Rock of Ages
F I L M R E V I E W F R I D A Y
I don’t even know where to begin or how to describe this film. As I left the theater I felt completely unsure of my recommendation. I’ve come up with some questions. I believe the answers will be a good indication if you’ll enjoy this little 80’s romp or not. Here goes…
1. Did you enjoy Flashdance when it was released in the 80’s?
2. How do you feel about Fame, Footloose, and Mama Mia?
3. Was there ever a time when you thought Tom Cruise was cute and believed his cuteness might be magnified with some black eye liner, long hair and Rock ‘n Roll attire?
4. Do you like 80’s “rock” songs? (Bon Jovi, Poison, Journey, Pat Benetar, Joan Jett, Def Leppard, etc.)
5. Do you think Alec Baldwin is funny no matter what he’s in, even if he’s wearing a bad wig and has most of his scenes opposite Russell Brand?
6. Do you embrace cheesy movies?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, then I think you’ll have fun with Rock of Ages. It definitely won’t be for everyone, seriously. It hits a very strange note. It tries to be funny and it never really gets there. It tries to tell a little love story and that sort of falls flat, too. I could easily see why someone would think it’s a dud. It misses it’s mark completely.
HOWEVER, if you’re able to compartmentalize like moi, you will delight in the fact that Tom Cruise is super, crazy, sexy in this. No, seriously, he is. He and I are exactly the same age and let me tell you, he puts all 50 year olds to shame. He’s burning up the screen in this. He was totally riveting. Go see it and tell me I’m wrong. (He sings!) There are enough attractive women in this to satisfy the male audience — they’re scantily clad, gyrating and apparently, all professional dancers. (Julianne Hough, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Malin Ackerman) Catherine Zeta-Jones is always good in my opinion. So if you combine the dancing, music and Tom Cruise element you’ll be entertained. It moves fast and goes from one song/ dance sequence to another in rapid succession.
*** In defense of Tom Cruise. I know a lot of you dislike him but here are some reasons why you shouldn’t… Jerry Maguire, Valkyrie, The Last Samurai, A Few Good Men, Far and Away, Born on the Fourth of July, Rain Man, The Color of Money, Risky Business, The Outsiders, Taps. All very good movies in my opinion. And if you’re reading this Mr. Cruise, you’re welcome. ***
I don’t want to be responsible for anyone hating or walking out of this one. Hopefully this review will either make you want to see it or you’ll know to steer clear. It’s definitely not for children as it’s pretty raunchy.
I give this a grade S, for Stacee Jaxx. 
Thanks for the review! I am excited to see Tom Cruise on the big screen again. I love the movie Jerry Maguire, and I think he is a great actor (just a little silly with his personal beliefs sometimes). I do love the 80s! 🙂
I was hesitant to tell people to go out and see it ’cause it’s so different but if you’re an 80’s girl then you’ll like it. I agree about Tom Cruise. People give him a hard time but he’s actually a good actor, and yeah, maybe he has some weird beliefs but who cares. I think he’s a decent, good guy.
Lol Stacee Jaxx. I can’t even. It’s just all so ugughh. But I do love musicals. And 80’s music. Right when I saw the preview I said, “I hate myself for wanting to see this.” Glad you guys stayed for the whole thing! That’s pretty rare!
I was SOOO tempted to walk out in the first 15 minutes. I was like, UGH! This is gonna be really bad. Then I relaxed a little and it was just really cheesy. You’ll like it.
Hi,
This is a movie I would like to watch I’m sure, I’m not a great fan of Tom Cruise but I love all the 80’s music so I would say Yes I would enjoy this. 🙂
Please let me know what you think if you go. At the very least it’s got fun 80’s music and great dance sequences.
Tom does nothing for me and I find Baldwin to be annoying. I liked Flashdance but not the others, although i do like cheesy movies. 80’s music is a smorgasbord of good and bad. I am thinking I will like some of the movie, but not all. Pretty wishy washy eh?
That’s exactly how I felt. I’d say it’s 70% cheese ball and 30% fun. It depends on your mood. Alec Baldwin isn’t especially funny in this, that’s for sure. In fact, I think I laughed one time during the whole movie and believe me, they were trying to make it funny with a lot of 80’s references. Tom Cruise is amazing in this. I didn’t think he had it in him, but he carries this movie single handedly.
I saw this show on Broadway, so when I heard they were making a movie out of it I was excited. I loved Flashdance and ’80’s music, so pretty excited to see this one. Thanks for the review!
I hope you like it. I enjoyed the music, dance and Tom Cruise’s performance. I didn’t think he could sing, in fact I was sure he couldn’t after seeing that one scene from “Top Gun” in the bar… But he’s really great in this. If you saw the Broadway show you’re bound to like it.
What an interesting review! Kind a pyschological test/movie review! Ha! Now for Tom Cruise. I can believe that he was great in this movie. Because I really thought he was good and deserved an academy award for War of the Worlds. He made that movie for me! And he was cute in it too. Tom Cruise is an enigma. Sometimes he kind of makes me sick to my stomach and other times he’s really really good. But then it’s hard to forget about him jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch. I think I need to look at the questions again . . .OK, I may have to go see this movie . . .:D
Poor Tommy, he can be hit or miss. There’s something about him deep down that’s likable. I know he’s dyslexic. I think a lot of his interviews come off badly because of the way he mis-communicates. I don’t want to give him too much credit because sometimes he makes questionable choices but I think people like to give him a hard time because they don’t really ‘get him.’ HE is an enigma, you’re right. I don’t think I saw War of the Worlds…? I’ll check it out.
My husband was saying that compared to the other actors his age, he looks like he’s never aged. Maybe having all that money has kept him stress free and youthful? Haha!
This is one movie that I don’t want to be responsible for people seeing because I still can’t decide if I liked it! Haha!
I’d love to see it 🙂
I’m nervous about recommending it because it’s really different and like I said, I’m not even sure I liked it except for the music and dance, etc. If you end up seeing it, let me know what you think.
Hope you’re having a wonderful day : )
Not going to see it. I’m not sure how it got rated, but I’ve heard enough about it to know I don’t want to see it. Of course I rarely see any movies I wouldn’t take my grand kids to lol.
Yeah, you would really hate this movie. I do my research before I go to any movie. I’m looking forward to “Brave.”
I like your questions, but ‘How do you feel about Fame, Footloose, and Mama Mia?’ is my favourite.
Though I’m quite an eighties fan (The Cure! Cocteau Twins! Siouxsie and the Banshees!), I’m not sure if I’ll go see this movie. Not because of Tom Cruise though. I think that in real life, he might be slightly hard to deal with, but he was great in Valkyrie.
I think Tom Cruise is a nice guy. I don’t know why? He doesn’t seem the difficult type to me. Yeah, these 80’s groups are not my favorite, my taste is similar to yours, actually.
I LOVED Valkyrie.
I think this is one of those movies a person can tell immediately whether or not they will ever see. Def Leppard is one band I cannot stand and since the namesake comes from one of their songs I don’t think I could ever see this.
This could be one of those movies 80s obsessed girls 15-30 drag their boyfriends to. The boyfriends will go because they think they enjoy rock n roll. The boyfriends will not complain because they’re that kind of a guy. The kind of guy who is easily tricked into seeing a movie against his instinct.
Believe me when I say I thought of you during all of the Malin Akerman scenes. In my head I was thinking, Oh, Mooselicker will blow a fuse. Seriously.
I think it was okay. If it wasn’t for Tom Cruise, I might have left early. It’s like a grown up Glee – mind you I’ve never watched one episode of Glee, so there you go. I went against my instinct.
I don’t think you’ll like it other than MA scenes.
When I saw you mention her name I cheered up a little inside. We’re like those two people everyone knows should date, but the one is just holding off on the commitment. I can wait.
I find it interesting that Wilfred Brimley played a codger in ‘Cocoon’ and Tom Cruise is playing a hot rocker in this film when both of them were 50. How times change. Can’t see Wilfred rocking out, can you?
That’s rich!!!! Yeah, if you even think about his cast mates from Top Gun, like Val Kilmer and that other guy, both who look MUCH older, you’ll see that Tom Cruise still looks like a kid in comparison. Wilfred Brimley! haha!
I must confess, I read the bit about Wilfred being the same age when he made Cocoon!
This looks like a great “entertaining” movie and I think every now and then we need movies like this..T Cruise may be this or that, but he is a smoking guy!
Great review!!!!
Yeah, he gets a bum rap with his Scientology weirdness and couch jumping episodes, etc. but something tells me he’s a good guy. I didn’t expect him to wow me in this as much as he did. He pretty much carries the whole movie. Without him it’s just a 80’s rock sing-a-long.
Lisa – Michael and I took the girls last night. I have seen the musical three times and LOVE it!!! I knew I wouldn’t like the movie as much. There are so many nuances in the play that can’t be replicated in the movie. I am also not a huge fan of Julianne Hough’s voice. It’s too nasal for me. I was a little worried about Tom Cruise, but I thought he was amazing!! I also thought Alec Baldwin (who I love) looked so uncomfortable and weird. We also wanted to walk out within the first 15 minutes, but we stayed. I just love this music, so it was worth putting up with everything else.
Hey Tarali! I enjoyed the music, dance and Tom cruise. I really thought he was the best part of the whole thing. I thought it was very cheesy but I can see why it would work as a musical. I agree that Alec Baldwin was strangely uncomfortable. Julianne Hough is not my favorite either.
Glad you commented! : )
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