Rock Of Ages (2012)

For those of us who are fans of the late 80s Los Angeles Hair Metal scene, but not entirely fond of Hollywood musicals, we find ourselves at a crossroad. Is Rock Of Ages a good representation of the period or a teeny-bopper musical recreation? Luckily, it's mostly the former with little of the latter.

The film stars Julianne Hough as Sherrie, a young rock star wannabe who travels to LA in search of fame. There, she meets Drew, played by Diego Boneta. Drew is also a rocker hopeful and, natrurally, the two fall for one another.

Rock Of Ages does a stellar juob of recreating the era in which it depicts, in particular the feud between Rock music and the censors.

However, it is Tom Cruise who gives this film its superiority over other musicals of recent memory. His performance as aging rock god Stacee Jaxx is perhaps one of his greatest. No, it isn't Cruise showing off his dramatic acting chops like in Rain Man (1988), this is Cruise showing his talents in a comedic role. His characterization is a perfect parody of the over-the-top musicians, a perfect blend of Motley Crue and Jim Morrison.

My final verdict is, if you love rock and roll (I won't make a Joan Jett pun) and can stomach musicals, check this out. At the very least, go for Cruise's awesome performance.