Rock of Ages

[Mugsy]

Good? Bad? So bad it's good?

When I saw Tom Cruise was in it, I thought it was ruined. I love cheesy musicals and I love the '80s, so otherwise I'd be there. But then I see Catherine Zeta-Jones is in it, and I love her. Torn.

CZJ's and Julianne Hough's hair is all wrong for the '80s. CZJ's is way too smooth and Hough's looks like it's from last week. If they're going to make the men look '80s, then why not the women? Malin Ackerman's hair looked correct, what little I've seen. Hair was a big deal in the '80s, so it's a big deal to me that they do it properly in a period piece, serious or not.

[bklynred]

EW gave it a C. I have a free pass, I might see it with that but I ain't paying for it.

[jmc]

This might be worth a look when it lands on Starz or HBO, but no way I would ever pay to see it in the theater.

Who were they trying to appeal to? It was like they were trying to both appeal to the youths with that bland Jullianne Hough person and the older, 40-somethings by making it seem like Tom Cruise was the star. The marketing may have alienated people, or folks saw through it and could tell that this is a big turd like the critics are saying.

[satellite]

I guess I took one for the team as a former hair metal fan. It wasn't "so bad it's good"- that could have happened if they'd had the balls to go anywhere near an R rating- but it managed to be somewhat entertaining while being bad. So yeah, definitely save your money.

[forever1267]

I was a teenager in the 80's and par-tayed to these songs. So, I enjoyed that part of the movie. Baldwin, Brand, and Giamatti are obviously having a lot of fun. Hough (who has a baby girl singing voice) and Diego Borata are bland. Zeta-Jones looks fantastic in leather. And Cruise... has his moments, but his off-screen persona is still too distracting to believe in him as a character, which is too bad, because I do like him as an actor.

The mishmash of songs was weird at first, but I got used to it. It just seemed to be missing an essence of fun with this era and these songs. This was Music to PARTY To, and, like Disco, Music To Get Laid By. There's no deep meaning here, and maybe if they had upped the ante of the Excessive Eighties, it would have been more entertaining.

And where were the cameos? The two people I spotted, Kevin Cronin and Sebastian Bach, barely had a split second shot. There were plenty of parts that could have been given to Lita Ford or Dee Snider to play.

Funniest moment was easily Brand and Baldwin singing "Can't Fight This Feeling"... to each other. Wasn't expecting that.

If you liked the music, maybe a matinee. Otherwise, you might want to wait for "Rap of Ages".

[Door]

Jun 17, 2012 0:19:44 GMT -4 forever1267 said:

I was a teenager in the 80's and par-tayed to these songs. So, I enjoyed that part of the movie. Baldwin, Brand, and Giamatti are obviously having a lot of fun. Hough (who has a baby girl singing voice) and Diego Borata are bland. Zeta-Jones looks fantastic in leather. And Cruise... has his moments, but his off-screen persona is still too distracting to believe in him as a character, which is too bad, because I do like him as an actor.

The mishmash of songs was weird at first, but I got used to it. It just seemed to be missing an essence of fun with this era and these songs. This was Music to PARTY To, and, like Disco, Music To Get Laid By. There's no deep meaning here, and maybe if they had upped the ante of the Excessive Eighties, it would have been more entertaining.

And where were the cameos? The two people I spotted, Kevin Cronin and Sebastian Bach, barely had a split second shot. There were plenty of parts that could have been given to Lita Ford or Dee Snider to play.

Funniest moment was easily Brand and Baldwin singing "Can't Fight This Feeling"... to each other. Wasn't expecting that.

If you liked the music, maybe a matinee. Otherwise, you might want to wait for "Rap of Ages".

Ha! Funny you should mention! Dee Snider was playing Dennis when I caught Rock of Ages in New York! Yes, it was completely rad - I can't even lie.

[Mugsy]

I'm wondering if anyone but Cruise in that role would have made a difference. He's just too much of a real-life oddball and has lost that fan base that he once had. Maybe Depp instead? He's a weirdo too, but the general public still likes him.

[divasahm]

Jun 18, 2012 15:33:07 GMT -4 Mugsy said:

I'm wondering if anyone but Cruise in that role would have made a difference. He's just too much of a real-life oddball and has lost that fan base that he once had. Maybe Depp instead? He's a weirdo too, but the general public still likes him.

I think Depp would have been an excellent choice for the role--he can actually play guitar.

[satellite]

Jun 18, 2012 15:58:42 GMT -4 divasahm said:

Jun 18, 2012 15:33:07 GMT -4 Mugsy said:

I'm wondering if anyone but Cruise in that role would have made a difference. He's just too much of a real-life oddball and has lost that fan base that he once had. Maybe Depp instead? He's a weirdo too, but the general public still likes him.

I think Depp would have been an excellent choice for the role--he can actually play guitar.

See, a big reason that this movie failed for me is that (not)Axl needed more people. I would have loved to see Johnny Depp as (not)Slash to give Stacee someone else to interact with besides groupies and the sleazy manager. I know he was supposed to be going solo, but the whole point of liking a band is that it's a group of musicians and you see them interact, and you can kind of relate to your favorite. David Lee Roth solo is way< early Van Halen.

Also, Arsenal was supposed to have been around for almost a decade by 1987, and I just didn't buy young girls fainting over an "older" rock star as played by Tom. He's not fat or anything, but he just didn't have that lean 20-something rock frontman body that girls scream over.

[Laira]

Hair was a big deal in the '80s, so it's a big deal to me that they do it properly in a period piece, serious or not.

This is true. I spent an inordinate amount of time in that decade in fruitless attempts to embiggen my hair - thanks UK ancestors!

Anyway, I saw it on a matinee and enjoyed it for what it was, a cheesefest.