Critics Consensus: Rock of Ages Hits a Sour Note
Plus, That's My Boy is juvenile.
This week at the movies, we've got a rock 'n' roll romance (Rock of Ages, starring Julianne Hough and Tom Cruise) and some father-son bonding (That's My Boy, starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg). What do the critics have to say?
Rock of Ages
41%
Given the runaway success of Glee, it's no surprise that the hit jukebox musical Rock of Ages -- featuring songs by Journey, Bon Jovi, Poison, and the like -- made the transition from the stage to the screen. Unfortunately, critics say this headbanger's ball is unlikely to rock you like a hurricane; though it provides some campy thrills, the film is overstuffed with underdeveloped characters and plot strands. Rock of Ages stars Julianne Hough as Sherrie, a small town girl with dreams of rock stardom. She works at a struggling club on the Sunset Strip, where high-maintenance rock god Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise) rules the scene. The pundits say Rock of Ages' talented cast (especially Cruise) is clearly having a lot of fun, but the plot is wafer thin and the antics surprisingly tame, given the excess of the period it's supposedly celebrating. (Check out this week's Total Recall, in which we count down Cruise's best-reviewed movies.)
That's My Boy
21%
Adam Sandler has never exactly been a critical darling, but his most recent starring vehicles (Jack and Jill, Just Go with It, Grown Ups) have been rated lower than usual. The trend continues with That's My Boy, which critics say is more juvenile than most Happy Madison Productions. The Sandman stars as Donny, who fathered a son named Todd (played by Andy Samberg as a grownup) while in middle school; when Todd turned 18, Donny disappeared from his son's life. Now strapped for cash, Donny attempts to end their estrangement in order to persuade Todd to take part in a reality TV show; hilarity, in the form of familial discord, ensues. The pundits say That's My Boy has a few decent lowbrow yuks, but it's relentlessly sophomoric and tasteless. (Check out 24 Frames for a pictorial rundown of Sandler's most memorable roles.)
Also opening this week in limited release:
- Tahrir: Liberation Square, a documentary about last year's Egyptian democracy protests, is at 100 percent.
- Your Sister's Sister, starring Emily Blunt and Mark Duplass in a dramedy about a liaison between a pair of grieving friends, is at 93 percent (check out Duplass' Five Favorite Films here).
- Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, a documentary about the boundary-pushing performance artist, is at 88 percent.
- Extraterrestrial, a sci-fi comedy about a group of young people holed up in an apartment as a UFO lurks overhead, is at 69 percent.
- The Woman in the Fifth, starring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in a psychological thriller about an expat American writer in Paris who is drawn to an enigmatic woman, is at 69 percent.
- Americano, starring Salma Hayek in a drama about a French real estate agent who must travel to America to settle his deceased mother's estate, is at 55 percent.
- Patang, a drama set in the midst of India's biggest kite festival, is at 33 percent.
- The Tortured, a horror film about a pair of suburban parents who take justice into their own hands after their son is murdered, is at eight percent.
Janson Jinnistan
I'm predicting that Prometheus will win the box office this week. That's not just my fandom talking - I have a strategy. First, these new films blow. Second, they are from an entirely different demo. Madagascar will fall off slightly. Prometheus has been too controversial, anyone who has not yet see it will want to in order to join the discussion. Many who have seen it will want to watch it again for digestion. That's just my call, and I don't normally make such predictions.
Extraterrestrial, Americano, and Patang all look like their worth a look. Tahrir looks good, maybe it'll play on PBS soon.
Jun 14 - 04:45 PM
Christopher Kulik
I think PROMETHEUS deserves a shot, although I have a feeling MADAGASCAR 3 is going to reign for awhile. I shudder to think how many kids will sneak into THAT'S MY BOY.
Jun 14 - 05:00 PM
Adam Jones
I agree with you Chris. Rock of Ages and That's My Boy will do decently, but Madagascar 3 will reign once again (of course Brave comes next weekend and will take the box office throne then). My guess is that Prometheus takes a massive drop because audience reception has been less than ideal during the opening weekend. That's My Boy and Rock of Ages will compete for 2nd place.
Jun 14 - 05:04 PM
Janson Jinnistan
I really want to see Rock of Ages bomb. "Music by Journey, Bon Jovi, Poison". Look, I was alive in the 80s, and I can't quite convey the sheer relief of the popularity of Guns'n'Roses, Metallica and later Grunge, groups that could eat those posers like pixie-stix. That hairspray-rock does not deserve to be revisited.
Jun 14 - 05:24 PM
Bigbrother .
Janson, in the words of Motley Crue "don't think because a guy wears lip stick that he won't whoop your ass." Those guys did things during their careers that would have put Lars Ulrich's Napster hating ass in the ground long ago. At least 3 of those guys are lucky to be alive today, especially Nikki Sixx. I'll grant you Bon Jovi, Journey and Poison aren't that hard core, but the era wasn't without its legitimate rock stars like Ozzy-post Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and KIZZ. I was as dazzled as you were I'm sure by Smells Like Teen Spirit, but the hairband era was not without its charms.
P.S. Axel Rose is a pussy.
Jun 15 - 03:54 AM
Janson Jinnistan
It ain't the lipstick or the drugs that matter, it's the music, and all that Hair-metal was just silly Pop music with louder guitars. Just as Hip Hop had to unsettle the rut of R/B at the time, the "lollapalooza" era (roughly 88-94) had to unsettle the stagnation of refried Stones and Kiss (not that good to begin with) riffs of 80s corporate-rock.
PS: It was always about Slash. That used to be fairly understood.
Jun 15 - 07:18 AM
Paul Atreides
I believe Tommy Lee stated the 'makeup and kicking ass' line (on the set of the video for 'Looks that Kill', if I'm not mistaken)... a bean pole who probably couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper sack (f*%*, maybe... but not fight). No one is going to argue with the excesses that musical period is known for--especially certain bands--but that doesn't necessarily give the music any credibility. And Metallica (including Ulrich, naturally) was known for a period of time as 'Alcoholica' for good reason. What sets bands like Metallica--and later, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, etc.--apart from bands like Poison, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Kiss (yes, I said it) isn't just a lack of posing and/or selling out... it's instrumental and song writing talent, LOL. Some people are more into music for the presentation... to each their own. That being said, I'll be happy to see 'Rock of Ages' bomb as well. I was a Hendrix, Floyd, and Zeppelin man all through that period of posers known as the 80's, same as I am now.
Jun 15 - 12:39 PM
Fred Brooks
Early word on friday's numbers is that PROMETHEUS finshed with more money than ROCK OF AGES & THAT'S MY BOY, so it looks like PROMETHEUS will be finishing second to MADAGASCAR 3 again this weekend.
Jun 16 - 02:44 AM
Gordon Terry
PROMETHEUS IS HORRIBLE . . . the worst PIECE OF CRAP in years. and yeahhhh why didn't "The Mean Lady" roll out of the way of the crashing ship as did "The Abortion Lady" . . . the entire experience of watching PROMETHEUS was excruciating.
Jun 14 - 07:35 PM
Gordon Terry
excruciatingly-painful.
Jun 14 - 07:35 PM
Janson Jinnistan
I'm sure it was that much worse than either the Fraday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street remakes - HEY EV'BODY! KEEP IN MIND GORDON LOVED DEVIL INSIDE BTW!
Jun 14 - 08:16 PM
Rebecca Clark
If you have nothing nice to say about Prometheus...then don't even bring it up. ;)
Jun 14 - 09:12 PM
George Patchell
How about writing SPOILER ALERT?!
Jun 14 - 10:25 PM
First Last
judging by your profile and your ratings on film you're a horror genre fanboy and prometheus wasn't what you were expecting
i know it's tough when a film makes you think but you lack the ability to do so :( how unfortunate
Jun 15 - 03:02 AM
First Last
judging by your profile and your ratings on film you're a horror genre fanboy and prometheus wasn't what you were expecting
i know it's tough when a film makes you think but you lack the ability to do so :( how unfortunate
Jun 15 - 03:02 AM
Val Mordas
Don't bother listening to okflint, he's an asslicking troll. That being said I thought Prometheus was far from perfect but not horrible.
Jun 15 - 05:42 AM
Brian Nallick
I agree with Valmordas.
While direction wise the film was stunningly beautiful.
The writing was stunningly bad.
Way too many holes in the story for me and I'm not one of those "how many triangles will fit into a 3.875 parcep while holding onto the tesseract" kind of guy either. Even I spotted obvious holes and WTF's in how the characters reacted. A film that was in desperate need of a rewrite...or ten.
Jun 15 - 06:22 AM
Paul Atreides
LOL @ 'Devil Inside'...
Jun 15 - 01:07 PM
Dave J
What the heck, Gordon... You're either giving readers some mixed messages or is this just an example of 'flip flopping'! On one hand, on one article from another page, you say that "Prometheus" was not as bad as you thought it was--- copy/paste comment "Well, Prometheus doesn't suck, I take that back even though my comment is already "out there." ~(Gordon Franklin Tery SR of 06-11-2012 12:47 PM)
and then on this one, you say it's "the worst PIECE OF CRAP in years." WTF Gordon and please explain?
Jun 15 - 02:51 PM
Fred Brooks
Yeah i did'nt get that part either, why would you run North-South screaming no-no-no, when all you had to do was turn and run East-West and you would have avoided being flattened, it makes no sense. Don't even get me started on those dumb expediction scientists trying to touch those alien creatures, haha, man who's that stupid. Apparently they we're.
Jun 16 - 02:50 AM
John Hartman
Spoilers, and your taste is as god-awful as you *think* Prometheus was. Try using your brain when you watch a movie. It's fun.
Jun 17 - 06:51 PM
josm atyb
I really like the moveis
Jun 16 - 11:51 PM
Sean D
I want to believe that Prometheus will be on top. But I am putting my money on Rock of Ages.
Think of all the middle-aged women that will drag their husbands to a musical with Tom Cruise in it.
Jun 14 - 06:45 PM
Neil Law
That's why I told my wife I wouldn't see this - with Cruise as the star he is just too overexposed.
However, now that the movie is getting panned I'm definitly not going to see it.
Jun 15 - 04:08 AM
Robbie Jordan
I've gotta chime in simply because I love Crue! I'll see Rock of Ages where it deserves to be seen, in an actual theatre on stage. With shows like that it's the participation in the music I require not Tom Cruise or Russel Brand (especially not Russel Brand).
And yes Axl W Rose is a pussy who now looks more like a leather couch that has had Van Morrisons head grafted to it haha!
Jun 15 - 04:40 AM
Janson Jinnistan
Axel Rose once had a dream he had an ounce of Van Morrison's back sweat worth of soul. Then he woke up.
Jun 15 - 07:22 AM
Dave J
No, "Madagascar 3: Europe's" is going to be number 1 for the second week with the "R" rating keeping kids from seeing "Prometheus"! If "Rock of Ages" does well, I'd be quite surprised since 'rock 'n roll' movies in general don't usually perform well boxoffice-wise and this one is no exception with the low 44% rating going against it!
Jun 15 - 11:54 AM
Dave J
What I mean is sophisicated bright 14 to 17 year olds would want to see "Prometheus" but can't because it's a "R" rated movie!
Jun 15 - 12:04 PM
Janson Jinnistan
They don't have parents who are "sophisticated and bright" enough to take them?
Jun 15 - 12:11 PM
Dave J
Well, you're allowed to speculate but most underage teenagers (I know anyway) especially between the ages of 15 and 17 rather go to the movies with their peers than seeing them with their parents!
Jun 15 - 01:58 PM
Paris Valeroso
I couldn't agree more!
Jun 15 - 06:04 PM
brandon sideleau
Let TDKR just release already and wipe the bad taste of the usual summer garbage out of my mouth through it's sheer epicness. That being said, both the Avengers and Prometheus were great.
Jun 16 - 12:33 AM
brandon sideleau
Let TDKR just release already and wipe the bad taste of the usual summer garbage out of my mouth through it's sheer epicness. That being said, both the Avengers and Prometheus were great.
Jun 16 - 12:33 AM
brandon sideleau
Let TDKR just release already and wipe the bad taste of the usual summer garbage out of my mouth through it's sheer epicness. That being said, both the Avengers and Prometheus were great.
Jun 16 - 12:33 AM