ROCK OF AGES

Director Adam Shankman proved himself a real talent with his spectacular musical adaptation of ‘Hairspray’ (2007), one of the best film musicals of the last decade. His talents are still intact with ‘Rock of Ages’, with an inherent understanding of how to make musical storytelling and cinema work hand-in-hand. However, there is one major difference - while ‘Hairspray’ was a cleverly constructed musical, ‘Rock of Ages’ is very much not. A recent example of the ‘jukebox musical’, it is a paltry and predictable narrative constructed around a playlist of classic 80’s rock songs, and it just doesn’t hold water. Shankman and the screenwriters (including Justin Theroux) try their best to hold it together, and hiring such a talented cast helps immensely, but there’s just no way to get around the fact that, in the end, ‘Rock of Ages’ just isn’t a very good musical.

The most surprising thing is, though, that everyone involved seems to be very aware of this, and never takes it too seriously. There’s a wonderful, playful irreverence to the whole film, and Shankman’s terrific comic timing and sense of humour comes out at the best of times. The cast also help along, with most of them pitching their performances just that bit higher, that little bit over-the-top. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti and Alec Baldwin are real pros at this, and help to make the more ridiculous plot points at least bearable. Hough and Boneta are lovely as the romantic leads, complicit in the joke but giving the film the grounding it needs. And Tom Cruise is simply delicious as Jaxx, a faulting entrance giving way to an hysterical performance, riffing on his own experiences with superstardom. Every scene he’s in falls into some surreal alternate universe, where nothing he says or does makes very much sense, but Cruise is an actor in control of everything he does, as well as his antsy baboon companion Hey Man. And, thankfully, he can sing a tune as well.

There are far too many characters to follow, and some of them, like Mary J. Blige’s strip club madam Justice, just seem to be there to move the plot forward and have about as much character as a piece of cardboard. The final film might not leave a lasting impression, but it’s a fun few hours with some great songs and wonderfully tongue-in-cheek humour. Also, the film is surprisingly filthy and racy, with more tongues that you might ever want to see in one film. A real highlight is Cruise and Malin Ackerman’s duet to ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’, which goes in a completely unexpected direction. You’ll see Tom Cruise do things you never thought you would see him do.

We’ve needed a new musical classic in a while, and unfortunately, ‘Rock of Ages’ isn’t it. It’s as though the creators of the musical decided it needed to end with ‘Don’t Stop Believin’, and built a story around that. The music is great though, and the performances are fun, so if you’re in the mood for some light entertainment for a few hours, it’s not the worst choice in the world. Just don’t expect it to set your world on fire.