DETROIT ROCK CITY

SYNOPSIS:
Hawk (Edward Furlong), Lex (Giuseppe Andrews), Trip (James DeBello) and Jam (Sam Huntington) are hard-core KISS fans and they have tickets for a concert in Detroit. But when Jam’s fanatically religious - and anti-KISS - mother (Lin Shaye) finds the tickets, she burns them and ships her son off to a religious boarding school. Meanwhile, the others think they’ve won tickets in a radio giveaway. The head for Detroit, springing Jam from the school on the way. But when they get there, they find things have gone awry. Now, with less than two hours till the concert, they need to get tickets - any way they can.

Movies about teen rebellion, whether it’s The Wild One or Porky’s, always have a ready-made market - teenagers. It’s not surprising then that Detroit Rock City is aimed squarely at that target audience. It has all the hallmarks of the "teen" genre - physical humour and lots of it, some heavy-handed direction, jokes about bodily fluids and a thumping soundtrack. What is a little surprising is how well it all comes together in this film. While none of the group is "hero" material, but by the end I actually wanted to know how these guys were going to achieve the one thing that meant anything to them at that particular moment. Sure, the plot is paper-thin and some of the characters are boringly familiar; but it moves along at a nice pace and the 90 minutes or so running time won’t tax anyone’s patience. If you give it a little, there are even some really funny moments. Edward Furlong anchors the film as Hawk. Personally, I think he should stick to drama, but he gives a creditable performance as the leader of the motley bunch. I also liked James DeBello as Trip, the archetypal slacker. Detroit Rock City is a teen movie, pure and simple. I’ve got to say these aren’t usually my bag; but this film has enough going for it to make it worth checking out.
David Edwards

"Discerning moviegoers seeking evidence to prove that the ubiquitous gross-out teen comedy is well past its "use by" date should look no further than Detroit Rock City. Though it ploughs ground long ago made infertile by the likes of Porky's and a multitude of imitators, the film handicaps itself even further by conveniently ignoring the fact that the seventies Kiss-mania ethos it so readily promotes is completely outside its target audience's sphere of reference. And while writer Carl Dupre was probably obliged to cede somewhat to the personal agenda of one of the film's co-producers (Kiss member Gene Simmons, no less), there is still no excuse for the tripe he has given debuting director Adam Rifkin to work with. Best known as the writer of Mousehunt and Small Soldiers, Rifkin leaves no cliche unturned in his struggle to give each successive vulgarity some structure, but it's a lost cause. He, like the four young leads (particularly Furlong), should have known better. Simply terrible."
Leo Cameron