DETROIT ROCK CITY A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
How much luckier could 4 stoner types and would-be rock stars get in 1978 than being the proud owners of 4 tickets to the KISS concert in nearby Detroit? Not much, if they still had the tickets.
In Adam Rifkin's high energy farce, DETROIT ROCK CITY, 4 high-school students -- Hawk (Edward Furlong), Jam (Sam Huntington), Lex (Giuseppe Andrews) and Trip (James DeBello) -- share an undying love for their favorite rock band, KISS.
Jam's mother (Lin Shaye), who takes bullhorns to rally crowds against "Knights In Satan's Service," is a devout Catholic and is against the band that she's sure is from Hell. The chain-smoking mom uses the 4 tickets to light one of her cigarettes and then takes Jam off to boarding school -- don't worry, his friends will bust him out -- to shield him from the evils of the world, like KISS.
The story, full of sophomoric hijinks, has the kids off to Detroit once they win 4 more tickets in a radio station call-in. Needless to say, all will not go as planned.
Along the way on the road to Detroit, they rumble with 4 disco-lovers. In a fan war between KISS and disco aficionados, which side would you bet on?
Later they encounter one of the disco girls, Christine, walking alone along the highway. Christine is played with a sassy savoir-faire by Natasha Lyonne from THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS. In six-inch heels, a tiny skirt and enough make-up for a small circus, she's not someone you'd miss noticing, especially if you were a teenage boy with raging hormones. In the funniest section of dialog in the movie, upon seeing Christine alone, one of the lads observes, "They make horror movies that start like this." With a big grin, another remarks, "And porno movies that start like this too." Soon, they have the girl firmly ensconced in the back seat of their car, which floats along the road with pot smoke flowing out of it like a house on fire.
Once they get to Detroit, they're forced to find tickets yet again. This time they're desperate. Each devises his own scheme to come up with the money to buy scalper tickets. Typical is a plan to dance at a strip-bar in front of a bunch of crude, tongue-wagging women of all ages.
Many of the film's best lines are unprintable snippets of bathroom and sexual humor. The movie isn't exactly high comedy, but it does have just enough laughs to recommend it. Not surprisingly, the movie is filled with a heavy, pervasive sound track. The groups range from KISS to Tchaikovsky. Yes, that Tchaikovsky. Now, that's a surprise.
DETROIT ROCK CITY runs 1:34. It is rated R for strong language, drug use and sex-related content and would be fine for teenagers.
Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
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