Rating: Summary: A nice surprise Review: After seeing the trailer for this film I honestly thought it would be pretty bad.I viewed this film at the theater and realized that Detroit Rock City is one of the most underrated comedies ever.This is for those who remember what it was like to be a kid and really want to see your favorite rock band. For those who don't, just remember back to Jr.High and highschool, before you worked in a cubicle, drove a SUV and drank Starbucks. When all that mattered in life was to see your heros playing your favorite songs.I recommend this movie, especially to musicians, rock fans, and people who enjoyed Spinal Tap and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Rating: Summary: Way better than I expected Review: Having spent my teenage years in the late 70s and early 80s, I could definately identify with every aspect of this movie (except the drug use). My wife and I really enjoyed it and got a lot of laughs even tho we aren't even KISS fans...yep, we don't own one KISS album, never have. But, I truly knew this movie ruled when UFO's Lights Out song started blaring through our home theater speakers...I was all "HELL YEAH!" All of us thirtysomethings need to watch this one...great fun!
Rating: Summary: Rock on somewhere else. Review: Seeing ads for Detroit Rock City, it looked like a great, funny road/buddy movie. Again, it's what ads usually want you to see. The end result of this movie is a lot of bad jokes-mostly religous ones, few and far between realy laugh out loud gags and segments that move too fast from one to another that make following the movie hard. The story is simple enough, a long awaited KISS concert is aproaching, and four huge fans have only one day of school left before the big day-long enough for one fanatically un-KISS mother to burn their tickets. Thanks to a radio show contest, the boys have won tickets and head up to Detroit for the big event. Thats mostly it and to top it off, I don't usually comment on the DVD features of movies, but this time I must. Interface with selecting a feature has never been a pain but on this disc it is because of the time it takes- because you see little movie segments first, then a voice tells you where to go and what to direction to click, no words or instructions?!---blah!! I mustered my way through eventually, but after a few specials I realized that the movie itself wasn't all that special to give the specials any time and quit. This film is for a true KISS fan only.
Rating: Summary: I liked this movie better the first time I saw it... Review: ...when it was called "Rock N Roll High School". Istill am not sure whether the moviemakers meant this as a"tribute" or just a ripoff. Before I even saw the movie, Isaw the poster and trailers, and figured it out. I could go on and onabout the similarities, but if you've seen RRHS you know exactly whatI mean, if you haven't, you probably are already mad at me and stoppedreading. I'm not a big KISS fan, so I didn't get into that part. Itwas worth a matinee, though. The kids who played Trip and Lex wereespecially good, the kid who played Jam got on my nerves for somereason, just the guy's face. That's probably just me, though. Onthe negative side, the movie had some pretty predicible moments. Therewas some gross-out humor that was unnessacary, just nasty and seemedtossed in to jump on the recent trendy grossout bandwagon. The movieended too suddenly. The 70's retro stuff was a little toocontrived. (I hate when they go out of their way to mention and show 8track tapes and happy face logos, etc) Most of the ideas were stolenfrom Rock-N-Roll High School. The dialogue needed work. On theplus side, there were lots of twists to the plot that I didn't expect.There were a few Ramones songs used to great effect on the soundtrack(the more I think of it, the more I think the filmmakers, or someoneinvolved anyway, were Ramones fans). Lex is a dead ringer for Dee DeeRamone in the late 70's. The kid who played Trip was pretty talentedand funny. Good period detail and costumes. Cameo by Ron Jeremy(another trend lately, but so far it hasn't been run into the groundyet). Some good laughs, and some satisfying moments. You do feel forthese kids and want them to get in to the show...we all can identifyhow bad we wanted to see our favorite band live in high school. Andhey, it's not supposed to be Citizen Kane, so why not go and enjoyyourselves? You could do worse. I could see how this would be,like, the ultimate movie to a KISS fan, just like Rock and Roll HighSchool is to a Ramones fan. But let's face it, if RRHS had never beenmade, the filmmakers defintely wouldn't have come up with this movie(or this version of it) on their own.
Rating: Summary: EXTREMELY SILLY Review: Of course it will be getting great reviews because most of the people who are giving five-star rating are KISS fan who will buy anything they release. THe movie has a good concept, but its conduction is cold, impersonal and uninspired from beginning to end. Furlong is awful, also.
Rating: Summary: What would you do to see your favorite band? Review: This is a comedy of four teen boys trying to get to a Kiss concert. If you don't like Kiss then don't fear for the show is not about the concert,but the boys. Those of you who like rock music or any music at all then you would understand how badly you would want to go to a concert. Laugh but I have more incommon with this movie than I do with American Pie. Maybe it is because I like rock music.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful movie; FANTASTIC DVD! Review: Detroit Rock City is not about KISS--It's about real guys who will do almost anything to achieve a goal--and discover much about their own independence as they attempt to reach those dreams. MUCH lambasted by the critics, this film perhaps is best left to DVD viewing--and the DVD has wonderful features, including 3 different commentary tracks. Sam Huntington (Jungle 2 Jungle) and Giuseppe Andrews (Independence Day) stand out most as the "star" actors -- and they do a great job. Huntington's mother in the film, Lin Shaye, was amazing. The film is a bit tacky on occasion, but I must say from one whose late junior and early senior year was 1978--this film truly captures the obsession many of my friends had with KISS. Unfortunately, many young people look at this and think it's too dated as a movie about KISS (it's not); and many my age will think it's just another teen flick (it's not). But it's much more, a film with heart. Now if they just didn't use the "f" word so much........
Rating: Summary: VERY WEAK Review: This movie has a good general idea surrounding him, but the execution was poor. Of course it is a mere vehicle for KISS to make more money ( Gene Simmons is one of the executive producers ). Even ex-porn star and porn movie producer Ron Jeremy has a small role in the form of a stripper-show producer. The young cast saves the date, giving inspired performances. The rest is to be forgotten. It's not a critic to rock, it's not a teenager analysis, it's not an all-out comedy, somewhere the movie lost its way and got more like a MTV product.
Rating: Summary: A must-see for Kiss fans of all ages Review: This was a great movie! It took me back to the days when I was a teenager who just had to see Kiss. The parents protesting Kiss for being such a "satanic" band were great, very true to life. Just when I thought everything had happened and surely tickets would come through, they'd face another setback. I also enjoyed the "behind the scenes" footage with the actors. That was hilarious. This movie is a must-have for all Kiss fans past and present.
Rating: Summary: A fun, satisfying movie. Review: I was never into KISS as a teenager, but seeing this movie almost made me wish I had been. Detroit Rock City is ridiculous, preposterous, and completely over the top, but that's what makes the movie so much fun. If you are looking for a deep, insightful movie about What It Means To Be a Teenager and Valuable Lessons We Learned About How These Are the Best Years of Our Lives, then this is NOT the movie to see. This movie contains no hugging, bonding, or wistful moments of melancholy in which the actors squint into the distance and let the soundtrack convey their emotions. It does, however, contain some genuinely funny moments, and the movie "pays off" everything that it sets up, something most comedies seem incapable of doing these days. From the trailers, I expected a lot more slapstick, drug jokes, and the like, but was pleasantly surprised to find these mostly absent. And as an added bonus, no one has sex with a pie. Detroit Rock City is a fun, satisfying show, and one I look forward to seeing again.
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