I'm somewhat skeptical when it comes to the direction that Young Rock was taken in due to what I considered to be some rather odd, creative choices.
I remember February 14th, 2011, as if it were only yesterday. I was just fourteen-years-old when The Rock made his surprise return to the WWE after a seven-year absence from the company, and just the very thought of it still gives me goosebumps; no matter how many times I rewatch that segment, I'm always overcome with pure emotion.
In case you couldn't already tell, I have quite the strong love for the business of professional wrestling; I've been completely captivated by it since I was young enough to mistakenly call The Rock's signature move, "The People's Elbow", "The People's Elmo" instead and so naturally, the man himself has always held a special place in my heart.
Today, we'll be taking a moment to discuss one of NBC's latest sitcoms, "Young Rock" which is based on the earlier years of "The Great One", and I'll be sharing my first impressions of its debut episode in order to help you decide if it is worth your valuable time to watch!
The Positive
Set in the year 2032, professional wrestler-turned-actor, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has decided to run for President of the United States, and in an effort to appeal to the American people, he sits down in an interview with Randall Park to take a look back on his adolescent years to prove that he can still relate to them despite his massive amount of success.
The series explores The Rock's childhood in 1982, high school in the year of 1987, as well as his life as a young adult preparing to play college football for the University of Miami in 1990; the first episode of this brand new NBC sitcom takes us through what it was like for Johnson growing up in the business of professional wrestling, the complicated relationship that he shared with his father, Rocky Johnson, and everyday financial difficulties at home.
After watching this first episode of Young Rock, I couldn't help but notice what I thought to be a surprisingly melancholy undertone. Throughout the show, we're shown that Dwayne's father and hero, Rocky Johnson, appears to be rather unreliable at times. Whether it be skipping out on his promise to take his son out for ice cream after a wrestling show or just being away from home due to an autograph signing, it was made clear that Dwayne longed for his father to be a bigger part of his life in his earlier years.
As it turns out, "Soul Man" Rocky Johnson was pretty heavily wrapped up in the world of professional wrestling, mentioning his "work the gimmick" mentality throughout the episode, which would lead to some questionable parenting choices, but it's also made clear that the man will remain Dwayne's hero throughout his childhood flashbacks within the show.
Rocky Johnson passed away in January of last year, but The Rock has continued to express his love for the man who helped shape him into the person he is today, and I hope to see a bit more of what he considered to be his father's more admirable attributes in future episodes.
With The Rock's story bouncing back and forth between three different periods in his lifetime, three different actors were cast to play the part. In order of youngest to oldest, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, and Uli Latukefu were all quite impressive in their individual roles, between their appearances and performances, I had no trouble imagining that each of these actors really were Dwayne Johnson for those thirty-minutes the show was on.
The Negative
I'm somewhat skeptical when it comes to the direction that Young Rock was taken in due to what I considered to be some rather odd, creative choices. I thought the idea of "present-day" taking place so far into the future seemed a little bit strange, even more so when I realized that the beginning of the show featured The Rock out on the campaign trail.
While a future presidential run isn't out of the question for Dwayne Johnson, I couldn't help but think this idea was a bit too much for a show that's supposed to be based on true events and the concept didn't seem to contribute anything of value to the show as a whole; it's too early to say for sure, but I think the show would have been much better off scrapping the presidential angle and going in the "Everybody Hates Chris " direction, where Johnson could have added commentary throughout each episode as he relieved significant moments of his youth.
While I hate to say it, this first episode was also severely lacking in the comedy department for me, personally. While some moments within the show did happen to make me crack a bit of a smile, I honestly don't recall laughing even once throughout my first viewing, and should that continue on throughout the rest of the season, that's a definite issue for a sitcom.
Conclusion
Young Rock is an interesting look into the life of Dwayne Johnson before he became the mega-star we now know him as today. Even though I feel the first episode of the show lacked a bit, it's rare that a series hits its stride from the very beginning, there's still plenty of room for improvement, and I'm willing to give it a proper chance before deciding how I feel about it on the overall.
If you're a fan of The Rock, whether it be of his in-ring career or his work as an actor in Hollywood, it's worth the watch for that alone. If you're only a casual fan of his, or if you have no interest in the business of professional wrestling then you probably could get away with sitting this one out. But those are just my two cents, in the end, it's up to you!
How many of you guys have watched Young Rock? Please let me know what your thoughts were on the first episode of the series by leaving me a comment below, and don't forget to follow me over on Twitter @RR_Everything, where I talk about all of the shows and movies that I watch and also provide updates on future reviews!
