Jack Goes Confidential: ‘Rock Of Ages’-Don’t Stop Believing

When it comes to movie musicals, ROCK OF AGES is terrific…

It ranks right up there with past Broadway-to-screen adaptations like GREASE, HAIRSPRAY and MAMMA-MIA.

But let me be perfectly honest, there’ll be two camps of moviegoers. Those who’ll love it and the group that’ll hate it. No inbetweeners, no way!

For the record, our advance screening audience fell into the first category.

Like the above mentioned past hits, the ROCK OF AGES storyline is a simple one. It’s 1987 as small town Oklahoma girl Julianne Hough meets city boy Diego Boneta while pursuing their Hollywood dreams on the Sunset Strip. Along the way they fall into the world of the Bourbon Room, a rock club allegedly based on the legendary Whisky A Go Go.

Well, the place is in major financial trouble.

So to keep the tax man at bay, club owner Alec Baldwin and his assistant Russell Brand get burned-out, self-destructive rock legend Tom Cruise—a.k.a. Stacee Jaxx—to pull a one night comeback appearance, only to have the receipts pocketed by sleazy agent Paul Giamatti.

All the while L.A.’s rock scene is being dogged by the mayor’s uptight and overzealous wife Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Which brings me to Tom Cruise as aging rock star and sex god Stacee Jaxx…

Did Cruise do his own singing here? He did—and pulled it off.

Matter of fact, the entire production rocks. And that’s coming from a reviewer who went into it with great reservations. And I’m not the only one either.

It seemed like the entire audience got into Adam (‘Hairspray’) Shankman‘s production with a big round of applause at the end of the movie.

It’s a feel-good musical comedy of the 80’s hair and metal scene with the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, R.E.O., Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister and Poison to mention a few.

And spotting numerous rock cameos adds to the fun.

ROCK OF AGES—a surreal rock ‘n’ roll fantasy— flipping 4 out of 5 fingers.
 
JACK GOES TO THE MOVIES Friday mornings at 6:40 a.m. on KMBZ Am & Fm / Also anytime on Time Warner Cable’s K.C. ON DEMAND, Channel 411 / And on NEBRASKA ON DEMAND, Channel 411.