Rock of Ages

It has been a really long time since we have got the opportunity to watch a musical in the purest sense of the word. And whats more, I cannot reemeber the last time I saw a musical which was based solely on Rock!!! School of Rock technically was a Rock movie but not really a musical all the way. Rock of Ages addresses that gap – and does it quite well I must say.

Drew Boley (Diego Boneta) is an aspiring musician who has found his way to the most sought after night spot on the famous or should we say infamous “strip” @ Los Angeles. Its called The Bourbon. A place that has been the launch pad for many an artist of the past few years. Chief amongst them being the lead singer of a band called “Arsenal” – Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise). A rock star par excellence. A star whose fame precedes him like nothing else. A fame that makes women throw themselves at him and give up every single piece of their honour and self respect like no one else can. But even Jaxx has his nuances and is going through a really rough patch.

Coming into the scene early on is Sherrie Christian who comes to LA to make a name for herself in the music world and of course the Bourbon is the place she would ideally like to start off with. However, the small town girl gets robbed of all her records on the strip. And guess what – as luck would have it – right in front of the Bourbon. And right when Drew is on the other side of the road. Drew finds her a job @ the Bourbon despite the resistance from Bourbon’s owner – Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin).

On the other side, there is the recently elected mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston) whose campaign mantra has been cleaning the city of everything that can be harmful to their kids. And chief among the clean up targets is the strip. He is not only supported but also leading the charge is his wife Patricia (Catherine Zeta Jones) who seems to be obsessed with shutting The Bourbon down.

One of the better musicals in recent times and definitely one worth watching, Rock of Ages show cases some really good talent in mixing new age lyrics with some totally classic rock. Don’t look much at direction or acting talent per se. Although there is sufficient amounts of the latter. Nothing much that Adam Shankman could have got to the table per se. But he is definitely saved with some solid performances from the entire cast. I particularly liked Baldwin and Russel Brand. I give it 6.5 on 10. Watch it.

Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi956080153/