“Rocked with Gina Gershon” follows the brunette bruiser through a punishing press junket/musical tour for her 2003 film Prey for Rock & Roll. In the under-seen, under-appreciated indie film, Gershon plays the leader of a long-time all-girl band from Los Angeles. After 10 years of struggling and sweating to little avail, Gershon's character is faced with the prospect of burning out or giving up. Gershon performed all her own singing in the film, and it obviously awakened the actress' long-simmering desire to be a rock star. Certainly, Gershon isn't the first thespian to dream of rock stardom. (Anyone remember the musical careers of Eddie Murphy, Bruce Willis and Don Johnson?) But Gershon seems to have both the looks and the lungs for it.
Each week, “Rocked” chronicles another stop on Gershon's music/movie tour. Seems that the film's distributors are a bunch of impoverished knuckleheads who aren't quite sure what to do with the film. They basically tell Gershon that unless she goes out on the road and promotes the hell out of the film, they're only going to dump it in a couple cities. Gathering up a few members of the well-regarded band Girls Against Boys, Gershon hits the tour circuit, hawking the film by day and rocking out in small clubs by night. “Here I was, an actor trying to be a rocker trying to save my movie,” is how Gershon describes it all in the show's first episode voice-over.
Although the series functions largely as PR for the Prey for Rock & Roll DVD release, it does give a tantalizing glimpse into the world of Hollywood promotion. Those hoping for a voyeuristic look inside the private life of Gina Gerson will probably be disappointed. She drinks, curses like a sailor, hangs out with assorted famous friends (Lenny Kravitz, Craig Kilborn) and does a pretty fair Chrissie Hynde imitation. Beyond that, you'll get little insight into her dating habits, her “alleged-bian” leanings or her political bent. You will, however, get to see the kind of ass kissing, hand shaking and tantrum throwing that goes into pumping up a movie, an actor or (as it happens) a TV show. Rock on!
“Rocked with Gina Gershon” airs every Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. and every Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. on IFC.
