Detroit Rock City (1999)

It's hard to call Detroit Rock City a "coming of age" movie--since it's hard to argue that any of the characters do any genuine growing up. But even though it's about four young metalheads trying to get to a KISS concert, the movie actually has more in common with sincere portraits of adolescence than it does with raucous teen comedies. The four heroes are members of a teen metal band called Mystery (the s is written in the same font as the letters of KISS, lest anyone mistake their source of inspiration). After the drummer's religiously zealous mother burns their tickets to a long-awaited concert in nearby Detroit, the boys go anyway and try to get tickets through theft, skullduggery, and entering a male stripper contest. The jokes are broad and the movie culminates in an orgy of male adolescent wish-fulfillment, but here and there some loving attention is paid to the details of 1970s teenage life--the haircuts, clothes, and toys the filmmakers probably had when they were kids. Edward Furlong, as the band's singer, is his usual scruffy self and exudes his particular lopsided charm; the rest of the cast play their parts with similar high spirits. Though Detroit Rock City was probably meant to be a no-holds-barred comedy in the vein of American Pie, the end result is curiously wistful; no one's going to mistake it for The Last Picture Show, but something sincere and elegiac lurks in those bang-covered eyes. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

Rock coming of age for teens

Hey, the comedy in this movie is more real than Kiss' music!
These kids are out to ruin their lives,
come bad smell, vomit or high water!
These are four very disturbed teens
on the loose at down town motor city.
Beat up and bent down, but not blue... April 24, 2008

smiley mart

I saw this movie on t.v. a few years ago and just fell in love with it. I love 60's-70's stuff, so I appreciated the clothes as well as the music. This movie is hilarious with scenes I can repeat from memory because I've watched it so many times. It's a good, kick-back movie to watch with friends. Totally awesome... December 8, 2007

Severely underrated and better than you'd expect

In the seventies, KISS was the biggest band in America. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss had become rock icons and won over a nation. It was not uncommon for music fans of the seventies to be obsessed with these guys, and that's exactly what the subject of Detroit Rock City is.

Detroit Rock City was directed by Adam Rifkin, and stars Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Edward Furlong, and Sam Huntington. The four KISS members also briefly appear, playing themselves.

The film follows the exploits of four friends with a common interest - the music of KISS. They are the most obsessive fans of the band out there. And when the band is coming to a neighboring city in concert, naturally they plan to go. Unfortunately, mishap after mishap hinders the foursome's plans to attend their dream concert. But the boys don't give up, and split up - with each trying to find a way to obtain tickets to the show.

This movie is everything it sets out to be. It's a period piece, and a very well done one. It's an edgy, interesting comedy that doesn't put too much focus on gross-out jokes, and that right there should say a lot. I admit, I am a bit prejudiced here because I am a fan of the band, but this is exactly what a period piece like this should be - it's fairly accurate, and above all, it's fun to watch. I enjoyed all four main characters, and I certainly have to praise the film for keeping the characters and length to a minimum. It profits immensely as a result. This film is everything Dazed and Confused should have been. In fact, you might say this movie is Dazed and Confused done right.

I certainly have to praise the four young actors who play the main characters. Prior to this film, I had not heard of or seen any of them in another role. But just the same, all four of them seem like they were born to play these roles. You'll have no trouble believing that this foursome is the biggest set of KISS fans alive. I admit, there's not a whole lot of character development - the main theme here is that these boys love KISS, and that works for me. Even the supporting cast fits the bill nicely - I loved the strict, Christian KISS-hating mother. The director (Rifkin) deserves praise as well for keeping the character roster to a minimum, and above all, delivering characters I actually enjoyed. The movie is just the right length and paced perfectly for what it is.

Naturally, the soundtrack features some KISS tunes, as well as plenty of other classic rock songs of the period. In addition, there are some cover tunes featured in the movie. This is a solid, entertaining film, and the well-assembled soundtrack is the icing on the cake.

It's not a perfect film - toilet humor does drag this one down a bit. Most notable examples are a scene in a ladies room with unnecessarily-added sound effects, and a scene of one of the characters vomiting after having a few too many drinks. It's a good movie, but it could have been even better if they'd ditched the toilet humor.

This isn't really a complaint about the movie, but it's something that MUST be addressed in my review. I DO NOT at all agree with the MPAA giving the film an R rating. The only reason the film got this rating is for some language and sexual content - most of which is merely implied or spoken. Apparently they haven't gone back and re-evaluated the film since its release. The PG-13 rating would have been more appropriate.

Detroit Rock City is a triumph. It's a shame the film didn't do better or get more popularity, because this is an absolutely fantastic film. It doesn't take itself seriously, and it doesn't have to. As far as period piece comedies like this one go, this one is at the top of its class.

Thumbs up. November 2, 2007

Better Than You Would Expect

The four stoners in the leads recapture the late 70s very well. The adults, well, the decision to make them all wildly over-the-top cliches can be questioned. The religious mom is cringe-worthy, and the pre-pedophilia scandal send-ups of priests and the Catholic Church are prescient. The sound track is one of the movie's highlights, of course. Kiss's appearance at the end is anti-climactic. I never really laughed at anything in this, but that doesn't mean it's not an entertaining rental or a worthy library borrow. It brings back the '70s suburban wastelands very well. October 29, 2007

Funny.............but for adults only

My husband and I enjoy the humor and KISS-era nostalgia, but I would never let my kids catch of glimpse of this. Excessive drug use and explicit sexual content. August 13, 2007

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