Firstly, I apologise for the fucking massive image there. It's 1978 in Detroit, Michigan and high schoolers Hawk (Eddie Furlong), Jam (Sam Huntington), Lex (Giuseppe Andrews) and Trip (James DeBello) are evangelists for all things KISS. They even have their own (embarrassing) KISS tribute band, Mystery. They've missed out on seeing their heroes live for two years running and have just one sleep left until that changes. But out to stop them is Jam's chain-smoking, hardcore Christian mum (Lin Shaye, aka Cameron Diaz's older housemate Magda from There's Something About Mary), who considers KISS agents of Satan, finds the boys' tickets in his jeans at home while he's at school and then shows up to burn them in his presence. After she then drives him upstate to a religious boarding school, Hawk, Lex and Trip follow them there to bust him out and return to Detroit. Now, they're willing to do absolutely anything to finally see KISS in the flesh, from stripping in a disco club to robbing a convenience store and even serving a particularly exotic pizza to a priest.
As an enormous fan of classic rock and especially KISS since my teens, I really don't know why I've not reviewed Detroit Rock City (named after a KISS hit) here until now. I should also stress that unless you are a classic rock addict (or, let's face it, a bogan) this will probably alienate you, but that's the exact definition of a cult movie: one which appeals at least primarily to a specific subculture or niche. Anyway, Detroit Rock City is so good because it's every bit as unrefined, unself-conscious, tongue-in-cheek and fast-paced as KISS and their music. Director Adam Rifkin and writer Carl V. Dupre so infectiously evoke the zeitgeist of 1978 not just through the story's main focus but in the references to other '70s fads and trends, especially the rock versus disco feud (which comes to the fore through Christine (Natasha Lyonne), a disco groupie the guys reluctant pick up en route to Detroit). They also keep a good grip on the energy and pace to keep us up with the gang's deadline, and Rifkin coaxes very natural performances from his whole cast, with Shaye particularly having a ball. SPOILER ALERT: I wish, though, that we could've had a celebratory conclusion with the boys heading home triumphantly from the show.
Again, you mightn't find much meat to chew on here if you're not into classic rock, or even road movies. But if you are, like me, to paraphrase the song, you've gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City.
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