Review of Rock of Ages (2012) by Isa A — 11 Sep 2017

I always have a dilemma with musicals when I enjoy the music, because I start to overlook some of the flaws in the story-telling. Rock of Ages is a musical where I was indeed enjoying some of the music, even though it is loaded with lackluster covers of good songs.

They cast famous actors, but also made sure to cast ones who could sing (Tom Cruise stood out as the most impressive.) Then they used a couple of young stars who started out as singers which didn?t hurt.

It?s the kind of film where you know the songs so you just want to sing along. The downfall of Rock of Ages is the plot (or lack thereof.) It is the most scattershot mess of a story, that I just found myself disinterested.

It?s never a good sign when you?re thinking ?Which song is coming next?? instead of ?What will happen next?? There were at least 3 different storylines running through this film, and because they were all crammed into a 2 hour movie with a bunch of songs none of the stories were handled all that well.

The romance between Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta was probably the weakest story and I think they were supposed to be the main characters. Frankly, I was more invested in the relationship between Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand.

But, I liked the songs, and there were moments that I had fun despite the issues. It?s strange because Rock of Ages is the kind of movie where I?d be fine never seeing it again, but also the kind of movie I might watch again just as a guilty pleasure.

It would be hard for me to recommend it to anyone else, though.