HBO had a free weekend on DirecTV the other day, so I went through the guide and DVRd a lot of movies, including this one.
I knew it was a Moulon Rouge* style flick where peeps sing and dance to 80's rock song covers as part of the storytelling, so there was no surprise there.
What bothered me was how tone deaf parts of the movie were. I don't mean the actors singing the songs, that was surprisingly good, especially Tom Cruise, who turned out to be an Axl Rose-type tenor. My problem wasn't in the songs, it was the mocking way in which some of them were portrayed. This wasn't a tribute to the 80's music scene, this was a mean-spirited send up of it. I first made that realization with the scene with the Rolling Stone reporter, and they are supposed to be having a "moment," but it is just so stupidly, clumsily handled.... ugh.
And then the big gay reveal happened, and they just lost me. That may have been the real "behind the scenes" of the 80's rock scene, and maybe it wasn't, but it wasn't my... the audience's.... nostalgia. And I think that is why this movie bombed.
If you want to watch a good metal "period piece," watch Rock Star with Marky Mark. At least in that movie, you can tell the creators of the thing respected the era.
* Only watched the movie once, but liked the music enough to buy the soundtrack. Also, it starred Nicole Kidman, who was married to Tom Cruise, and she surprised everyone with her great singing voice, and this movie stars Tom Cruise, who bangs a Nicole Kidman lookalike, and I was surprised by his voice. So there. Good reference that is relevant to the current conversation.