MovieChat Forums > Rock of Ages (2012) Discussion > You will hate this movie if...

You will hate this movie if...

posted 12 years ago by Acetone
43 replies | jump to latest

You will hate this movie if you don't understand that this is a musical based on a Broadway play. So if you don't like people randomly breaking out into song, skip this movie.

You will hate this movie if you don't like big '80s hair bands and pop rock songs of that era.

You will hate this movie if you are not expecting a very silly, ridiculous, over the top spectacle.

If you hate Glee, this movie is not for you.

I had very low expectations before watching this movie but was pleasantly surprised. Lots of unexpected funny moments, great songs, and even though I'm not a Tom Cruise fan, I have to say he nailed his performance as the over-sexed rock god Stacee Jaxx. Rock of Ages is silly escapist entertainment, but definitely not for everyone.

[–] HowYaLikeDemApplesWill 12 years ago

I understand this is a musical based on a Broadway play. I have enjoyed many Broadway and off-Broadway musicals - I hated this movie.

I like 80's hair bands, at least I did, and like various genres of 80's music to this day - I hated this movie.

I expected a well-acted and performed movie, and not a very silly, ridiculous, over the top spectacle - I hated this movie.

I have never watched Glee, but have heard snippets of it when my wife watches reality TV and other crap - I am certain I would hate it.

I had very low expectations of this movie, and even those weren't meant - did I mention I hated this movie?

I actually watched it on a flight from DC to Paris last summer and hated it.

I gave it another shot on cable, since I thought maybe the airplane viewing didn't do the music or spectacle justice....nope, still hated it.

[–] b_a_girl 12 years ago

That's too bad,(NOT being sarcastic or disrespectful). At least you did give it a second chance. As with anything in life-entertainment etc etc, it's NEVER possible to expect "everyone WILL like/love" the SAME thing. That's unrealistic.
That being said, I did enjoy it,really liked the soundtrack the most. Hoping MAYBE somewhere out there, it might be possible to buy the actual soundtrack. A really good compilation.

[–] HowYaLikeDemApplesWill 12 years ago

Yes good points, different strokes for different folks. Based on the cast and the theme and knowing of the Broadway hit, I thought I might like it. But alas, it was just too corny for me.

[–] usapunk 12 years ago

I agree, this movie is pretty bad. With that said it may become a cult movie shown at midnight in some theater.

I thought the acting was real cheesy, if that is what they were going for, they nailed it. I thought the Production could rival the worse high school musical stage production. And I thought the music numbers were not accurate for the time and place that was represented in the film (could have used more sunset strip bands from the 80s). Sure they used music from the 80s, but a lot of it was not from the Hollywood area at the time. The writing was awful. The dialog was awful. It reminded me of those old after school specials that were made in a week on no budget.

I give this movie the finger. And Tom Cruise has to live with his performance. Ha Ha poor Tommy.

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 11 years ago

You give me a line from this movie that you thought was delivered cheesy... worse than the acting in most musicals, and tell me HOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DELIVERED.

In my mind, Tom Cruise played the drugged out rock star damn near perfectly.

[–] HamsterRecon 11 years ago

If the movie came out into theaters last summer, how in the hell did you manage to view it on a flight in the time period?

Signature.

[–] HowYaLikeDemApplesWill 11 years ago

How the heck should I know? I was in first class, and you have your own screen and selection of on-demand movies....and that was one of them, along with MIB3, the latest Spiderman movie, and several other turds.

I mean seriously, who would lie about something like that?

Whose idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have an "S" in it?

[–] HamsterRecon 11 years ago

Sorry, I just thought that it wouldn't be available yet to view anywhere besides in theaters, but then again I don't know anything about flying and didn't exactly follow this films release extensively.

Signature.

[–] chas437 12 years ago

You will hate this movie, if you have any sense of taste in music or film.

Who's High Pitch?

[–] bek-12 11 years ago

I loved it, and it's proudly on my mental shelf with A Few Good Men, American History X, The Shawshank Redemption, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, True Romance, Schindler's List, The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Usual Suspects, Se7en, Leon the Professional, American Beauty, Aliens, The Departed, and L.A. Confidential... for starters.

I guess I just have terrible taste in movies.

[–] spambag 11 years ago

...Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, THX1138, yup guess I have no sense of taste either cause I liked this movie. Huh. Go figure.

I can usually tell when I'm here by other people's reactions.

[–] cicerobuck 10 years ago

Isn't good taste in movies synonym for ONLY loving good movies? Because I'm pretty sure the 5th Element or Leon are not. Everyone can happen to enjoy good movies amongst a stream of turds. Sunrise, Sorcerer, Army of Shadows, Seven Samurai, 12 angry Men, Memories of Murder, M, Munich, Big Deal on Madonna Street… Those are academically undisputed pieces of art
Movies like American History X, The Shawshank Redemption, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Usual Suspects, Se7en, Aliens, The Departed, those are just popular entertainment, nothing to characterise "good taste". Nothing wrong with that though.

Anyhow, Rock Forever? Saw it in the theatre upon release, I could very well have been the target audience in some capacity, but, I struggled to find a laugh, and it wasn't really a movie, certainly not a good one at least

PS : to make it perfectly clear, I don't even claim to have good taste, hell, some of my all time favorite movies include Myra Breckinridge, Deathrace 2000, Aliens and Anchorman! 😅

[–] mysticnox 12 years ago

Actually, the only bad thing about this movie are most of the actors. Terrible acting. Unfortunately, that about canned the movie for me. I gave it a three because the music was awesome. If it wasn't for the music and Tom Cruise, it would have a one. Tom Cruise is the only redeeming actor in the whole movie (and he does a fantastic job). They should have taken a look at Chicago and The Producers (and now Les Miserables) to see how a screen conversion is done properly.

I love musicals, and the 80's. I grew up in the 80's.

As for the "pop songs", you obviously didn't live in this era. These are NOT pop songs. They were considered hard rock in their day. Pop songs were people like Michael Jackson, Debbie Gibson, and Tiffany. Do NOT insult these awesome songs by calling them pop. These songs are the best music to come out of the 80's, along with a few that were not included.

This movie was like stepping back in time for me. The hair, the clothes, the jewelry, and most of all, the incredible music. Extremely nostalgic. I really miss the days when you could turn on the radio and you wanted to hear almost every single song played. Not since the 80's has that happened to me.

[–] bman342 12 years ago

I too was pleasantly surprised. I liked the mash-ups, I liked the romance, I liked the many intentionally over-the-top aspects of the film. I dug Julianne Hough, but I thought that Cruise was a bit awkward doing the rocker bit on stage. But other than that, I wished I had seen this in the theatre with some professional sound.

[–] rzrbckmz 12 years ago

I just watched it on HBO Sunday night and loved it. Of course I am from that era and love all those songs. My only complaint is Julianne Hough's voice is too thin or weak for those big songs. She just doesn't have the pipes. Even Mary J Blige, who I do not like her music, did a good job with her songs. The male lead, Diego Boneta, was excellent. Catherine Zeta-Jones surprised me with her voice. Tom Cruise was excellent and Alex Baldwin was a hoot. Fun movie and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys good rock songs and don't take themselves too seriously.

[–] Superbowl32 12 years ago

I hate glee but loved this movie.

[–] Can_a_bitch_get_a_donut 10 years ago

Same here. OP was right on the other points, but way off on the Glee one.

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Boopee doopee doop boop SEX

[–] shahzad_aijaz 12 years ago

In a nut shell... Take some of the great rock songs of the 80's, take out the ingredients and dynamics that made them great, add an oversexed main character singing them.... Viola! you got yourself Rock of Ages.
Hate to see some great songs turned to Sh_t in this movie.

[–] DanaShelbyChancey 12 years ago

People will hate this movie if they don't get the idea that it is a send-up of musicals, 80's styles, music videos, and much more.

It is a comedy.

I don't get people who take everything so seriously.

[–] Yuna_Fantasy 12 years ago

Here, here to that.

"Never bite into an apple without knowing what lies within..."

[–] The-Last-Prydonian 12 years ago

I personally found the movie to be pretty disappointing. One of the problems that it's slight story which was a very generic wasn't strong enough to be stretched out for over 2 hours. The song and dance routines were for the most part were clumsily put together and the humor (with the exception of a few funny moments from Russell brands character) were weak and lazy!

I also really failed to see the point of the inclusion of the sub-plot involving the politicians wife who was an anti-rock activist played by Catherine Zeta Jones. She didn't feature much in the movie and just seemed to be thrust in merely for the sake of it. It also seemed ridiculous in the context of the movie that she would be involved in a rock number. Jones as we already know is a talented dancer and singer and performed the song well it didn't make any sense at all!

I will say however that we may have found two up and coming movies stars in the two romantic leads. They both had charisma and chemistry together and did well considering the sub-par cheesy material they were given to work with. And as for their singing voice - they were amazing!

The highlight of the movie for me was seeing Tom Cruise singing which he did well. I wouldn't say he was an extraordinary singer but he was above average. His performing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" was his best song performance of the film. His moves on stage were excellent. I get the feeling he modeled that part of his performance on Axel Rose. I know it sounds funny saying this was the highlight for me considering he wasn't the best singer in the movie. It was more a case of seeing someone I was already familiar doing something they hadn't done so before and pretty much succeeding.

I think one of my main issues with the movie is that I see a trend starting with Hollywood producing musicals with the story built around pre-released songs ie. "Moulin Rouge" and "Mama Mia". It would be good to see a theatrical musical release with an original soundtrack like some of the more older musicals. Something more akin to the "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" or "Grease". I realise this was supposed to be a nostalgic flashback to the eighties but it doesn't mean they can't come up with original songs which celebrate the era. "Grease" as I already named pretty much did this and it would be great to see something that feels a bit more fresh and new that doesn't rely on pre-existing songs.