, an unexpected path to adulthood, and a dream that actually turns out better the second time around.

With a story structured around both the need for a grown man to finally grow up and the message that it's never too late to realize our greatest dreams, The Rocker could have easily been Step Brothers minus one brother. But thankfully, it was not. Instead of unrealistically swinging from ill-fitting adulthood to absurd childishness, Fish navigates his equal need to recognize his age and desire to still pursue his passion in a way that actually feels like it could be real. When he achieves both, he does so in a way that is believable and inspiring. And in the process, instead of just embarrassing himself and everyone around him, his humor and his wit are enough to carry both his fellow characters and the movie's audience to what is a satisfying destination.

As a comedy, the greatest strength of The Rocker is its laughs. Instead of embarrassing its audiences to awkward laughter, it connects with them in shared amusement. Its target? Pop culture. And its hits? A hilarious commentary on the here and now (instead of what has been here for the last ten years already). It may not be a brand of humor that will last through the ages, though. In a world where everyone doesn't visit YouTube every day and play Guitar Hero every weekend, it will not connect with every audience. But in a genre aching for fresh material, it is a welcome answer. And within a story that pushes us to recognize the value of genuine friendship, the comic roast of the often shallow culture we find ourselves sucked into every day only emphasizes our need for authentic community even more.

At the end of it all, The Rocker is a story about both the value of being a part of a family and of being able to let go of regrets, embracing promises in the here and now.

For both Fish and ADD's lead singer Curtis (Teddy Geiger), their lives could easily be summed up by the title of ADD's first album—Abandonment Issues. While Fish was left by his band, Curtis was left by his father. For Fish, the continued sting of his rejection fills him with a need to stick it to the very friends who left him without a second thought. For Curtis, the pain of his loss fills him with a desire to at least be acknowledged by the man who left him before he even got to know him. And for both men, the fact that no matter how much they want to they can't go back and change the past fills them with bitterness.

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