MOVIE REVIEW - Rock Of Ages

A boatload of 1980's rock and toll anthems has been resurrected in this weeks Rock Of Ages, new at the box office.

This is Hollywood's latest gift to us with a huge cast, and a bigger musical soundtrack. ROA is the fictional story of a legendary rock nightclub in Los Angeles that is on the brink of being closed down by the new mayor, and his activist wife for the sake of re-election. It's also the story of young love as two young people transplanted to the big city with big dreams find they are not actually looking for fame, but for each other. And it's the story of an aging Rock-n-roll legend trying to reinvent himself as something new, as rock music prepares to leave him and/or the rest of us behind.

It's all told basically through music. It's very Glee-esque. ROA is loaded with big production numbers featuring some of the really huge songs and power ballads of the 1980's from some of your favorite hair, and non-hair bands. The music is all redone, rearranged and sung by our cast of stars that include Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Paul Giamatti, Russel Brand, Mary J. Blige, Tom cruise and others. And much of the music is done extremely well, and is really the star of the show.

There is a ton of music in this movie and it's a good thing, because the incredibly boring and terrible acting that takes place between numbers is really compromising. The wriint here is nightmareish. Blige should never be allowed to utter another acting line for all time. But she sings well. Hough does a real nice job looking wholesome, singing a ton on many different styles of songs. She is a breath of fresh air. Cruise is perfectly cast as the aging, and eccentric rocker, Stacee Jaxx. He looks the part, and does a real nice job with a very limiting role. But Cruise is does what he does. He does a lot with a little, and this time it works.

It is good to hear some of this music again, and some of it has been spun into medleys, and new arrangements. And even though the anthems are 30 ish years old, they don't' sound so in this movie. That was the big challenge. Make the music sound new, but not to make it so fresh that it's too far away from its original form. Many of your favorites are showcased here from say 1980 to 1990, and the music for the most part works, and is fun.

But over all as good of a time as the music is, the rest of this is simply below average. You may find yourself squirming during some of the tedious acting scenes, waiting for the next song. The story is what it is, part Dirty Dancing, part Footloose, part Glee, part rock opera. But if you want to relive the 80's and go back in time to your youth, than ROA is your ticket. There is some fun here.

Rock Of Ages. Music good. The rest - not so much.