Rock of Ages [Movie Review]

http://collider.com/kristen-stewart-on-the-road-poster-rock-of-ages-poster/160508/ 

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures

"Enjoy the fun, the laughs and the music of the glory days of rock ’n’ roll with a knockout cast. Rock of Ages is a hair-raising good time featuring the music of Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison,Twisted Sister and more."

Cast: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Cruise

Director: Adam Shankman

Source: Rock of Ages Official Site

Rock of Ages was a memorable movie for me. My friend and I watched this film when I was celebrating my 19th birthday last July. :) As I can remember, I was a bit prejudiced regarding this movie at first. I mean, it was not in my movies-to-watch list. I believe if there were other available movies that time, I'd rather watch them than this one.

I think I developed this high standard in musical films and plays since I've been exposed to and learning them since my high school days. My Music teacher that time was a big fan of musical films and in every available class schedule, we would watch films - Rent, The Phantom of the Opera, Grease, Mamma Mia, Sound of Music, Hairspray, etc. I think the trailer did not seem appealing to me when I first watched it. Like c'mon, Glee made an episode about Rock music already. >.< BUT since it was my friend's treat, I'd rather be grateful for the treat than complain about it. :P

Review:

Rock of Ages is the story of a small-town girl, Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) and a city boy, Drew Boley (Diego Boneta). Sherrie, who travelled to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a famous singer, met Drew in Sunset Boulevard. When Sherrie's suitcase is stolen, Drew helps her find a job as a waitress at the Bourbon Room.

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The club's owner, Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) and his right-hand man, Lonny Barnett (Russell Brand), are trying to find a way to deal with unpaid taxes that threaten the club. In hopes of raising money to clear up their debts, they decide to book Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise), a famous rock star preparing for his final performance with his band, Arsenal. Upon hearing of Stacee's upcoming concert, Patricia Whitmore (Catherine Zeta-Jones) organizes her church to protest in front of the Bourbon Room.

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On the night of the show, Drew mistakes Sherrie and Stacee's actions, thinking that they had sex. After his band's performance, Drew breaks up with Sherrie and leaves with Gill (Paul Giamatti) after he offers to make Drew famous. Sherrie leaves her job in the Bourbon Room and works as a waitress and pole dancer in a strip club called The Venus Club. Meanwhile, Drew changes his rock-star image and transforms into a supposed pop boy-band legend.

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Stacee learns from Constance's (Malin Akerman) article that Gill has been betraying him and the Bourbon Room. Gill plans another concert in the Bourbon Room to introduce Drew's band, however, as Dennis does not trust him anymore, he says instead that Stacee will be the one performing. On the night of Drew's band's first show, Stacee arrives looking for Constance. He recognizes Patricia who was with her church, protesting against the Bourbon Room. Lonny recognizes Patricia as a former member of Arsenal and exposes her as a hypocrite in front of everyone. Stacee professes his love for Constance and at the same time, Drew and Sherrie reconcile. Sherrie reunites Drew's Wolfgang Von Colt while Drew finally sings his written song for Sherrie, Don't Stop Believin'.

http://collider.com/rock-of-ages-movie-images/169707/

I watched this film without knowing what to expect. Simple plot - boy meets girl, conflict arises, they break up and know that in the end, everything turns out happy. Despite having a story between Sherrie and Drew, I think that Tom Cruise stole the show. His performance of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" just rocked. Julianne Hough is also stunning, I lke her voice and I found her song numbers entertaining. On the other hand, it seems that the other characters were given free reign on how they would interpret their roles. There's little character development for other principal characters aside from Stacee Jaxx. 

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I think I couldn't care less about the plot since the soundtrack is really great. There's Journey and Foreigner, a few from Twisted Sister, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Poison. Too bad that this film will only appeal to 80's rock music lovers but over all, the film had a mood for nothing but good time. It was pure fun, hilarious, crazy, energetic and entertaining that you'd find yourself humming and singing along with the music.