Rock of Ages
Rock of Ages tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock 'n' roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake, and more.
2.3 out of 5 based on 15 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Certificate |
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| Genre |
Drama, Musical, Romance |
| Director |
Adam Shankman |
| Cast |
Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones Julianne Hough |
| Studio |
Warner Bros UK |
| Release Date |
June 2012 |
| Running Time |
123 mins |
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Rock of Ages tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock 'n' roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake, and more.
Reviews
Time Out
Guy Lodge
“It’s ‘Glee’-filtered nostalgia, to be sure, and rocks about as hard as the Royal Variety Show, but as with Shankman’s knowingly naff ‘Hairspray’, the sheer performance gusto on display proves thoroughly winning. ”
13/06/2012
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The Times
Kevin Maher
“Cruise, typically, handles the early star-worship scenarios with aplomb. As fans rush Jaxx, and girls faint in his presence, he seems to enjoy the meta-frisson of being the icon playing the icon, but with an ironic rock twist. However, as the movie progresses, and as his relationship with Rolling Stone reporter Constance Sack (Malin Akerman) develops, he produces a genuinely gripping off-kilter turn. One minute he’s raging, “You have no idea what it takes to be me!” The next he’s in a duet love-strip with Akerman, singing Foreigner’s I Want to Know What Love Is, while staring at her body, sadly, like an alien who’s never seen a woman before (no jokes please!).”
15/06/2012
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The Sunday Times
Edward Porter
“It’s all gamely performed, with Tom Cruise giving the producers value for money as an absurd rock god. Did they bother to tell him it’s a comic role? Even if he had played it straight, you’d expect pretty much what you get here. ”
17/06/2012
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Total Film
Jane Crowther
“Disposable, overly long fun best enjoyed with BFFs and a bevvie. ”
13/06/2012
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Empire Magazine
Olly Richards
“Essentially, any story here is just filling time until they can have someone say “We built this city on rock and roll”, “I wanna rock” or “I want to know what love is” and then sing the rest of the song as we all shuffle along in recognition. It’s utterly ridiculous, a tequila shot of a movie: cheap and thin but able to addle your senses until you’re in no position to judge anything. In a way that’s either very smart or very lazy, the plot follows the same shallow arc as your typical rock anthem ... Inevitably, strippers, motorbikes, whisky and The Man all figure before the big finish. Bon Jovi spent years writing plots like this and resolving them in four minutes. ”
12/06/2012
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Screen
Tim Grierson
“Obviously, the idea is to affectionately poke fun at a bygone period, but Shankman’s thimble-deep style – with its energetic choreography and fizzy tone – tends to reduce everything to the same level of irreverent glibness. While not aspiring to high drama, Rock Of Ages does have a love story at its centre, but it’s hard to be too invested in the outcome – or in the characters’ earnest career ambitions – when the period details and bombastic songs get the higher priority.”
11/06/2012
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The Daily Telegraph
Robbie Collin
“History tells us that watching an unlikely ensemble cast brought low by ox-like vocals and poor choreography can make for a diverting trip to the cinema, and Rock of Ages would very much like to be seen as a hairier version of Mamma Mia. But while that film simply let Pierce Brosnan sing and allowed the audience to draw their own conclusions, Shankman cravenly hedges his bets, and his tone wavers wildly between ironic and reverential”
13/06/2012
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The Independent on Sunday
Nicholas Barber
“Essentially all Rock of Ages has to recommend it is Cruise's out-there cameo as a frazzled rock god who's always three-quarters of the way through a bottle of Scotch. Anyone who sees the film would be advised to be in the same condition.”
17/06/2012
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The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
“If you’re in the mood for cheerful rubbish and suffer from a mysterious need to be deafened, you could do a lot worse. It reminds me most of cult hit Coyote Ugly, another film that seriously proposes pole-dancing and casual sex with unappetising men as means of feminist empowerment.”
15/06/2012
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The Evening Standard
Derek Malcolm
“This is a film that does precisely what is expected of it. No rock cliché is omitted and Rock of Ages blasts you out of your seat with some of them, including a score that sums up the era all too well. It will satisfy fans of the still-running show and irritate the rest.”
15/06/2012
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“It all ends in tears: audience tears of helpless mirth and near-disbelief. When something is this off-the-meter, you at least admire the chutzpah.”
14/06/2012
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The Scotsman
Alistair Harkness
“Dodgy sexual politics aside, the film mostly remains hampered by its karaoke-like need to have cast members belting out popular songs at regular intervals regardless of their narrative suitability. This curious development in the history of the musical has removed the need for skilled performers, composers and choreographers, reducing the form to something a semi-trained monkey could do. It’s no real surprise, then, when an actual baboon turns up in Rock of Ages as part of Stacee’s entourage. Indeed, it feels like a fairly desperate attempt to wring some meager laughs out of the film that aren’t forthcoming from the flatlining song-and-dance numbers.”
14/06/2012
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“The irony may not be intentional. It really does go on for ages.”
14/06/2012
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“It's all so terribly tame. Lemmy of Motörhead once said, "Rock'n'roll is about not being able to stand, but still being able to play". He would loathe Rock of Ages, and with good reason.”
15/06/2012
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The Observer
Philip French
“The dialogue features such gems as a noisome gay rock venue manager (Russell Brand) describing his opponent, the mayor's moral-crusading wife, as looking as if she's been "hibernating in Margaret Thatcher's bumhole". Never has Los Angeles looked less enticing.”
17/06/2012
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