AmieEvelynLavinia Whether or not you are a kiss Fan, this movie is just fun to watch. It holds many laughs and shows the journey of 4 good high school friends desperate to do anything to see their favourite band KISS live in concert. Being a huge fan of Edward Furlong, this is my all time favourite. He's fantastic playing Hawk and he fits the role perfectly. Hawk, Trip, Lex and Jam are all great characters and all played by the perfect actors for them. If you enjoy a good laugh, a bit of sex, drugs and rock n roll ... you may just like the movie.It's just one of my all time favourite movies - hence why I rated it the highest I could - but just because I love it, it doesn't mean that anybody else will or would.

t_atzmueller KISS isn't known to be the most giving band in the world. Sure, you get your money's worth, but don't expect anything more or something like a free autograph or a "hi, how are u doing" from the last remaining original members without taking out your wallet first. That seems particularly true these days, where the band still produces tours and albums on the sole premise that most fans are completists, who cannot suffer holes in their collections. So, "Detroit Rock City" was one of the last few cases where the fan had the feeling that this was produced by band & fans for fans and not only for cash.Sure, I had rooted for this film when it came out and sure, as a kid I had my room plastered with KISS-posters, wore KISS-Make-Up during Halloween and religiously bought most things that bore the distinct logo (despite the design being altered in Germany, because it resembled the SS-Runes a little too close, suggesting that Mr. Chaim Wietz and Mr. Stanley Eisen were Nazis). Got my dad to smuggle me into "Runaway", despite being a few years short of admission (and I didn't want to go see this film because I'm fond of Tom Selleck). Thinking of it, my parents probably bought Gene Simmons a new Cadillac, despite nowadays I'd hope that this money went into the pockets of either Ace Frehley or Peter Criss.By the time "Detroit Rock City" hit the cinema, it had pretty much been clear to even the hardened fan, that 90 percent apart from the music was hype and that the two founding members had begun to view their band more of a cash-milking-cow rather than a vehicle to transport good music. But why drop a lifelong habit? Like Richard Linklaters "Dazed and Confused", Adam Rifkin was able to capture the feel and air of the time "When KISS ruled the world", which is only one aspect that makes the film work. Though by the time I was old enough to get into the concerts KISS had already taken off their iconic make-up, one could really get a feel of what the great KISSteria must have been like. Then there is the humour: I'm not easily moved to laugh tears at slapstick, but I have to admit that a heartily laughed more than once. The priest and the mushroom-pizza, the clash between KISS-Fans and Disco-Guidos or the Hawk stripping for cash, it all made me crack up. As a bonus, there are plenty of KISS Insider-jokes, from the names of the protagonists to the dialogue; it should be abundantly clear: Adam Rifkin knows his KISS.When talking to the fans, the issue of a sequel would invariably come up. Despite still being a fan-boy deep inside, rationality keeps saying that this just wouldn't work – as little as KISS worked after 1982. What would people like to see? Our four protagonists being in college and moaning the fact that KISS has degenerated into a run-of-the-mill Glam band during the 80's? Having settled down to a blue-collar-existence and taking their kids to see the KISS-reunion in the 90's or having to witness the gold-digging sham that KISS has degenerated to in recent years? No, it's good that "Detroit Rock City" is (and will likely remain) a one-time-thing – could be a lesson there for Simmons and Stanley.7/10

WalkAwayRenee Caught bits and scenes of this movie on YouTube and thought I would give it a try, as I tend to like anything that gives you retro pop culture and guilty pleasure pop songs in the mix. Other reviews I've read about it said that it could really only be enjoyed and appreciated by a true Kiss fan. Meh, I tend to disagree. I'm not what you would call a fan of their music. I was unable to remember the band's real names during the radio contest scene. But to say this is a movie about Kiss and for it to be treated as a movie about Kiss is like saying Wayne's World was a movie about Alice Cooper, as you only see the band perform on stage for a few minutes out of the whole movie. No, this movie is about four boys who are die hard fans of Kiss and go to great lengths to finally see their heroes live. Overall, I found it entertaining enough for an evening of mindless movie watching. It helped that Eddie Furlong was cute as hell in this one. Like the lady in the It's Raining Men club, I also saw him as a perfect example of one of those teenage boys who will make an older woman want to get a hot young man's "coming-of-age" started on the right foot, lol. And if you watch the movie, you will see that the previous was an unintentional pun on what happens in the key scene between Eddie and that lady. If you want to laugh, watch this. And if you're a die hard Kiss fan also, you'll probably enjoy this. If you like 70's pop culture references, then you'll be in heaven.

Steve Pulaski Avant-garde director Adam Rifkin has successfully made a teenage film that shows passion, urgency, and desire all in a believable state. The story of his film Detroit Rock City works because we like these characters even though they are odd and strange outcasts, and because the story's central point of focus, KISS concert tickets, seem to be so easy yet so difficult to obtain. It's a simplistic story made complex because of heavy factors; like age, overprotective moms, and disco Guidos.The four boys are do-it-all Hawk (Furlong), party-boy Lex (Andrews), loudmouth Trip (DeBello), and insecure Jam (Huntington) who love to rock out, work soft, play hard, and smoke marijuana. They have a garage band called "Mystery" that mirrors the band they idolize, KISS. After much trouble they look to have their eardrums blown off at an upcoming KISS concert, but because of Jam's overbearing mother, the tickets are gone and so are their hopes for the best concert ever.Though by sure luck, Trip calls into a radio show, answers the obligatory KISS question, and wins the four boys four tickets and backstage passes to the same concert. So now, they break Jam out of a boarding school his mother placed him in and are now resuming their plans for the best concert ever.Rifkin clearly knows how to have a fun time. He seems to know how it was to be a teenager who loved sex, drugs, rock and roll, and loud music. All the boys start as cookie cutter stereotypes, but it isn't until the final act of the film where they go off on their own that we see the true side of everyone of them.The fatal mistake Detroit Rock City made back when it was released in 1999; it cut off its main audience. Because of its R rating, used to fully utilize the language and drugs true to the youth, certain High Schoolers who I'm sure mirrored the behavior of the individuals portrayed in the film weren't allowed to see it without a parent. But how could you make a PG-13 Detroit Rock City? I just don't see it.This also occupies one of the best film soundtracks I've heard in quite sometime. Yes, lots of KISS songs are played to amuse the fanboys, but songs like "The Boys Are Back in Town," "Highway to Hell," "Iron Man," "Jailbreak," "Rebel Rebel," and more are all snuck in. Detroit Rock City doesn't just stoop to the level of all KISS, all the time. I sneaks in other easily recognizable rock tunes to please both the fans of the band and rock fans in general. No assembly of knowledge on KISS is required to enjoy this film. It's a centrist kind of film.Now if only the ending could've been more. I dare not spoil it, but it feels like something was thrown on the cutting room floor too early. It feels vacant, void, and abrupt. Detroit Rock City is an eventful camaraderie of enjoyable characters and amusing events that please the most persistent and choosy buddy comedy fan.Starring: Eddie Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, and Sam Huntington. Directed by: Adam Rifkin.