Rock Of Ages

1987 was a memorable year for me for many reasons. The biggest reason was it was my first year of High School. It is hard to forget your High Schools days and the music that surrounded it. I remember the first Guns N’ Roses album and all of the other hair bands of the late eighties and early nineties that thankfully seem to never die. With all the musicals out there it was only a matter of time before someone made a musical of that era and that music. With its beginnings on Broadway and its success, it just made sense to bring “Rock of Ages” to the big screen.

         Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) is just a small town girl, living in a lonely world; until she decides to take the midnight bus to Hollywood. She has visions of becoming a singer, and is immediately taken in by the bright lights and the big city. Sherrie finds a job at “The Bourbon Room” where she meets Drew (Diego Boneta), who is a busboy there. Drew is a city boy, who was raised in Los Angeles and is just waiting for his band to get its big break. When Sherrie and Drew meet, it is love at first sight, but can their relationship survive as they chase their dreams? Drew and Sherrie’s boss is Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin), who always seems to be flanked by Lonny (Russell Brand), no matter where he is. Dennis is in dire need of money, or risks losing his famous club, because there are people who want to clean up the area and consider “The Bourbon Room” the cause of it all. Those people are the Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston) and his ultra conservative wife Patricia (Catherine Zeta- Jones), who might have other reasons why she dislikes Rock and Roll so much. Dennis gets Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) to play “The Bourbon Room” as a final performance with his band Arsenal, in an effort to save the club from its end. Can “The Bourbon Room” be saved? And will Drew and Sherrie’s romance survive their dreams? These and other answers will all unfold to the sounds of classic rock.

                 I want to say “Rock if Ages” is a good movie that everyone would enjoy, unfortunately I cannot. The music is fun and I found myself singing along more than a few times to music I love to this day. I just know that this movie isn’t for everyone, but to people who grew up with this music, you will have nothing but a good time, remembering the music of your youth. All of the actors sing the songs, including Tom Cruise who plays a perfect rock god who has lost touch with what made his music special. I really feel like this movie will have a lot of thirty plus in the audience, who will be tapping their feet and singing along, and not many people in their twenties and below. Every generation has their music and to the generation below they don’t understand it, and to the next generation it is just old. My generation will enjoy this movie, because of the music and nothing more. So go see this movie and relive a time when hairspray was as important as the music you played, because I know you will have a good time.

 Brian Taylor