The fury of a woman scorned is nothing compared with the wrath of a drummer dumped.

In 1986, when the band Vesuvius boots Robert "Fish" Fishman (Rainn Wilson) so a record exec can install his nephew behind the drum kit, Fish goes crazy. After all, he had named the heavy metal band and played with his pals since high school.

"I will drag you down to hell with me. I will eat your souls," he vows in the comedy "The Rocker," opening today.

All he eats is crow and resentment for the next 20 years as Vesuvius strikes it rich, and Fish loses his job, his girlfriend and his apartment. He lands at his sister's house, where his brother-in-law sums up his predicament: "It's like winning the lottery and having the lottery ticket ripped up before your face."

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'The Rocker'

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained

• Starring: Rainn Wilson, Josh Gad, Teddy Geiger.
• Rating: PG-13 for drug and sexual references, nudity and language.
• Web site: rockermovie.com

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When Fish's nerdy nephew, Matt (Josh Gad), needs a substitute drummer for his band, he turns to the nutty uncle living in the attic. After a bumpy start, Fish, Matt, sensitive singer Curtis (Teddy Geiger) and bassist Amelia (Emma Stone) bond.

It takes Fish at his most outrageous -- drumming naked, in a video that goes viral -- to unwittingly give the group the boost it needs. But a second shot at fame is fraught with complications that Fish couldn't foresee, although maybe the audience can.

Like Will Ferrell and Jack Black, Wilson seems willing to do anything for a laugh, especially if it involves unflattering clothing or hairstyles, partial nudity or acting like a fool. Wilson, who plays uptight oddball Dwight Schrute on "The Office," is a hoot who does everything bigger and crazier, from perspiring to making faces while playing that make him look like he's out of his music-lovin' mind.

You cannot help but root for the clearly wronged Fish and the motley musicians who become his unlikely bandmates. Geiger is a real-life singer/songwriter who looks like a cross between John Mayer and James Franco, while Gad invites comparisons with the better known Jonah Hill, and Stone's Amelia is all serious business.

The adult cast includes Jane Lynch and Jeff Garlin as Fish's sister and brother-in-law and Christina Applegate as Curtis' youthful mother.

Directed by Peter Cattaneo ("The Full Monty") and written by Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky, "The Rocker" is fairly predictable and features the world's most poorly attended prom and some one-liners that are funnier than the story's scenarios. But it also delivers some real laughs and an affable bunch of underdogs marching and rocking to the beat of a different drummer.