Heather Hardison, PhD.
Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx
Rock of Ages is definitely my summer guilty pleasure!! Most of my childhood and adolescent memories are tied to rock songs from the classic hair bands Warrant, Skid Row, Poison, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses and my favorite Def Leppard! I have been dying to see the Broadway version of Rock of Ages starring Constantine Maroulis ever since he opened the show on Broadway. I was very disappointed when it was announced that he wouldn’t star in the film version of Rock of Ages as the young hopeful rocker, Drew, but Shankman felt he was too old at 36 to play someone in their early 20’s. Maroulis was nominated for a Tony in 2009 for Best Performance for a Leading Actor in a Musical for originating the role of Drew and has garnered much praise for his killer rock voice. He even found love with his on stage love interest, Angel Reed, who played Sherri in the Broadway version of ROA. For Constantine lovers, you will be happy to spot the original rocker in a 10 second cameo as a record executive. It’s short so you have to pay close attention.
Diego Boneta as Drew in the Film Version of ROA
Julianne Hough as Sherri
I had never heard of Diego Boneta before this film, but he delivered a solid performance and rocked the stage when covering Twisted Sister’s “I wanna rock” after channeling his inner angst due to a broken heart; so his cool points shot way up after that killer performance. Julianne Hough gives another strong musical performance and comes across as the naïve but sassy small town girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma wanting to make it big in Hollywood. As Sherri, she is fun, energetic and tough, and Boneta and Hough have great chemistry together.
Tom Cruise seemed to be an odd choice to me from the beginning. I wasn’t sure if he could sing, but he sounded pretty good even if it was auto-tuned much of the time. He was able to transform himself into the role of a narcissistic, strung out rock god. It was uncomfortable to watch his scenes at times because this role is not typical for Cruise as he usually chooses characters that aren’t as overtly sexual.
He was over the top in this film right down to the tattooed revolvers pointing at his crotch and assless chaps in his first on screen appearance, which was a lot to take in so early into the film. Cruise fully committed to this role and stayed in character the whole time. It was interesting to watch Stacee’s transformation from being in denial about the extent of his flailing career and disconnection with his true self into a clearer, more focused and fulfilled musician, which became possible through the love he found with reporter Constance Sack.
Stacee Jaxx reminded me a lot of Frank T. J. Mackey, Cruise’s role in Magnolia in 1999 (shown here). Cruise won the much deserved Golden Globe that year and was also nominated for the Academy Award for his intense and riveting performance of the male chauvinist motivational speaker. Both were narcissists being interviewed by a bold reporter trying to ruffle a few feathers to expose the true person underneath the arrogant façade put on as a front to the rest of the world. Cruise was more believable in Magnolia than in ROA. He seems to be overacting in his later roles compared to his earlier work. His performances were so effortless in Top Gun, A Few Good Men and the first Mission Impossible, but as he ages his performances are more forced, which makes it more uncomfortable to watch. Some reviewers are stating that this role was his best, but there have been so many other films where his charm and magnetism was more electric.
We learn very quickly that Jaxx is a narcissistic, sexually addicted, alcoholic on the search for the perfect woman to love and the perfect song that will make his whole world fall in line. He is challenged in an interview by Constance Sack who wants to dig deeper to get Stacee’s attention to wake him up from the alcoholic haze that his manager keeps him in so that he can continue to control his every move.
Underneath narcissism there is a deep rooted insecurity that is hidden so that others can’t see that vulnerability. They often feel too vulnerable and exposed once others know it’s all an act. They are invested in keeping up appearances at all costs; so it’s a life long act, and they often lose themselves along the way. Once pushed too many times by Sack in the interview, Jaxx reveals to Constance that he has become a slave to rock n roll in order to give the people what they want and to sell records. He covers up that pain and disappointment with booze,and it isn’t until Constance comes along that he dares to reveal any of his true feelings about his rock star status and what his true desires are. Stacee’s narcissistic characteristics are present most of the film until he miraculously transforms at the end of the film once he finds true love. Narcissism isn’t cured so easily in real life, as it is a personality disorder that is usually present for life. However, this is a fictitious story about a rock star; so we shouldn’t expect them to understand the pattern of such pervasive psychological disorders.
It seemed throughout the film that Cruise was often poking fun at his own level of fame. Women throw themselves at Stacee’s feet and faint in his presence. No doubt that Cruise has experienced some similar encounters given his own star power and he probably finds it pretty absurd.
For the most part, the critics seem to be beating up on Rock of Ages. This film was never meant to be a masterpiece or an Academy award winning film. It’s meant to be “nothing but a good time.” It’s supposed to be cheesy folks! Just sit back and enjoy the music and sing along to those rock anthems that you know you had in your tape deck back when MTV debuted in the early 80’s. I say give in to your inner rocker and rock out to this fun, entertaining flick.
Talk about a great supportive cast! Russell Brand and Alec Baldwin have wildly funny chemistry as two “has beens” still stuck in the bar scene after many years of partying a little too hard.
Russell Brand stole every one of the scenes he was in. He proves once again that he has perfect comedic timing. I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like to have cast Russell Brand as Stacee Jaxx. He seems much more capable to truly tap into that rocker mentality as he did as the vulgar rocker in Get Him to the Greek. He is no stranger to alcoholic benders and the rocky (pun intended) road to addiction. His experience in that regard could certainly come in handy for a role such as Jaxx. It would be interesting to learn who else Shankman considered for Stacee’s role as well as Drew’s character.
Paul Giamatti is great as the douche bag, money hungry manager for Jaxx. His massive brick cell phone always got big laughs from the audience. I’ve never seen a movie where Paul didn’t deliver. I am usually a huge fan of Catherine Zeta-Jones, especially her undeniably impressive performance in Chicago as Velma Kelly. However, in this flick she didn’t have that same charisma playing the mayor’s wife, Patricia Whitmore, hellbent on shutting down the Bourbon Room and stamping out Jaxx’s hedonistic ways.
I don’t want to give away the funniest spoiler of the movie. Let’s just say that the “Can’t fight this feeling” number was the best scene hands down. The audience was in an uproar over this. I can’t get it out of my head. Genius!
The storyline for this film was weak throughout, but there are some features that kept it funny enough to be entertaining in addition to the 80’s tunes that drew us to this film in the first place. Most of the entertaining moments include Cruise’s entire wardrobe or lack there of. I don’t know how they convinced him to wear assless chaps but somehow it happened. Cruise is covered in tattoos, black nail polish, eye liner and various metal crotch adornments, all of which are very disturbing compared to his usual clean cut all American look. Stacee’s sidekick monkey, Hey Man, provided many laughs throughout and added to Stacee’s eccentricity as an oddball rocker similar to Steven Tyler or Michael Jackson. Stacee’s meaningless rants are as hysterical as they are bizarre. Things got really weird during an exchange between Cruise and Baldwin when Jaxx was explaining that they would need to burn down the Bourbon Room after his performance; so they could set the fire bird free. Bizarre!! And Alec Baldwin crowd surfing was a nice touch along with his thick 80’s wig proving once again that Baldwin knows how to pull off comedy as he does so effortlessly every week on 30 Rock.
Much of the set and props are there to make us nostalgic for those 80’s fads and stylish trends that hopefully won’t ever make their way back to mainstream fashion. Let’s face it we don’t need any more legwarmers, sky high bangs, or massive wire/sequin hairbows. The scene from Tower Records took us on a walk down memory lane as we all spent most of our adolescence searching for new albums in a record store that resembled Tower Records. Seeing all the old album covers from the popular bands of the 80’s was a very nice touch as well as the references to the boy bands that popped up in the late 80’s. Was Drew’s pop group a jab at New Kids on the Block? I think so! With members named Joey and Donnie that seemed to be a direct comparison but those outfits were hideous! The 80’s hair seemed to be a character itself – the bigger and stiffer the hair the better right? There is no telling how much hair spray was used on this movie set.
If you are a fan of 80’s music you will be tapping your feet and pounding your fist in the air. It’s hard not to sing along to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive,” Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock,” and Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” This soundtrack will be killer! Speaking of rockers, there are tons of cameos in this film. During the street scene for “We Built This City” you can spot Debbie Gibson, Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach and Kevin Cronin from REO Speedwagon.
Even though the title Rock of Ages comes from a Def leppard song, the band never gave the Broadway show permission to use their song in the play. However, for the movie they signed over the rights, and “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is given plenty of attention as Jaxx belts out the song at the Bourbon. I’m sure the movie is quite different from the Broadway version. I need to see the musical to be able to make a direct comparison, but from the reviews I’ve heard of the show it certainly sounds like the Broadway version delivers on a whole other level.
So if Hollywood can make a film version of Rock of Ages, how long do we have to wait for Wicked – The Movie?
3.5 stars – A whole lotta fun, Energetic, and a Rockin goodtime!
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