OH MY GOD! I LOOOOOVED ROCK OF AGES!!!!

[singalongsong2]

I thought the movie was fun. I prefer the stage version, but I enjoyed the added songs and cameos. Tom Cruise was the highlight of the film.

[taboo123]

The problem is Adam Shankman.

Just as Hairspray was ruined by hit or miss casting, omitted moments that are important to character development, missing backstory and killing away important songs-----both have the same outcome. Candy coated, without enough of the guts of the original stage versions.

It is a shame they are giving this guy more of these musicals to direct.

It just leaves you wishing you had more. Kind of like the way he judges on 'So you think you can dance'... he is never direct- with his direction. It's always messy in spots.

[songanddanceman2]

Taboo i adored Hairspray, even John T who i thought made Edna a bit more human which was nice. I think the Hairspray film totally nailed it, and with it's critic score over 90 percent it would appear the critics did as well.

[rorschach37]

Imo, the only thing that kept Hairspray from being perfect was John Travolta. I absolutely HATED his performance.

[taboo123]

Even though Hairspray had 'moments' here were problems with it:

Travolta and his 'Baltimorian Accent' plus the portrayal in general.
Prudy Pingleton's character reduced to nothing.
A very lame Penny Pingleton- should've just kept Diana Degarmo.
No 'Big Doll House' easily one of the best numbers in the show...
and the list goes on and on and on....


i know you can't include everything.
But Adam Shankman is so hit and miss---

He would be the type to cast Justin TImberlake and Britney SPears in a RENT film, if they ever did one. Oh wait,......remember that crap???? SMH, LMAO.

Christopher COlumbus is another one.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Just got back. Absolutely atrocious film. Hated it nearly from start to finish. Was pleasantly surprised by Julianne Hough. Alec Baldwin horrifically miscast.

Very disappointing, especially since I had high hopes from Jordan's praise and from the fact that I adored Shankman's work with "Hairspray".

[Marianne2]

I just saw this tonight. I liked it, but not love. I'm not sure if it was just the movie, but I thought some of the story lines felt pretty random and were just there. Don't get me wrong, Catherine Zeta-Jones was great, but there was no real resolve to her part.

*Spoiler*

I get who she was, but I wanted to know more about what her husband was doing, since she was doing all the protesting and he had a mistress. And for me, the beginning was a little slow. It didn't pick up for me until Drew and Sherrie broke up.

*End Spoiler*

[goldenboy]

I saw it tonight and tried to leave my critical thinking cap at the door. I mean its a musical. I should just sit back and enjoy...right?


Well that thinking lasted for about one half hour. Maybe forty minutes. The first half hour I was annoyed by the bleach blonde Julianne Hough. I hate perky blondes in movies. They seem so vapid and fake.

Then I said let it go.. just enjoy. And she grew on me a little bit.

I enjoyed Diego. Thought he was cute and sang well. I found Tom Cruise and Catherine Zeta Jones delicious and loads of fun. They both made me smile. Very sexy Cruise and wonderfully religiously bitchy Zeta Jones.

Than Diego went onstage as a rock performer. It went to his head and he lost interest in the perky blonde. (We were at the boy loses girl part.) And then I lost interest in the film and the romance. I just didn't care after that. And the film seemed to go on and on and on. It just never ended.

I have never seen the stage version. This was not a great film. This was not even a good film. It was a film with a few good moments mostly by Jones and Cruise. Endless Ages.

[MrMidwest]

I enjoyed the half hour that Cruise and Malin Akerman's poodle hair were on screen, but the love story is dumb beyond belief. 1992 Criss Cross boy band bs is not what I'm looking for in a movie called Rock of Ages, and Diego doesn't look as cute with shorter hair. Hough can't act, can dance (although she doesn't do much of it in the movie), and can sing a little, but her voice is not well-suited to the high pitched power ballads. Mary J. Blige has a pretty thankless role, and seemed oddly separated from the rest of the cast.

[NOB88]

IMO, see the stage show - skip the movie. And definitely listen to the OBCR instead of the movie soundtrack.

[Broadwayhunk]

The 80's were horrible for many reasons, including the hair, clothes, music, not to mention Reagan. Add to that three of the most irritating actors working today: Cruise, Baldwin, and Brand, and you've got a recipe for a box office bomb.

[NOB88]

^^^^ Yep and that's exactly what they got. I put a lot of the blame on Shankman. Tripped over his gigantic ego.

[JohnyBroadway]

One of the most awkward uncomfortable experiences I've had in the Movie Theatre. keep Addam Shankman away from Movie Musicals.

[ComingUpRoses2]

There were some fun moments in the film, mostly supplied by Cruise, Akerman, Zeta-Jones, and that monkey, but as a whole, it was kinda crappy. The romantic subplot was just hilariously bad. I couldn't believe they even bothered with it. I also chuckled at how random Mary J. Blige's role was. She's in the film for a total of 10 minutes and has nothing to do.

I will say one thing in its defense. Everyone can sing. In Mamma Mia, I was closing my ears whenever most of the cast opened their mouths to sing, but here, I actually think everyone did a pretty decent job.

Hough should really stop while she's ahead, though. She's as cute as a button and a FANTASTIC dancer, decent singer, but she really can't act to save her life. I really wish Hollywood would stop forcing her down our throats as a "serious actress."

[goldenboy]

Yes she was such an unbelievable Medea in Medea.
and her Ophelia in Hamlet???
don't get me started.
Her Lady MacBeth as a perky blond?
Mind Numbing
Please don't shove her down our throats as a serious actress.

[Jon]

Nah, I didn't buy her as a fat old black lady.