Rock of Ages: O Filme

I have no clue why I just saw this recently. Saw it on a trailer for a Star Trek DVD or something, not sure and was like, this could be bad, or it could swing the cool way. Since I LOVE all the actors in it. My husband and I bought it on VUDU. It was a fun, energetic flashback to my high school years. Man, we dressed so much cooler. There is no real ROCK and ROLL anymore. If you hate musicals, don't see it. If you are a movie, actor, geek like me or just want a a flick to put you in a great mood and make you sing Def Leopard, Journey and Extreme for days, get it! The whole cast did a great job with everything. I really like seeing Tom Cruise do these "character" parts. He is awesome. Watch it.

I'm 60, I want to have some fun, and this movie was fun. It put me right in the Bourbon Room audience, blithely wearing the tasteless and bizarre outfits that I couldn't wear because I was setting a standard of decorum for my kids in those days, and embarrassing them was anathema. It features a period of Rock (1987) when the genre was flanked by inane crap "music" aimed at the 13-16 year olds I was raising. Fortunately they didn't bite. This movie features the memorable music of the decade that my grandson is now still honoring. This music and that of the late 60's and early 70's helped me as a beleaguered working mom "Rock" through a day of commutes, housework, and culture shock. I don't "get " the focus on plot and antics that some of the more "serious" reviewers are stroking themselves with. I paid $8.00 and didn't fancy myself being at a rock concert or a stage play, but I got all of that feel and more. I would have paid $30 just to see Baldwin grunged, and desperate but hopeful. Cruise's character looked shaky at first. But as usual, in trademark style, he starts off blasé and then explodes into passion and surprise. Paul Giamatti and Zeta-Jones were fun to despise in their hypocrisy. Hough and Boneta were fresh, talented and beautiful. Mary J. Blige (Justice Charlier) was superb, and although I never "got" Russell Brand before, he was the most fun of all. Leave your pretense at home. PLOT!? Yada Yada. If you are pushin' or draggin' 60, go pig out on some Italian and party with "Rock of Ages".

There's a lot to love and enjoy about Rock of Ages. Like most musicals, it has a great buzz and electric feel to it. You can't help but finish this film with a big smile on your face and its a very feel good comfort experience.

The production value was also great, from the sets to the costumes, everything felt realistic and just looked cool.

Then there's the key part of any musical, the songs. You can't fault the selection, there were numerous classics which just kept on coming. Maybe a little too much.

I couldn't help but feel like there were just too many songs. There wasn't any time to take a breather and the story wasn't allowed to develop outside of the music. As a result I couldn't find myself connecting to any of the characters and I feel like there was a lot of missed opportunity to develop the plot and characters because of the amount of songs.

This wasn't the only problem with the plot... it was all over place. Was this film about Sherry, Drew, Stacee Jaxx, Patricia, Lonnie and Dennis? Who knows. There was too much sharing of the spotlight, and the constant changing of perspectives and protagonists started to give me whiplash. I think things would have benefitted from having a more obvious and clear protagonist to root for and follow, which would have given the film more drive and direction.

I also had mixed feeling about the characters. What Russell Brand was doing with his sporadic Brummie accent I'll never know. He's never been a great actor, and the accent just made everything so much worse. The two "main" characters of Sherrie and Drew were also pretty bland and I wasn't that fussed about them. Tom Cruise on the other hand, what a surprise. Easily the best thing about this film. He threw himself into this role and it massively paid off. It's worth watching for him alone.

Finally, as much as I liked the selection of songs, the singing wasn't always on point and was quite obviously auto tuned to a heavy extent for some of them. I think musical films need to start finding a better balance between casting big names to get bums on seats, but also casting actors who can sing.

Rock of Ages is definitely fun, and any musical lover will find lots to enjoy here. I did however find it to be quite messy and overcrowded with one dimensional characters and too many songs. Lots of fun, but not a great film.

I saw the Broadway play with the original cast and had a great time. The movie didn't disappoint me either. A cheesy love story tied together with great music from the hair band 80's was on purpose. Re-living that era, priceless. Go. Enjoy. This will definitely become a cult favorite in future years, bless 'em for preserving some amazing rock history. Ignore the professional critics, go have fun!

This is my first review attempt on IMDb, with hopes this helps those who are turned off by People, EW, local and national news professional (aka, paid) reviewers. I'm a pop culture junkie and a grandma, I don't always agree with the pros. I'm sorry Rock of Ages had a poor box office start out of the gate, but hopefully my little review piece will bring some fun to those clinging to their entertainment dollars. Great party experience!

Is this a great film? No. Is this a significant piece of art? No. Is this a good time? Yes!

It's cheesy and raunchy and fun and messy and tacky...just like the era and the music. Tom Cruise does another "I can't believe he's playing this role" turn as Stacee Jax and his voice is just right for an aging rock star who is lost and looking for a sound. I wanted to smack the crap out of Paul Giamatti and that's how I was supppsed to feel.

There is some good stuff in this movie and the cameos from actual rockers make for a great drinking game. It is a musical so if people randomly bursting into song pisses you off, don't watch this. Stay in your sad little bubble.