Tom Cruise; Rock God. Comparing Cruise to Bon Jovi or Jagger was never a position you would intend on finding yourself, but there is no denying his bold and daring take at breaking the "Tom Cruise Mould" is one that works on virtually every level. Stacee Jaxx may not look as rugged and washed up as the typical leading man of a rock and roll band, but he sure makes up for it in other ways. He sleeps, drinks and murmurs nonsense, and thing is for damned certain; he knows how to belt out a tune. Cruise, as it turns out, has a voice worthy of the role, and is undeniably the stand out performer of this adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name.
Rock of Ages was always going to encounter several issues. It's eighties soundtrack undeniably has some belting tunes within it, but it doesn't have the connection with the audience that a collection of hits from one artist has. When Mamma Mia came out it drew huge attention to its Abba roots, as We Will Rock You does with Queen. There is no way a casual film-goer will know exactly what they're getting themselves in for in this case; there's no "name" to state exactly what sort of film this is. To call Rock of Ages a musical also doesn't connect the people with a passion for rock music with the people who typically like musicals. A broadway musical number doesn't often get mistaken for a Def Leppard track for example.
This goes some way for showing why Rock of Ages has slipped into the cinemas under the radar; it's a film thats hard to find an audience for. In manyrespects it's warranted. The "Glee" covers of music both old and new has left many fans too protective of the original work, fearing that "Don't Stop Believing" is going to be turned into another "teen bopp" ballad. The casting of Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough as the leading duo does little to alleviate that fear, as no matter how hard they try there's an undeniable likeness to their voices and those on the FOX hit TV show.
But thankfully, director Adam Shankman has assembled a strong team of heavy weights of the acting world behind them. The standouts are Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand as owners of rock house "The Bourbon Room." Long haired, witty and with a passion for the music they play, Baldwin and Brand's owners are incredibly fun to be around. It's refreshing to see Baldwin so far out of his comfort zone, and a particular number the pair sing is one of the film's highlights.
Other people worthy of a mention are Paul Giamatti as a slimy agent and Catherine Zeta Jones as the villain of the piece. The pair enjoy the craic of playing against type, and both clearly relish working with Cruise as the moments their characters share with Stacee Jaxx are hilarious.
In general the musical numbers feel much more rock that pop, but not all the cast have the vocals to get the best out of the songs. Regardless of this, the collection of tunes on offer is staggeringly good, and you'll be humming along in your head whether you want to or not.
Unfortunately Rock of Ages' biggest flaw is its length. It's easily thirty minutes too long, and it shows as the film approaches its final act. You'll be longing for another song as the appeal of the characters begins to wear thin, and it's a shame the story couldn't be tidied up and trimmed into a more slick machine.
It also struggles to find a balance between its characters to the point where the script appears a little unclear which character is the leading one. Cruise is absent for the first thirty minutes, then Hough and Boneta disappear as we get a thirty minute dose of Stacee Jaxx. The doses of each character come in too large segments and it ruins the flow of the film.
All in all, Rock of Ages does a solid job of bringing a Rock musical onto the big screen, and whilst it's a grossly uneven affair, when it gets it right it is a lot of fun. In effect, it's like a Meatloaf ten minute ballad; a load of fun but you'll wish you were listening to the five minute cut. That way you can skip all the never-ending verses and get to the meaty stuff of the chorus.
It's got great characters and it's got great music. It's not quite a great film. Well, two out of three ain't bad...
6/10
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