Wild and out of control, ROCK OF AGES is an all-out rousing medley of some of the 80's greatest classic rock songs, performed with heart and charisma by a fantastic and incredibly talented cast.
Loud, goofy, outrageous, garish, funny and nitro-fueled, this effort, directed by choreographer Adam Shankman ("Glee" and "Modern Family" TV series) in his feature film debut, and based on the Broadway musical hits all the right notes in its appeal to young and old alike.
Written by Chris D'Arienzo and Allan Loeb, the story is as old as the hills: naive young girl from the Midwest goes to the Big City (in this case, Los Angeles) to seek fame, fortune and, of course, the man of her dreams. Sure, there are up and downs along the way, but the stars usually align and things turn out in the end with stories like this.
It's just that in "Rock Of Ages," this plot is back with tunes from '80s staple artists such as Journey, Poison, Def Leppard, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Joan Jett, Warrant, Starship, Twisted Sister, Night Ranger, Bon Jovi, The Scorpions and Quarterflash, among others and sung (to a better or lesser degree) by the cast.
While the vocals by Baldwin, Jones and Brand do not always hit the right pitch, I was pleasantly surprised with the two leads, but most of all with Cruise, who stumbles about as if in an eternal stupor off stage, but on it becomes the rock god he is worshiped as. His performance is a real revelation and Oscar-worthy! There is also great chemistry between the leads so, finally, there is a love story you can actually believe in. The laughs mainly come from Baldwin and Brand.
So, with love, lust, comedy, a little pathos and a lot of speaker-pounding, heads-shaking hard and classic rock, this film is certainly worth the time spent watching it.


San Diego News Tribune
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