Movie Review – Rock of Ages (2012)
Every once in a while along comes a movie with a so-so plot but a fantastic soundtrack.
2012′s Rock of Ages is just such a movie. The film’s plot is okay, but the collection of 80s hit songs makes this a fantastic experience. At least, the music rocks for those of us who grew up in and love this era of rock music.
Rock of Ages is a story about a girl moving to Los Angeles to make a name for herself in the music industry. She falls in love with a local boy, splits from him, falls upon hard times, and then reunites with him in the end of the movie. Again, the plot itself really isn’t special here. What drives Rock of Ages is its soundtrack sung by the actors and actresses themselves.
Rock of Ages stars Julianne Hough as Sherrie Christian, and Diego Boneta as Drew Boley, the two main characters. Supporting the main actors is an impressive list including Tom Cruise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand and Mary J. Blige.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Set back in 1987, we see Sherrie Christian (played by Julianne Hough) traveling cross country from her home in Oklahoma to Los Angeles, California. In the introduction alone you’re treated to a medley of “Sister Christian,” “Just Like Paradise” and “Nothin’ but a Good Time.” It seems to be a dream come true for the young and naive girl as she arrives just outside of the fabled Hollywood. Unfortunately, Sherrie has a rude awakening as a street punk welcomes her to the city only to steal her suitcase. Across the street, Drew Boley (played by Diego Boneta), a teenager working at The Bourbon Room (a bar and concert venue), sees the robbery and tries to stop it, but he’s too late. He dreams of one day having his name on the marquee outside the joint.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Drew takes Sherrie over to The Bourbon Room to talk to his boss and the venue’s owner, Dennis Dupree (played by Alec Baldwin). He initially declines Sherrie as she’s a singer and he’s had too many of them working for him in the past. Sherrie convinces Dennis that she’s really a waitress, but he still isn’t convinced. It’s not until Dennis learns that another worker just quit that he reluctantly hires Sherrie as his newest waitress.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Next we’re introduced to Mike Whitmore (played by Bryan Cranston), the mayor of Los Angeles and husband to Patricia Whitmore (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones). Whitmore is campaigning to “clean up” the city and basically get rid of the rock bands and their fans. His campaign is run by his wife, Patricia. Over at The Bourbon Room, Dennis and his assistant, Lonny Barnett (played by Russell Brand) are watching the mayor’s press conference and discussing how her plans will ruin his business. Over at a Tower Records store, Drew and Sherrie sing “Juke Box Hero” and proclaim their dreams of being famous. Back at The Bourbon Room, Dennis and Lonny are singing “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” to each other.
The Bourbon Room is in financial trouble as they owe lots of money in back taxes. Dennis and Lonny decide to hire extreme rocker Stacee Jaxx (played by Tom Cruise) and his band Arsenal to bring in the crowds and pull themselves out of the red. Dennis calls Stacee’s manager, Paul Gill (played by Paul Giamatti), and they make it happen.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Upon hearing about the Stacee Jaxx concert at The Bourbon Club, Patricia Whitmore organizes her fellow church members to protest against the upcoming concert. She rallies her troops with “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” and that gets them going. It’s also during that song that we see a slightly darker side to her husband.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
As the Arsenal concert approaches, Sherrie and Drew are working more shifts together and falling in love. They both sing “Waiting for a Girl Like You” while meeting each other for a date. They head up to the iconic Hollywood sign and get to know each other. During a dream segment, Drew watches as a scantily clad Sherrie does an exotic and adult-orientated dance for him. Drew then plays a demo song (“Don’t Stop Believin’ “) for Sherrie, claiming that she was the inspiration behind it.
The night of the big concert arrives, and Dennis learns that Arsenal’s opening act has cancelled its performance. Sherrie convinces Dennis to let Drew’s band, Wolfgang Von Colt, to have the opportunity to play before Arsenal. Dennis agrees, telling Drew to get together his band. Drew tests the equipment on stage and he and Sherrie both sing a medley of “More Than Words” and “Heaven.”
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Stacee Jaxx arrives at The Bourbon Room, and his manager arranges for an interview between Stacee and Constance Sack (played by Malin Akerman), a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. During the interview, Constance mentions the rumors that Stacee is a difficult person to work with and he was actually kicked out of his band, Arsenal, but Stacee dismisses the rumors. Supposedly his life is more complicated than it appears. Stacee breaks out into a performance of “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and Sherrie joins his singing near the end of the song.
The protesters are receiving publicity as the interview between Constance and Stacee continues. Stacee tries to seduce Constance, and they both sing “I Want to Know What Love Is” while getting very friendly with one another. They’re about to have sex when Stacee makes a comment and Constance leaves the room.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Sherrie enters Stacee’s room and accidentally knocks over his bottle of bourbon. Drew sees his girlfriend kneeling in front of Stacee Jaxx as he zips up his pants, thinking that she had sex with her idol. This drives him into a rage and he uses anger in the song, “I Wanna Rock.” The audience loves his heated performance. Sherrie also loves his performance, but when she’s congratulating him, Drew walks out and leaves her.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
While Stacee Jaxx is on stage singing “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” Paul Gill meets with Drew about his performance. He convinces Drew that he can make him into the next rock and roll star. Drew agrees and leaves with Gill. Meanwhile, Sherrie quits The Bourbon Room. After Stacee Jaxx’s performance, Phil Gill meets with Dennis and Lonny to collect his payment. Gill takes considerably more money than originally agreed upon, leaving Dennis and Lonny with nothing after tonight’s show. Gill robs them blind.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Sherrie hits the pavement and has a hard time looking for work. She’s singing “Harden My Heart,” while trying to find a job in the city. Sherrie is taken in by Justice Charlier (played by Mary J. Blige), the owner of a strip club named The Venus Club. She allows Sherrie to work there as a waitress. Justice and Sherrie sing a duet of “Shadows of the Night.”
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Everyone transitions into their new positions with Drew working as a rock star with Gill and Sherrie working as a waitress with Justice at The Venus Club. Everybody sings along with “Here I Go Again.” Over at The Bourbon Room, Dennis and Lonny are in misery as they review their financial report. They both sing “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” and then kiss at the end of the song. Yes, Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand look like they make out with each other. Yikes!
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
One day at The Venus Club, Sherrie is asking Justice how to get the men to respect her as a women. Justice convinces her that they only way it’ll happen is if she goes on stage and becomes a stripper. Justice begins singing “Any Way You Want It” to help explain her point. During the song, Gill is presenting Drew as the next rock star to executives at Capitol Records. The executives reject Gill’s idea, claiming that rock is dead and pop is the next big thing. By the end of the song, Sherrie is a stripper on stage and Drew is dressed to be in a boy band.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Next we see Drew filming a music video with his boy band to the song of “Undercover Love.“ The performance doesn’t go that well as Drew still sees himself as Wolfgang Von Colt the rocker and not some pop singer in a boy band. Phil Gill calls Dennis over at The Bourbon Club and tells him he wants him to let Stacee Jaxx perform again, this being his first time performing without Arsenal. Gill promises that all the money will go to The Bourbon Club unlike last time. He also schedules Drew’s boy band (Z Guyeezz) as the opening act.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Back at his company’s headquarters, Stacee Jaxx is waiting for Phil Gill inside his office. The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine just hit the news stands, and Constance Sack reported how Phil stole the money from Stacee’s last performance at The Bourbon Room. Stacee trashes Phil’s office and fires him.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Drew is depressed and visits the Hollywood sign where he’s surprised to find Sherrie. They’re both a bit embarrassed to show each other what they’ve really been doing since leaving The Bourbon Room. Drew confronts her about what really happened the night he saw her with Stacee Jaxx, and Sherrie tells him that they didn’t sleep together. She then tells him that Los Angeles isn’t working out and she’s leaving to go back to Oklahoma. Before she leaves, Drew gives Sherrie a copy of the song he’s been working on, the one that was inspired by her. Sherrie, Drew, Justice and Stacee all start singing “Every Rose Has Its Thorn.”
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Back at The Venus Club, Sherrie is sent to a back room to do a private dance for a customer. She’s surprised to see that the customer is none other than Stacee Jaxx. He’s swinging around on a stripper pole when she enters the room. She agrees to dance for him, and she and him sing and dance to “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” They’re about to have sex at the end of the song when Stacee Jaxx realizes that he doesn’t want her. He really wants to be with Constance, the reporter from Rolling Stone. While Sherrie is upset about Stacee not wanting to be with her, she receives a package from Drew. He gives her a gift of the records she lost when her luggage was stolen after arriving in Los Angeles.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Over at The Bourbon Room, both sides of the streets are lined with protestors. One side is led by Patricia Whitmore, while the punk rockers are lead by Lonny Barnett. They being a medley back and forth with “We Built This City” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” The songs finish with the arrival of Stacee Jaxx on his motorcycle. In a surprise to everyone, Stacee walks over and greets Patricia as if he knew her. Lonny saw the reaction and ran to check his suspicion on an old Arsenal album. Sure enough, he’s correct. Lonny runs out and shows his evidence to the TV reporter. There’s a photograph showing Patricia Whitmore as a groupie for Stacee Jaxx.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Drew’s band takes the stage and does their boy band song and dance, but the audience boos them off the stage. Drew leaves the stage when he spots Sherrie in the crowd, and the two of them get back together. Stacee Jaxx’s bodyguards give Dennis all the money that Phil Gill stole last time he was there. Drew then fires Gill and tells him that rock will never die.
Rock of Ages (2012) – (c) Warner Bros. Pictures
Wolfgang Von Colt reunites and Sherrie takes the stage. She begins singing “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and the rest of the group joins her. The movie transitions and we see Drew and Sherrie singing the song along with Stacee Jaxx at their next concert, somewhere bigger than The Bourbon Room. We see Dennis, Lonny, Justice and Patricia all singing with the song.
The end credits include Stacee Jaxx singing “Paradise City” followed by a reprise of Stacee and Sherrie singing “Rock You Like a Hurricane.”
So is Rock of Ages any good?
As a musical, the movie is okay. The story is a little long, but it moves and has the obligatory happy ending. What really saves Rock of Ages is its freakin’ awesome soundtrack!
When I first heard about Rock of Ages I cringed at the thought of how Hollywood was going to destroy some of my favorite music. The trailer and TV spots didn’t convince me that they would do a good job with the music. But once my girlfriend and I finally saw the film, I must say that my attitude has reverse completely.
It helps if you think of Rock of Ages as a cover band performing the hits. It’s a much more enjoyable experience listening to the music that way. After all, there’s a really awesome local band that performs 80s music at a restaurant / bar my friends and I used to frequent. If they could rock the music and perform it correctly, then Hollywood has a chance at doing it as well.
As a musical featuring 80s songs, Rock of Ages is a hit. The songs are fantastic and there are some great performances. Tom Cruise really pulled off the role of a stoned / drunk / punk rocker, and his songs were outstanding.
Top Gun (1986) – Maverick and Goose singing “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ ” to Charlie (yes, the woman uses a guy’s call sign).
Don’t forget that this is not Tom Cruise’s first time singing in a movie. A legendary bar scene from 1986′s Top Gun comes to mind. Turn and burn!
Rock of Ages certainly has a large and interesting cast in the movie. While the main actor and actress are relative nobodies on the big screen, the rest of the supporting cast had some famous names. Yes, that is wrestler Kevin Nash as one of Stacee Jaxx’s bodyguards. Almost everybody has a singing role including, unfortunately, Alec Baldwin. Baldwin doesn’t exactly have a singing voice which makes his songs comedically bad.
Julianne Hough gets to show off her dancing skills throughout the movie. There are two more dance scenes with her in the extended version of Rock of Ages. I didn’t know this because I didn’t watch the show, but apparently Julianne was one of the dance experts who danced with male celebrities on “Dancing With The Stars.” She and her partner won in seasons four and five of the show.
Rock of Ages (2012) – movie trailer
If you love musicals or 80s music in general, Rock of Ages is a safe bet. This movie even works great if you play it in the background and just listen to it while working. The movie itself isn’t spectacular, but you’ll still probably have fun with it in the end. Do take note that several of the costumes and dance routines are very adult-oriented despite the movie being rated PG-13.
Sherrie Christian [revealing where she really works] – “I’m a stripper at The Venus Club.”
Drew Boley – “I’m in a boy band.”
[a long pause]
Sherrie Christian – “You win.”
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This article was originally published at www.chamberofreviews.com on November 21, 2012.