This week the heat team grabbed their popcorn and Minstrels and headed to the pictures to watch the three biggest releases in Moviesville this week - Rock Of Ages; starring Tom Cruise and Russell Brand, Cosmopolis; starring Robert Pattinson and Fast Girls; starring Lenora Crichlow.
Here's what we thought:
Rock Of Ages
Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand
Director: Adam Shankman (CERT 12A, 123 minutes)
The plot: Movie adaptations of stage musicals have been hit (Chicago) and miss (Rent), but the biggest ever (Mamma Mia!) is a so-called “jukebox” musical, where a storyline is concocted to link already-popular songs. Which augurs well for Rock Of Ages, containing hits from ’80s hair-metal acts such as Journey, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi. Smalltown girl Sherrie (Hough) arrives in LA with big dreams and lands a waitress gig at rock club The Bourbon Bar, thanks to the friendship of fellow aspiring singer Drew (Boneta). Meanwhile, Bourbon owner Dennis (Baldwin) and duty manager Lonnie (Brand) are anticipating a big payday with a show by bonkers rocker Stacee Jaxx (Cruise).
What’s right with it? Hairspray director Adam Shankman has never worried too much about cool cachet – he just wants everyone to have a good time. This defiantly cheesy adaptation of the hit stage musical piles on the clichés and shoehorns in the hits as it hurtles to its giddy, feel-good climax. Cruise goes for broke as shirt-allergic Stacee; Baldwin and Brand bring the house down when they just Can’t Fight This Feeling; and the central duo of Hough and Boneta are rootably sweet.
What’s wrong with it? The numerous subplots – such as Catherine Zeta-Jones as a politician’s wife trying to shut down the Bourbon, and Rolling Stone hack Malin Akerman losing her bearings when she falls for Jaxx – may work fine onstage, but on film they lack a certain focus.
Verdict: As an alternative to this summer’s aliens and superheroes, Rock Of Ages is a big, silly, grin-inducing treat. 4/5 @charlesgant
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