Rock of Ages Review

Rated PG-13 (Sexual content, Suggestive Dancing, some Heavy Drinking, and Language)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 3 Minutes

Cast-

Tom Cruise-Stacee Jaxx

Julianne Hough-Sherrie Christian

Diego Boneta-Drew Boley

Alec Baldwin-Dennis Dupree

Russell Brand-Lonny Barnett

Catherine Zeta-Jones-Patricia Whitmore

Paul Giamatti-Paul Gill

Malin Akerman-Constance Sack

Mary J. Blige-Justice Charlier

Bryan Cranston-Mayor Mike Whitmore

Will Forte-Mitch Miley

Directed by Adam Shankman

Tom Cruise unleashes his inner rock star as Stacee Jaxx in "Rock of Ages," based upon the Broadway musical of the same name.

'Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world / She took the midnight train goin' anywhere / Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit / He took the midnight train goin' anywhere / A singer in a smoky room / A smell of wine and cheap perfume / For a smile they can share the night / It goes on and on and on and on / *chorus* / Don't stop believin' / Hold on to that feelin' / Streetlight people!' The following is an excerpt from Journey's Don't Stop Believin’, a song that has withstood the test of time since its release thirty-one years ago in 1981, having appeared in numerous films and television shows such as the pilot episode of Fox's "Glee" in 2009. It is also the closing number for the Broadway rock/jukebox musical Rock of Ages, which premiered on July 27, 2005 at the King King club on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Warner Brothers/New Line Cinema acquired the film rights to the show after its successful run Off-Broadway at New World Stages from 2008 to 2009 and chose Adam Shankman as director, who previously adapted another Broadway musical into a film, the 2007 remake of "Hairspray." Rock of Ages is a celebration of rock music during the 1980's, which I'm not exactly a fan of as I prefer the orchestral sounds of John Williams or Hans Zimmer. The only band I listen to is She & Him since I find Zooey Deschanel's vocals very soothing, although I do have Hall & Oates and The Smiths in my music library on Windows Media Player. "Rock of Ages" was a film that I initially thought I wasn't going to enjoy but I was pleasantly surprised when I left the theater with a smile on my face. While its clichéd script never forms a cohesive whole due to its many disparate subplots, "Rock of Ages" remains a cheesy, infectious film that serves as a sincere love letter to the classic rock hits of the 1980's. 

It's 1987 and a small town girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma named Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) is traveling to Los Angeles, California with dreams of becoming a famous singer. Passing by a popular nightclub called The Bourbon Room, Sherrie's suitcase containing her favorite rock albums ends up getting stolen. A bar-back working at the club, Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), sees the robbery and unsuccessfully tries to stop the thief. Introducing himself to Sherrie, Drew offers to get her a job waitressing at The Bourbon Room when he learns that she has little money, having just recently arrived in the city. The club's owner, Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin), reluctantly hires her after some convincing. The Bourbon Room is currently being threatened with unpaid taxes and Dupree, along with his right-hand man Lonny Barnett (Russell Brand), hope that Stacee Jaxx's (Tom Cruise) final performance with his rock band Arsenal will bring in the necessary income. Jaxx is preparing to launch a solo career but there are rumors that he was kicked off the band for being difficult to work with. Drew and Sherrie embark on a relationship and confess to each other their dreams of becoming famous. Meanwhile, ultra-conservative Patricia Whitmore (Catherine Zeta-Jones), wife of Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston), is threatening to close down The Bourbon Room for corrupting the city's youth with rock music. 

Based upon Chris D'Arienzo's musical of the same name, "Rock of Ages" is not only a celebration of the greatest rock hits of the 1980's but also serves as a humorous and nostalgic window of a bygone era. Adapted by D'Arienzo with the help of writers Justin Theroux and Allan Loeb, the script is by far the film's weakest element as it is crammed full of subplots that are only tangentially related to each other. From Dennis and Lonny's struggle to keep The Bourbon Room in business to Stacee Jaxx's attempts to rediscover his creative spark and move past his existential loneliness, there is simply too much going on and this has the unfortunate side effect of reducing the central romance between Drew and Sherrie as little more than an afterthought in the film. Part of the problem is that Hough and Boneta's characters aren't as compelling when compared to their more colorful co-stars but "Rock of Ages" manages to overcome these shortcomings with its energetic and unapologetically cheesy tone. It's hard not to get caught up in all the excitement because the cast are genuinely having fun as they belt out classic rock hits that include Guns N' Roses' Paradise City and Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive. The film's soundtrack contains an eclectic mix of music from Poison, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Def Leppard and many more. I found all the musical set-pieces enjoyable from Mary J. Blige's Any Way You Want It to a dueling medley of We Built This City and We're Not Gonna Take It between Russell Brand and Catherine Zeta-Jones but the standout has to be Tom Cruise as the Axl Rose-inspired Stacee Jaxx. Who knew that Cruise had such an amazing voice?! While Jaxx is only a supporting character, Cruise throws himself into the role with such wild zeal, making a memorable entrance where he slowly rises from a bed full of naked female groupies wearing nothing but a rhinestone-incrusted leather codpiece. Any skepticism I had of his casting went away the minute he began singing and his commitment elevates the film. 

In fact the entire ensemble cast is excellent with their intentionally over-the-top performances. Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta won't be remembered for their acting skills but they bring a sincere earnestness to their respective characters. Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand provide quite a lot of laughs with their bromance, leading to a duet of REO Speedwagon's Can't Fight This Feeling while Catherine Zeta-Jones gleefully prances around in a red power-suit to Pat Benatar's single Hit Me with Your Best Shot with her church group as backup dancers. As Rolling Stones reporter Constance Sack, Malin Akerman gets to share this ridiculous, sexually-charged scene where she and Cruise sing Foreigner's I Want to Know What Love Is as they rip off each other's clothes. Rounding out the cast is Mary J. Blige as Venus Club owner Justice Charlier, who lends her impressive vocals as support, and Paul Giamatti as Paul Gill, a sleazy music agent more concerned about the bottom-line than the art-form. Late in the film, Drew signs up with Paul as his manager and is turned into the front-man for an embarrassingly corny boy band called the 'Z Boyz' (pronounced 'Zee Boyeezz'), a humorous dig at the numerous boy bands that would dominate the 1990's. Jon Hutman's production design is first-rate (a 1980's version of the Sunset Strip was built in Downtown Miami and occupied six blocks) as are Rita Ryack's costumes, which perfectly capture the fashion trends of the 1980's. 

"Rock of Ages" will be released on June 15, 2012 and has received mixed reviews so far with 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. I saw the film at an advanced screening and the audience thoroughly enjoyed it, fully aware of its inherent cheesiness. Similar to 2008's "Mamma Mia!", "Rock of Ages" will most likely garner a more positive reception from general audiences given its crowd-pleasing tone but critics are going to write off the film (and already have) as a shallow, clichéd experience. A number of reviews also unfavorably compared it to Fox's television show "Glee." The only competition to "Rock of Ages" is Adam Sandler's latest comedy "That's My Boy," where the actor is once again portraying a man-child. Both films are unlikely to dethrone "Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted" but despite its dubious quality, "That's My Boy" will likely end up in second place since it is positioned two days before Father's Day, leaving "Rock of Ages" in third place with $25 to $30 million, which isn't bad for a film with a production budget of $70 million. Keep in mind that Shankman's film could still potentially land in second place if it receives positive word-of-mouth. Despite the clichéd mess of a script, "Rock of Ages" is still one of the most fun experiences I've had at the theater thanks to the film's irresistibly goofy charm and a totally committed performance from Tom Cruise. Guaranteed you'll have Nothin' but a Good Time so if you've been dying to relive the glory days of the 1980's, by all means ROCK ON!

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

"Sometimes things that are lost can be found again. Don't stop believing!"