My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star (2002)

Jace Darnell is the hopeful front man of the struggling rock band SlipDog. Undaunted by his band's lack of success and a lack of support from his father, the self-proclaimed ""super sexed-up"" vocalist pushes his group towards the ultimate goals of fame and fortune. Jace's bandmates include spaced-out guitarist Doc, punky bassist Joe, and dumb-jock drummer Danny. In the opener, Jace makes a deal with their sleazy manager Dole, who's forced to become their manager only after the band is unable to pay for his services such as rehearsal space; Jace meets and offends the beautiful Sarah unaware that she could be what SlipDog needs; and the band goes to the extremes to get their new demo tape played on the radio.

Feeling the need to add a missing element to SlipDog, Jace tries to convince a reluctant Sarah to contribute her DJ skills. She agrees to give the band a limited shot, but Joe is less than enthusiastic about the new addition. Meanwhile, the band runs into drummer problems when Danny becomes unavailabe due to a football accident. Luckily the ever-resourceful Sarah is able to produce a back-up drummer in the form of her friend Lucas.

After Slipdog plays a concert at a local school, three girls become obsessed with Jace. They follow him home and intrude on a rehearsal. Jace tells them to stop idolizing him, but they won't. At another performance, they climb onstage, dive into the audience and ruin the show. The owner of the club threatens to not hire the band again, prompting Jace to berate the girls. Later, he feels remorseful and tries to apologize to them—but they've already chosen someone else to worship.

SlipDog embarks on a road trip for a gig in Idaho, but rising tension among the bandmates culminates in a quarrel when they finally reach their destination. Things don't fare any better when they realize that the place that booked them has burned down and they are forced to play Potato Fest instead.

SlipDog gets a gig at a hot venue, but the band has to pay the owner unless at least 100 patrons come to the bar. Now it's up to the band to get the word out and make sure they get 100 music fans to attent but not without a few hitches. Meanwhile, Sarah is going stir crazy working her bland job at the unemployment office after Jace tells her that maybe its time to move on to something she truelly cares about and concentrate on SlipDog full time.

Jace and the SlipDog members are unable to write any good songs. Meanwhile, Jace's father Eric is depressed because he did not succeed at music but manages an amplifier and guitar repair store. When Jace hears one of Eric's unfinished songs on an old audiocassette, he is finally inspired. At a concert attended by Jace's mother Gina, Jace invites Eric to come onstage and perform a piece with the band—the song from the tape.

Doc meets pretentious performance artist Siobahn, who clashes with Jace and the others. Doc dates Siobahn and irritates the band by bringing her to rehearsals, dressing more stylishly and redecorating his house. The band members finally revolt when Doc tries to make them integrate a sitar into their sound and allow Siobahn to sing. Doc is mad that Jace was allowed to bring in Sarah yet Siobahn is rejected. Jace fights with both Doc and Siobahn. Lucas becomes exasperated with the conflicts and quits, leaving the band without a drummer again.

The band rents a cheap studio to record a song. Because the band members have little money, they must do it at night when the rates are lower. When they arrive, they learn that the inexperienced recording engineer is also their new replacement drummer, Owen. After hearing Owen play perfectly, everyone feels more confident. Joe performs well on the first ""take"" but feels that she can do better. After dozens of subsequent efforts, she gets frustrated and smashes her guitar. Fortunately, Owen saved the first take, and that's the version they use. Meanwhile, Sarah can't stop giggling. And Siobahn interjects her unwanted opinions on everything, finally causing Doc to end their relationship. SlipDog leaves the studio in the morning with a new drummer and a good recording.

SlipDog competes in a ""battle of the bands."" The only group the musicians are worried about losing to is headed by a former SlipDog guitarist named Dominic, who they call Dom and who also quit when Jace refused to get rid of Joe. Although he was dating Joe at the time, Dom thought she was an awful bassist. When Joe starts dating Dom again, she reveals the name of the song that SlipDog is going to play. Dom's band then plays that song in the contest arguing that he helped Jace write that song and forcing SlipDog to play something Joe may not be ready to play.

As a favor Sarah gets SlipDog to play at her friend's wedding. Then someone else hires them to play at another wedding. Soon SlipDog has acquired the alias Happily Ever After which they use to perform at numerous weddings and parties in between gigs because the money is so good. The band members even wear blue tuxedos and gowns. Doc objects constantly, especially after the band forgets about a gig to play at a wedding instead.

The band gets its first concert at a decent venue, opening the show for a boy band called Boulevard Boys. Impressed by Allan, the boy band's manager, SlipDog soon realize that Dole is a complete embarrassment. He stands near the food and eats everything; while Allan has a professional business card, Dole uses his tattoo as a business card; and after the band tells Dole to treat them like a good manager should, he hires strippers to give massages. However, they soon realize that Allan isn't all he's cracked up to be when he fires SlipDog out of fear that they will upstage his boy band.

After their outstanding performance at the Boulevard Boys concert Jace goes on an ego trip wanting to perform at bigger venues and refusing to play certain jobs, frustrating the band. Jace decides that the band should go on a much needed break but soon feels betrayed when he visits a club and is surprised to see Sarah and the rest of the band playing jazz songs such as ""Stormy Weather"" onstage without him. They don't understand Jace's feelings of betrayal, which he discusses with his mother Gina who he thinks is also being betrayed when he spots his father with another woman. Although the mood is tense at SlipDog's next show, the band plays better than ever before, even playing a rock version of ""Stormy Weather,"" but only after Jace makes a shocking announcement. Soon Jace gets a shock of his own when he meets a representative from a major record label.

SERIES FINALE The band travels to Seattle to meet the people at the record label office. Unfortunately, Doc's former girlfriend Siobahn, who now works at the label, informs Doc that the company wants to sign a contract only with Jace, not Slipdog. Doc advises Jace to accept the deal. Although the other Slipdog members are disappointed, they decide to support Jace and be happy for his success. After a great rooftop performance celebrating the signing, Jace refuses to abandon the band.