Detroit Rock City is rocking romp about four teenagers trying to see the titular 1978 KISS concert. It is chock full of references to 70s pop culture and the soundtrack blasts out tracks from late 70s/early 80s rock and disco.
The four guys are Jam, Hawk, Lex and Trip and for years they have been trying to see KISS in concert and this time around they aren't letting anything get in the way of seeing one the band's most memorable concerts, whether that be Jam's Christian crusading mother (Lin Shaye of Something About Mary fame) or the fact that they have no tickets. But luckily one of the guys wins tickets to the concert in a radio contest and the guys go off on their journey to Detroit, rescuing Jam from a boarding school and getting into a fight with some guidos (male disco fans in this films parlance) along the way. One of the stellas (a female disco fan) gets a ride with the guys to city.
The guys reach the city, only to find out that they didn't win the tickets due to Trip's incompetence. So the guys go their separate ways to try and get into the concert. Hawk tries to get money to buy a ticket of a scalper by entering a male stripper contest hosted by pornstar Ron Jeremy, but instead ends up whoring himself out two Gene Simmons' long time girlfriend Shannon Tweed. Lex, who had his car stolen, decides to try to sneak into the concert only to get caught and thrown into a car yard which holds his car and the girl who they picked up on the highway (played by American Pie's Natasha Lyonne).
Trip decides to steal some tickets from some defenceless kid, who ends up has an older tougher brother, and ends up getting beaten up and his wallet stolen. However, he does save the day at the local convenience store when it is held up. Using a 70s icon, a Stretch Armstrong, he is able to trick the gunman into thinking he has his own weapon. Jam doesn't even get to come up with a plan, because lo and behold, his mother's church group (Mother's Against The Music Of Kiss) is campaigning against the concert. He is whisked away by his mother and ordered to go to confession, where he reunites with his high school crush. Jam also ends up standing up to his domineering mother.
Just before the concert the guys reunite outside Cobo Hall, the venue of the classic concert. They are at a loss and despondent and are about to give up when they try a new plan where they beat each other and hope that they will be able to convince the ushers at the door that someone beat them up and stole their tickets. As they tell the ushers this, Trip sees the group who stole his wallet and accuse them of beating him up and stealing their tickets. This works and they end up seeing the concert.
So this movie is just one fantastic romp through a 70s music environment. Speaking of music, this movie's soundtrack is in perfect sync with the film's events, such as Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak, when they are breaking Jam out his boarding school.
The two performances that stick out to me are from Terminator 2's Edward Furlong (Hawk) and Jungle2Jungle's Sam Huntington (Jam). They are both really fantastic in their roles. It is also worth noting that KISS member Gene Simmons was behind this movie and thanks to him we now having a greatly entertaining musically driven comedy.
Verdict: This movie is a lot of fun and highly quotable, one of my favourite lines is shouted by Jam through a loudhailer at his mother's protest (I just lost my virginity in a confessional booth, Lord have mercy). I was introduced to this movie by my brother when I was 14 and it shaped my music tastes for many years afterwards. Definitely worth a watch.
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