Detroit Rock City (film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Detroit Rock City

| image = Detroit rock city ver1.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster by Phil Roberts

| director = Adam Rifkin

| producer = Barry Levine
Gene Simmons

| writer = Carl V. Dupré

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| music = J. Peter Robinson

| cinematography = John R. Leonetti

| editing = Mark Goldblatt
Peter Schink

| production_companies = Base-12 Productions
Takoma Entertainment Group
KISS Nation

| distributor = New Line Cinema

| released = {{Film date|1999|8|13}}

| runtime = 94 minutes{{cite web

| url = https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/detroit-rock-city-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mdgwmja

| title = DETROIT ROCK CITY (15)

| work = British Board of Film Classification

| date = July 13, 1999

| access-date = March 15, 2015

| archive-date = October 6, 2024

| archive-url = https://archive.today/20241006002823/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/detroit-rock-city-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mdgwmja

| url-status = live

}}

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $17 million

| gross = $5.8 million

}}

Detroit Rock City is a 1999 American teen comedy film directed by Adam Rifkin and written by Carl V. Dupré. It tells of four teenage boys in a Kiss tribute band who try to see their idols in a concert in Detroit in 1978. It took its title from the Kiss song of the same name. The film stars Edward Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Sam Huntington, the members of Kiss (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss), Natasha Lyonne and Lin Shaye.

The film was primarily shot in Canada, such as at Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute in Toronto and Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, but also at Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed approximately $6 million against a $17 million budget. It is a 1970s nostalgia film."Detroit Rock City available on tape". The Day. 10 January 2000. [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9AQhAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA68#v=onepage&q&f=false p 15]. From Knight Ridder Newspapers.

Plot

In 1978 Cleveland, Ohio, four rebellious teenage boys – Hawk, Lex, Trip Verudie, and Jeremiah "Jam" Bruce – play in Kiss cover band "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 their tickets, humiliates Jam over the school intercom, and burns the tickets before having Jam transferred to a Catholic boarding school.

After Trip slips class and wins tickets and backstage passes from a radio contest in Detroit, the boys ditch school and, with Hawk disguised as pizza deliveryman, rescue Jam from the boarding school by drugging Father Phillip McNulty using a pizza topped with hallucinogen mushrooms before setting off for Detroit in the Volvo of Lex's mother to collect the tickets. En route, they get into a road rage incident with disco fanatics Kenny and Bobby after Trip throws a slice of pizza on their windshield. When Kenny runs them off the road and destroys their KISS 8-track, the quartet beat up the duo, tie them and their female colleague to a railguard, give them KISS face paint, send their Trans Am into the creek, and continue their journey before picking up Kenny's girlfriend, Christine. She soon dumps Kenny.

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. While exiting the building, they find the Volvo missing and deduce that Christine stole it. The four split up to find Kiss tickets and the Volvo, planning to regroup in 105 minutes. Hawk sees a scalper who suggests that he enter a male stripping contest to raise money for tickets. He gets drunk and loses the contest after vomiting, but is paid by the company and has sex with Amanda Finch, an older woman. He later locates the scalper, only to discover that his tickets are sold out. Trip goes to a convenience store, hoping to mug a younger child for his ticket, but the boy's older brother, Chongo, and his friends confront and extort him for $200. He then plans to rob the store with a Stretch Armstrong doll disguised as a gun, but ends up receiving $150 after thwarting a genuine robbery attempt. Trip gives the money to Chongo's gang, who assault him regardless and steal his wallet.

Lex sneaks backstage with the concert loading crew but is caught and tossed over a fence where he tames a group of vicious dogs 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 his mother at an anti-Kiss rally. She takes his drumsticks before dragging him to a nearby church for confession with a perverted priest who is more interested in salacious conversation than an actual confession. He is then greeted by classmate Beth Bumstein, who is moving to Ann Arbor. After admitting their feelings for each other, they have sex in the confession booth before parting ways, agreeing to maintain contact with each other. Jam, imbued with new confidence, returns to the rally and criticizes his mother's domineering ways and hypocrisy, saying that her extreme religious views and controlling attitude have only caused him to despise religion and rebel. He ultimately breaks her spirit by labelling her as a lousy mother and proclaiming to her and the rally attendees that he lost his virginity in a confessional booth. He then demands his drumsticks back, one of which she broke in half. She complies and apologizes to him.

When the boys meet empty-handed, Jam suggests beating each other up to imply having been mugged for their tickets. Upon their arrival at Cobo Hall, the guards initially doubt the boys' claims, until Trip points out Chongo's gang, who are just entering, as their assailants. When the guards search them, they find Trip's wallet with his Kiss Army picture ID and money, then confiscate Chongo's tickets and give them to the boys before escorting him, his little brother, and his friends out of the concert. The quartet enters the concert hall as Kiss plays their Detroit Rock City. Peter Criss eventually throws a drumstick, which Jam catches.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.dvdfile.com/reviews/review/detroit-rock-city-6237

| title = Detroit Rock City Review

| first = Cliff

| last = Stephenson

| work = DVDfile.com

| date = 30 November 1999

| access-date = 14 November 2009

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090606233817/http://www.dvdfile.com/reviews/review/detroit-rock-city-6237

| archive-date = June 6, 2009

| url-status = dead }}

Cast

{{cast listing|

Edward Furlong as Hawk, one of the 4 boys and the frontman for Mystery
Sam Huntington as Jeremiah "Jam" Bruce, one of the 4 boys and the drummer for Mystery
Giuseppe Andrews as Lex, one of the 4 boys and the bassist for Mystery
James DeBello as Trip Verudie, one of the 4 boys and the guitarist for mystery
Lin Shaye as Mrs. Bruce, Jam's deeply religious mother with a strict stance against KISS
Melanie Lynskey as Beth Bumstein, a classmate crushing for Jam who was moving away from Cleveland
Natasha Lyonne as Christine, a young woman heading to a disco in Detroit
Miles Dougal as Elvis, the school security guard
Emmanuelle Chriqui as Barbara, a disco stella accompanying Kenny, Bobby, and Christine
Shannon Tweed as Amanda Finch
Nick Scotti as Kenny, a disco fanatic whom Mystery sparked ire against
David Quane as Bobby, Kenny's buddy
Joe Flaherty as Father Phillip McNulty, the headmaster of a Catholic Boarding School that Jam was sent to
Matthew G. Taylor as Chongo, a brutish Jock who came to the defense of his little brother after Trip tried to mug him
Robert Smith as Simple Simon
Ron Jeremy as Strip Club MC
Julian Richings as Ticket Taker

}}

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.{{cite web

| url = https://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1999&wknd=33&p=.htm

| title = Weekend Box Office Results for August 13-15, 1999

| work = Box Office Mojo

| publisher = Internet Movie Database

| date = August 16, 1999

| access-date = March 15, 2015

| archive-date = April 2, 2015

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122332/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?yr=1999&wknd=33&p=.htm

| url-status = live

}} 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.{{cite web

| url = https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=detroitrockcity.htm

| title = Detroit Rock City (1999)

| work = Box Office Mojo

| publisher = Internet Movie Database

| access-date = March 15, 2015}}

=Critical reception=

Detroit Rock City received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes shows that out of 43 reviews, it has a 51% rating. The website's critics consensus reads, "Silly plot, over-the-top directing style."{{cite web

| url = https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/detroit_rock_city/

| title = Detroit Rock City

| work = Rotten Tomatoes

| publisher = Flixster

| access-date = February 26, 2025

| archive-date = October 6, 2024

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241006010122/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/detroit_rock_city

| url-status = live

}} On Metacritic, it has a 33/100 rating based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.{{cite web

| url = https://www.metacritic.com/movie/detroit-rock-city

| title = Detroit Rock City

| work = Metacritic

| publisher = CBS Interactive

| access-date = March 15, 2015

| archive-date = January 1, 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101235149/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/detroit-rock-city

| url-status = live

}}

=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: 1992–2000.{{Cite web |title=The KISSFAQ - Official KISS & Related DVD Videos: KISSOLOGY III (2007) |url=https://www.kissfaq.com/video/dvd_kissology3.html |access-date=February 16, 2023 |website=www.kissfaq.com |archive-date=October 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241006002113/https://www.kissfaq.com/video/dvd_kissology3.html |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite web |date=April 11, 2015 |title=Detroit Rock City Blu-ray Review |url=https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/16139/detroitrockcity.html |access-date=February 16, 2023 |website=High Def Digest |archive-date=February 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216053438/https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/16139/detroitrockcity.html |url-status=live }}

Soundtrack

{{Infobox album

| name = Detroit Rock City: Music from the Motion Picture

| type = Soundtrack

| artist = various artists

| cover =

| alt =

| released = August 3, 1999

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Hard rock, heavy metal, glam rock, power pop

| length = 57:46

| label = Mercury Records

| producer = Various artists

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Detroit Rock City: Music from the Motion Picture

| type = soundtrack

| single1 = Cat Scratch Fever

| single1date = 1999}}

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite web

| publisher = AllMusic

| last = Erlewine

| first = Stephen Thomas

| url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/detroit-rock-city-mw0000668161

| title = Detroit Rock City - Original Soundtrack

| accessdate = April 15, 2021

| archive-date = April 15, 2021

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210415141726/https://www.allmusic.com/album/detroit-rock-city-mw0000668161

| url-status = live

}}

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. It also features a new song by KISS titled "Nothing Can Keep Me From You".