I went to see Rock of Ages today with a friend and boy am I glad I did.
If you are a fan of or lived through the 1980’s (as I did) , Rock of Ages is a must see for you. Rock of Ages is based on the broadway musical of the same name written by Chris D’Arienzo. Rock of Ages is a ensemble film with an all star cast, featuring Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx, an drunken, self destructive, aging rock legend, who is one part Axel Rose and one part Jim Morrison in attitude and mannerisms.
The premise is simple. Set in 1987, in Los Angles, a small town girl (just a small town girl, living in a lonely world..) meets a handsome bar back at the Bourbon Bar (a nod to the world famous Whiskey Bar on Sunset Boulevard in L.A. She has talent, she can sing and has come to Hollywood to follow her dream (as if there were some other reason to come to Hollywood). She is a music aficionado and she is mugged on her first day in L.A and he takes her prized records. In flies Drew, played by the talented Diego Bonetta, of 90210 and Pretty Little Liars fame, to save the day. He hears here story and gets her a job at the Bourbon Bar which is owned by Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin). The club is in trouble and Stacee Jaxx is supposed to solve all the financial trouble. Hilarity ensures and the movie just rocks you! Another plot is Catherine Zeta Jones, conservative advocate Patricia Whitmore’s attempts to rid the Sunset Strip of filth of which she sees Stacee Jaxx at the “head of the snake” which is causing all the decadence on the strip.
When I had first heard that they cast Tom Cruise as I thought to myself , “seriously? Tom Cruise?” Well, he blew me away with his performance as Stacee Jaxx. He can actually sing and has a decent voice. I was completely amazed. He is equal parts Jim Morrison and Axel Rose (and he sounds like Axel rose too). Awesome performance!
Rock of Ages, thankfully, doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, the movie is a musical comedy featuring Rock music from the 80’s. Such 80’s legends such as Journey, Poison, Pat Bennetar, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, Quarterflash, Warrent, Whitesnake, Def Lepard, and The Scorpions is included in this film.
Rock of ages stars:
- Tom Cruise
- Julianne Hough
- Diego Boneta
- Alec Baldwin
- Russel Brand
- Catherine Zeta-Jones
- Bryan Cranston (in a non-singing role)
- Paul Giamatti
- Mary J Blige
- Malin Akerman
With Cameos by:
- Debbie Gibson
- Sabastian Bach
- Will Forte
- Constantine Maroulis
- Kevin Cronin
- Eli Roth (Hostel)
I give this movie 5 of 5 stars because I loved it so much! I highly recommend this movie if you feel like hearing some awesome music and having a good laugh.
