Even worse is Hough, who isn’t an actress and, with her Britney Spears on helium voice, should never be allowed anywhere near a song not playing on Radio Disney.Įven with the central love story and the main leads sucking the air out of the room, the all-star cast does the heavy lifting and puts on a fantastic show.
MUSICIANS IN ROCK OF AGES MOVIE MOVIE
The low point is the lover’s spat, which makes the movie feel longer than it already is.īoneta has a strong voice but isn’t a good enough actor to make us care about his cornball character. Everybody now, “Every rose has it’s thooooorn…”ĭirected by Adam Shankman in the same pretention-free, winking way he helmed the movie musical of Hairspray, Rock of Ages almost never takes itself seriously, teases the musical genre and wants to make you laugh a lot and succeeds heartily. Next thing you know, Sherrie is smitten with the boozed up, sex god rocker Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) and finds her twinkly eyed romance with Drew falling on hard times. A Bieber-haired musician named Drew (Diego Boneta) falls hard for Sherrie and gets her a job at a flailing music club and concert venue, run by Baldwin’s shaggy haired entrepreneur (it takes place in 1987, so everyone in the cast is shaggy haired). Faster than you can say Coyote Ugly, she’s broke and desperate. For most, this will be a seriously entertaining night out at the movies, though even open minded rock fans will cringe when they hear what Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand do to “I Love Rock and Roll.”ĭescribing the plot requires listing cliches: Sherrie (“cuz you shoulda been gooone!”), played by Julianne Hough, moves to Los Angeles in hopes of pursuing a singing career. When you have a character named “Sherrie,” rest assured a Steve Perry song is right around the corner. Like many high concept pop-rock musicals, it has a plot that’s thinner than a concert ticket stub and strung together from rock songs. Same for Glee which, if you take away the High School Musical plotting and worthy social messages, isn’t much different from Kids Incorporated.įor some reason, though, I dug Rock of Ages, the movie adaptation of the smash Broadway musical. I never watch American Idol because I can’t stand to hear some squeaky voiced kid who doesn’t have a learner’s permit but feels confident enough to butcher a song 50 years older than them. Here’s another coal to the fire: when youngsters give their karaoke best to classic tunes that defined a generation. “White” album Beatles, the merit of 80s keyboard pop or what truly defines Punk music. Nothing gets musicians more worked up than debating Bob Dylan acoustic or electric, old Beatles vs.
Music purists are a tough crowd to please.