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Detroit Rock City (film)

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Wikipedia article




'Detroit Rock City' is a 1999 American teen comedy film directed by Adam Rifkin and written by Carl V. Dupr. It tells of four teenage boys in a Kiss tribute band who try to see their idols in a concert in Detroit in 1978. Comparable with other rock films such as 'Rock 'n' Roll High School', 'Dazed and Confused', and 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand', it tells a coming-of-age story through a filter of 1970s music and culture in the United States. It took its title from the Kiss song of the same name.

The film was shot at Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Toronto and other Ontario locations including Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed approximately $6 million against a $17 million budget.

Plot



In 1978 Cleveland, Ohio, four rebellious teenage boys Hawk, Lex, Trip Verudie, and Jeremiah "Jam" Bruce play in a Kiss tribute band called "Mystery" and prepare to see their idols in concert in Detroit, Michigan the following night. Their hopes are dashed when Jam's religiously conservative mother finds the concert tickets and burns them before having Jam transferred to a Catholic boarding school.

Trip manages to win tickets and backstage passes from a radio contest in Detroit and the boys plan to rescue Jam from the boarding school. Disguised as pizza delivery boys, they drug Father Phillip McNulty using a pizza topped with hallucinogen mushrooms and set off with Jam for Detroit in Lex's mother's Volvo to pick up the tickets. While on the highway, they get into a road rage incident with disco fanatics Kenny and Bobby after Trip accidentally threw a slice of pizza on their windshield. They beat up the disco duo and continue their journey before picking up Christine, who walked out on Kenny due to his behavior.

Upon their arrival in Detroit, the boys discover that Trip did not stay on the phone long enough to give the radio station his information, resulting in the tickets being given to the next caller. When they exit the building they find Volvo missing, which they deduce was stolen by Christine. After a brief argument amongst themselves, the four split up to find Kiss tickets and the Volvo, planning to meet up in an hour and 45 minutes. Hawk finds a scalper who suggests he enter a male stripping contest to raise money for tickets. He gets drunk and loses the contest after vomiting, but is offered payment for the company and has sex with an older woman named Amanda Finch. After being paid, he locates the scalper, only to find out that his tickets are sold out. Trip goes to a local convenience store in hopes of mugging a younger child for his ticket but is confronted by the boy's older brother, Chongo, and his friends, who threaten him for $200. He then plans to rob the store with a Stretch Armstrong doll disguised as a gun, but ends up thwarting a genuine robbery attempt and is rewarded $150. Trip gives the money to Chongo's gang, but they beat him up anyway and steal his wallet in the process.

Lex sneaks backstage with the concert loading crew but is caught and tossed over a fence where he encounters a group of vicious dogs. He wins them over with a Frisbee, then saves Christine and the Volvo from two car thieves (who are responsible for stealing the car) at a nearby chop shop. Jam encounters an anti-Kiss rally and is spotted by his mother, who forcibly takes his drumsticks. She drags him to a nearby church for confessional with a perverted priest who is more interested in salacious conversation, rather than an actual confession. He is then greeted by Beth Bumstein, a classmate who is in the process of moving to Ann Arbor. After admitting their feelings for each other, they have sex before parting ways, but agreeing to stay in contact with each other. Jam, imbued with new confidence, goes back to the rally and angrily berates his mother for her domineering ways and her hypocrisy, telling her that her extreme religious views and controlling attitude have done nothing but cause him to despise religion and rebel. He ultimately breaks her spirit by telling her that she is a lousy mother and proclaiming to her and the rally that he lost his virginity in a confessional booth. He then demands his drumsticks back, one of which she broke in half. She does so and apologizes to him, remarking to the crowd, "They grow up fast".

When the boys meet up empty-handed, Jam suggests they should beat each other up to make it appear that they had been mugged for their tickets. Upon arriving at Cobo Hall, the guards are skeptical, until Trip points out Chongo's gang, who are just entering, as the culprits who assaulted them. When the guards search them, they find Trip's wallet with his Kiss Army picture ID and money. They confiscate Chongo's tickets and give them to the boys. Chongo, along with his little brother and his friends, are then escorted out of the concert. Shocked and delighted, they enter the concert hall as Kiss plays the film's title song. As it ends, Peter Criss throws a drumstick and Jam catches it with joy and excitement.

Cast



;Members of Kiss:

* Paul Stanley as The Starchild

* Gene Simmons as The Demon

* Peter Criss as The Catman

* Ace Frehley as The Spaceman

;Other:

Release



Box office

'Detroit Rock City' opened in 1,802 theaters on August 13, 1999, and earned $2,005,512 in its opening weekend, ranking number 13 in the domestic box office. By the end of its run, it had grossed only $4,217,115 with an additional $1,608,199 from international sales, bringing its worldwide total gross to $5,825,314. Against an estimated $17 million budget, it was a box office bomb. To KISS and rock fans, the film is considered a cult classic.

Critical reception

'Detroit Rock City' received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes shows that out of 41 reviews, it has a 49% rating. The site's consensus is; "Silly plot, over-the-top directing style." Despite this, Metacritic, it has a 33/100 rating based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

Home media

'Detroit Rock City' was released via VHS and DVD on December 21, 1999. DVD special features include four audio commentaries (director Rifkin, selected cast and crew members, and all four original Kiss members), deleted scenes, multi-angle views of the Kiss concert, an instructional segment featuring a step-by-step guitar lesson for "Rock and Roll All Nite", original screen test footage, and DVD-ROM features.

In December 2007, the film was re-released on DVD as an exclusive bonus fifth disc contained within 'Kissology Volume Three: 19922000'. It was only available with initial pre-orders sold during VH1 Classic's '24 Hours of Kissmas' weekend marathon.

The film was released on Blu-ray in April 2015, containing additional special features, not in the original DVD release.

Soundtrack



The soundtrack was released on August 3, 1999, by Mercury Records. The album features a mix of classic rock songs and covers of classic rock songs by contemporary artists.

Track listing



See also



* List of American films of 1999

* Kiss

References




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