Mild Monday morning warning: The following clip has some R-rated language.
Don’t get me wrong, I dig the stage-to-screen “Rock of Ages” with its absurd hash of corn and sleaze.
But when it opened with Oklahoma girl Sherrie Christain singing Night Ranger’s “Sister Christain,” I couldn’t help thinking as sweet as it is — all those other passengers chiming in, just like a real musical!– that it didn’t hold a candle to Paul Thomas Anderson’s incendiary scene in “Boogie Nights.”
Nor did it match for rock fandom, the tour bus rendition of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” in “Almost Famous.” And further more: Nothing’s yet topped the tender/dismaying use of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” (even my beloved “Glee’s” cover). None of this changes the fact I enjoyed “Rock of Ages.” It does remind Mad Moviegoer that I’ve been wanting to compile a reader-built list of favorite instances of beloved songs in movies: Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” in Spike’s “Malcolm X,”
the Smith’s “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” in “500 Days of Summer” and (“All I Want” in “The Kids Are All Right). Chime in. I’ll keep a tally and revisit from time to time.
