Operation Rock the Troops

This self-congratulatory marketing tool disguised as a documentary follows the dubious achievements of a musician named Matthew JC., who has an impressive talent for promotion. Matthew might or might not be doing a good turn for U.S. troops overseas by touring military bases with his rock band and scantily-clad female models, but either way his mission here is portrayed as downright visionary. The most interesting element of Matthew's story is shared at the film's beginning, when his brothers describe him as a semi-successful entertainer who drifted into the corporate world, ultimately forsaking a six-figure income to turn whatever he touched on a freelance basis (sports films, Budweiser sponsorships) into cross-promotional gold. Matthew's commercial genius takes a patriotic spin after 9/11, when he decides to disseminate hundreds of thousands of CDs (with his music, naturally) to American troops. Subsequent tours of bases in Kosovo, Greenland, Turkey, and elsewhere become the narrative focus here, although it becomes very hard to care about a bass player's passport issues or the cramped quarters in which Matthew's models have to apply their makeup. Not recommended. (T. Keogh)