ROCK OF AGES
Starring: Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Russell
Brand,
Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman,
Mary J. Blige, Alec Baldwin & Tom Cruise
Directed by Adam Shankman for distribution by New
Line Cinema (WB)
The Plot: The story of a
relationship between a small town girl and a city boy in Hollywood plays out
with some of rock’s best known anthems woven into the mix.
The Final Word: Based on the
long-running Tony-winning musical of the same name, “Rock Of Ages” has a who’s
who of Hollywood elite among its ensemble capped off by Tom Cruise. Given how
well past musical film adaptations such as “Chicago” and “Hairspray” have done
in recent years at the box office, there’s no reason to think this won’t be as
successful.
THAT’S MY BOY
Starring: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Leighton
Meester, James Caan,
Eva Amurri, Susan Sarandon, Milo Ventimiglia, Will
Forte,
Colin Quinn, Todd Bridges, Vanilla Ice & Ian
Ziering
Directed by Sean Anders for distribution by Columbia
Pictures (Sony)
The Plot: A deadbeat dad
re-enters his son’s life on the eve of his wedding and causes havoc in the
process.
The Final Word: While “Jack and
Jill” was a complete miss, the fact remains Adam Sandler still sells tickets
and he does so especially well during the summer. This isn’t going to make any
critic’s best-of lists at the end of the year, but it should do well enough to
make people forget about Sandler in drag; we hope.
