I'm not really a fan of musicals. There are a few I've enjoyed enough to see fit as additions to my collection (e.g. ACROSS THE UNIVERSE) and I've enjoyed some of the old Rogers and Hammerstein films. As a general rule, I don't seem to find much enjoyment in movie musicals for a few reasons, most of which I'll spare you here. But there is one glaringly painful problem I have with movie musicals and ROCK THE AGES happens to suffer from it more than any other musical I've seen: the lip syncing. I hate poorly done lip-syncing and this movie is chock full of it. Right from the start, it's enough to rip me out of the movie. ROCK OF AGES is a musical that I expected to love. The cast was impressive, the music selection was amazing, and I maintain the '80s as one of my guilty pleasures. I was born in the early '80s and so the decade has a pretty special place in my mind. I was really hoping this movie would be a super fun look back at a decade of excess, bizarre fashion, and great music. When the reviews began to roll in and the word was primarily negative, I knew this wouldn't be one to catch in theaters. Instead, I waited until the eventual home video release and I'm glad I did. Based on the stage show of the same name, the movie is about a small- town girl who moves to Los Angeles in search of her big break. She finds a job waitressing at the Bourbon, an L.A. music hot spot, and finds love with an aspiring musician as the '80s and it's music come to an end.
The casting in this movie is hit and miss, with a whole lot of misses. Let's start with our leads: Diego Boneta (as Drew Boley) and Julianne Hough (as Sherrie Christian) as our small- town girl and city boy. I have no problem with movies casting unknowns, but these two did absolutely nothing for me. Hough is apparently best known for her time on TV's "Dancing with the Stars" and Boneta is a musician/actor popular in Mexico. Hough does well enough but brings absolutely nothing extra to her role (aside from a fine singing voice and some pole-dancing talent), which is a shame seeing as how she's the female lead. Boneta is just horribly miscast. Drew is supposed to be an aspiring rock star. He's supposed to embody '80s rock-and-roll and the passion of the music. Instead, he's a pretty boy that looks completely out of place. Watching him try and put on a rocker's attitude and strut around on stage, slinging a guitar, is laughable. He seems more at home in the '90s boy band parody Z Guyeezz in the later half of the movie than at any point when he's trying to be Wolfgang von Colt. The best hope is the supporting cast and, for the most part, they do a great job of saving what of the movie they can. With one exception: Alec Baldwin. Baldwin can be funny, and he has some good material here. But he just doesn't fit. He comes off as an old man trying to run with the cool young crowd, and the little singing he does is cringe-worthy.
The rest fare pretty well: Catherina Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Malin Åkerman, Russell Brand (who looks completely at home in the movie), and Mary J. Blige (one of the most talented vocal talents in the movie, for obvious reasons). The best part of the movie by far is Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx. I never would've guessed Cruise had it in him to play a rock legend, but the man is awesome. Jaxx is the best part of the movie and, if the whole movie had been focused on his character, it would've been a million times more entertaining. Cruise may be a weird dude in his personal life but the guy's got talent. Cruise is given the chance to perform songs by Bon Jovi, Guns N Roses, the Scorpions, and Def Leppard and he pulls them all off perfectly with rock star flair. Which leads me to the best part of the movie: the music. With bonus points for some creative choreography, the music is the only reason to check this movie out. Any fans of the '80s rock era will love the soundtrack to the film. I would've given the movie a lower rating but I can't help but enjoy the movie, especially when I'm not really paying attention to it. The best way to watch this movie is to let it play in the background and just enjoy the tunes.
The casting in this movie is hit and miss, with a whole lot of misses. Let's start with our leads: Diego Boneta (as Drew Boley) and Julianne Hough (as Sherrie Christian) as our small- town girl and city boy. I have no problem with movies casting unknowns, but these two did absolutely nothing for me. Hough is apparently best known for her time on TV's "Dancing with the Stars" and Boneta is a musician/actor popular in Mexico. Hough does well enough but brings absolutely nothing extra to her role (aside from a fine singing voice and some pole-dancing talent), which is a shame seeing as how she's the female lead. Boneta is just horribly miscast. Drew is supposed to be an aspiring rock star. He's supposed to embody '80s rock-and-roll and the passion of the music. Instead, he's a pretty boy that looks completely out of place. Watching him try and put on a rocker's attitude and strut around on stage, slinging a guitar, is laughable. He seems more at home in the '90s boy band parody Z Guyeezz in the later half of the movie than at any point when he's trying to be Wolfgang von Colt. The best hope is the supporting cast and, for the most part, they do a great job of saving what of the movie they can. With one exception: Alec Baldwin. Baldwin can be funny, and he has some good material here. But he just doesn't fit. He comes off as an old man trying to run with the cool young crowd, and the little singing he does is cringe-worthy.
The rest fare pretty well: Catherina Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Malin Åkerman, Russell Brand (who looks completely at home in the movie), and Mary J. Blige (one of the most talented vocal talents in the movie, for obvious reasons). The best part of the movie by far is Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx. I never would've guessed Cruise had it in him to play a rock legend, but the man is awesome. Jaxx is the best part of the movie and, if the whole movie had been focused on his character, it would've been a million times more entertaining. Cruise may be a weird dude in his personal life but the guy's got talent. Cruise is given the chance to perform songs by Bon Jovi, Guns N Roses, the Scorpions, and Def Leppard and he pulls them all off perfectly with rock star flair. Which leads me to the best part of the movie: the music. With bonus points for some creative choreography, the music is the only reason to check this movie out. Any fans of the '80s rock era will love the soundtrack to the film. I would've given the movie a lower rating but I can't help but enjoy the movie, especially when I'm not really paying attention to it. The best way to watch this movie is to let it play in the background and just enjoy the tunes.