On D List of Movie Reviews

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Detroit Rock City (1999)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 3/25

DetRC
3/25: Now you know why people don't like KISS.

Nobody wants to see a band being full of itself and using every opportunity to maximize its marketing potential. As a result, Detroit Rock City bombed at the box office by grossing $5.8 million against a budget of $17 million. I thought KISS only appealed to kids under 12?

Sure, the first half isn't bad and has funny stuff including the best moment when the four leads were in the girls bathroom and broke the toilet, setting off the chaos. However, the longer Jeremiah and his adversarial relationship to his mother go on, the harder it is to not notice the eerie resemblance to the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident. Even the boy looks like the shooter himself.

The second half is when the film fell apart because the rapid-fire editing had become too much. Ditto for the crude situations. Who wants to see KISS being surrounded by naked women? That's narcissism. It's also hard to get into because of Edward Furlong. I hate that guy and felt happy when his head was pressed hard against the windshield to mop up the pizza remains.

All in all, Detroit Rock City has been done before, and it's called I Wanna Hold Your Hand.