Page 22 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • June 27, 2012 ‘Rock of Ages’ is ambitious, but disappointing by Dennis Seuling Set in 1987, “Rock of Ages” is the tale of Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough), who arrives in Los Angeles to pursue a career as singer. She meets fellow music-biz hopeful Drew Boley (Diego Boneta), who gets her a job working with him at the Bourbon Club, a rock-n-roll bar on the Sunset Strip. Owner Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) and club manager Lonny Barnett (Russell Brand) are excited that famous rock star Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise), who got his start at the club, will appear one more time with his band before launching a solo career. There is a lot happening in “Rock of Ages,” which is based on the stage play by Chris D’Arienzo, though it departs considerably from that show. There are assorted subplots involving romances, jealousies, betrayals, crippling stage fright, a rock megastar’s ego, plans to clean up the streets, financial difficulties, and the emergence of promising musical careers. The movie has been filled with a virtual ‘80s soundtrack, consisting of the music of Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, Def Leopard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, Pat Benatar, and REO Speedwagon, among others. The music is incredibly loud and, at movie theater volume, it is practically ear-splitting. In a cast consisting of Baldwin, Brand, Catherine ZetaJones, Paul Giamatti, and Mary J. Blige, Cruise stands out in a role that is an amalgam of assorted rock luminaries, incorporating one cliché after another. Bare-chested, booze swigging, surrounded by groupies, and infatuated with his own celebrity, Jaxx is a live-action cartoon. When Cruise sings, however, he conveys the showmanship that has made Jaxx a star and manages to hit all the notes. Unfortunately, he never fully achieves the quality of a muddled narcissist living in his own world. Hiring Cruise was probably a gimmick to shore up the box office by casting a movie superstar in the role of a rock superstar. The problem is that Cruise is merely window dressing rather than a believable character. His role is an extended, overused cameo. Director Adam Shankman, obviously a fan of classic movie musicals, incorporates a technique that worked effectively in such pictures as “The Sound of Music” and “West Side Story.” He edits musical numbers in parallel fashion so viewers see one person in one location singing, then another person continues the song in a completely different location. Rather than a cohesive number dramatically connected, this technique seems geared to viewers with short attention spans and comes off as showy for the sake of showiness. The staging of other songs lacks simple good taste and are squirm-inducing, such as a song sung by Boneta as he conducts his business at a urinal or one in which Jaxx croons a love song to a woman’s buttocks. The choreography by Mia Michaels is both energetic and clever, transcending the usual Broadway-style dance numbers, and director Shankman photographs and edits them with maximum excitement and great energy. Hough is a real talent, mired in a substandard script, and will hopefully go on to material that will showcase Tom Cruise heads the cast as megastar Stacee Jaxx in ‘Rock of Ages.’ her talent more effectively. Her role here is standard issue “ingénue in the big city” and lacks depth. Zeta-Jones is refreshing as political wife Patricia Whitmore, who is leading a boycott of obscene rock music lyrics in general and of Jaxx in particular, yet conceals her own dark, sordid past. Her high-kicking crusader is a silly, even absurd character, and one of the movie’s bright spots. Rated PG-13 for sexual suggestiveness and drug references, “Rock of Ages” is a film that, in its attempt to provide non-stop energy, combines too many plot elements, shortchanges in-depth characterization, and bombards the viewer with over-amped heavy metal music. It is an ambitious, but ultimately disappointing, picture.