Is Rock of Ages a Musical or a Movie?

We take a look at the question ‘Is Rock of Ages a Musical or a Movie?’ and try to answer it once and for all.

Introduction

Rock of Ages is a 2012 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Adam Shankman and based on the 2006 rock jukebox Broadway musical Rock of Ages by Chris D’Arienzo. The film stars Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin, Mary J. Blige, Categories: English-language films, American musical comedy-drama films and American rock musicals.

What is Rock of Ages?

Rock of Ages is a musical with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, built around classic rock hits from the 1980s. The musical tells the story of two young lovers who meet on the Sunset Strip and must overcome the objections of their parents and the temptations of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle.

The plot of Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is a Broadway musical, with music by multiple Grammy Award-winning composer/producer Desmond Child and a book by Tony Award-winning theatre veterans Christopher Ashley and Allan Lochhead. The musical is based on the 1987 film of the same name. The film featured an all-star cast, including Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Mary J. Blige, Julianne Hough, Malin Akerman and Paul Giamatti.

The plot of Rock of Ages is set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. A small-town girl named Sherrie Christian arrives in Hollywood with dreams of becoming a movie star. She soon meets Drew Boley, a wannabe rock star who works at the local club, The Bourbon Room. When the club’s owner Davey Lombardi tries to stop an impending sale of the property to Germans developers, he enlists Drew and Sherrie’s help to put on a big show that will save the club. Along the way, they must contend with the jealous ex-boyfriend of Sherrie, an ambitious city councilman who wants to shut down all the clubs on the Strip, and a host of other challenges.

In 2012, Rock of Ages was made into a movie musical starring Julianne Hough as Sherrie and Diego Boneta as Drew. The movie also featured Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx, Alec Baldwin as Dennis Dupree, Russell Brand as Lonny Barnett, Mary J. Blige as Justice Charlier and Paul Giamatti as Paul Gill.

The music of Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is a musical with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, built around classic rock hits from the 1980s. The musical features songs from artists such as Journey, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Extreme, Poison and Whitesnake.

The show’s use of older rock anthems has been praised. Allmusic’s Bill Crandall praised how the show “takes a group of talented youngish actors/singers, cranks up some great hits from Poison, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Journey and other hair-metal groups from the late ’70s and early ’80s…and produces one of the most entertaining nights currently on Broadway.” The performing arts website Stage Rush also praised how “the show rocks as much as any musical on Broadway right now” and called it “an adrenaline shot to the heart.”

The cast of Rock of Ages

The cast of Rock of Ages includes Julianne Hough as Sherrie Christian, Diego Boneta as Drew Boley, Russell Brand as Lonny Barnett, Alec Baldwin as Dennis Dupree, and Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx. The film also features Malin Akerman, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Paul Giamatti.

The reception of Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is a musical with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, built around classic rock hits from the 1980s. The musical features songs from bands such as Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and more. It tells the story of Drew, a small-town boy who falls in love with Sherrie, a city girl. The two try to make it in Hollywood in the 80s music scene.

The musical first opened on Broadway in 2009, and was made into a movie in 2012. The movie starred Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, and Alec Baldwin. It was directed by Adam Shankman.

The movie was not well-received by critics. It holds a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 47 on Metacritic. Critics said that it was “a jukebox musical that doesn’t pack the same punch as its Broadway counterpart” and that it “tries too hard to appeal to everyone and ends up succeeding at pleasing no one.”

Comparison of the movie and musical versions of Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is a popular musical that has been made into a movie. Both the musical and the movie are set in the 1980s and follow the story of a small-town girl who moves to Hollywood to pursue her dreams of becoming a rock star.

The musical version of Rock of Ages is more light-hearted and comedic than the movie, which takes itself more seriously. The musical also has more well-known songs, including “We Built This City” and “Don’t Stop Believin’,” whereas the movie’s soundtrack is made up mostly of lesser-known tracks.

Both the musical and the movie feature excellent performances, but if you’re looking for a more traditional Hollywood blockbuster, then the movie is the better choice. However, if you want to sing along to some classic ’80s tunes, then the musical is probably more your style.

The legacy of Rock of Ages

The film was directed by Adam Shankman and starred Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell Brand, Alec Baldwin andTom Cruise. The film follows several fictional characters as they pursue their dreams in Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip during the 1980s.

The musical has been far more successful than the movie, with productions all over the world and multiple Tony Award nominations.

Conclusion

After careful analysis, it is clear that Rock of Ages is classified as a movie. Although it includes musical elements, it does not qualify as a musical because the songs are not integral to the plot.

Further reading

It is important to understand the difference between a musical and a movie before diving into the argument of whether or not Rock of Ages is either one. A musical is defined as “a stage, film, or television show in which singing and dancing play an important part in the story” (Oxford Dictionaries). A movie, on the other hand, is defined as “a series of moving images that tells a story or shows a series of events” (Oxford Dictionaries). With these definitions in mind, it becomes easier to see how Rock of Ages could be argued as being both a musical and a movie.

Rock of Ages is a 2012 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Adam Shankman and based on the 2006 rock jukebox Broadway musical Rock of Ages by Chris D’Arienzo. It features an ensemble cast including Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Åkerman and Paul Giamatti. The film’s plot centers around small-town girl Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) and city boy Drew Boley (Diego Boneta) who meet on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip while pursuing their dreams of rock stardom.

While Rock of Ages features several songs from 1980s hair bands such as Journey,Bon Jovi, Poison and Twisted Sister; it also contains original songs written specifically for the movie by various artists including Def Leppard’s lead singer Joe Elliott and his wife Kerri Tamplin, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger and Bryan Adams. In addition to music being a central theme throughout Rock of Ages, drinking alcohol and taking drugs are also key plot points in the film with characters often being seen consuming vast quantities of both throughout.

So…is Rock of Ages a musical or a movie? Well…it’s both!