Detroit Rock City (1999) (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Adam Rifkin
STARRING: Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Edward Furlong
RATED: R/Region: A/2:40/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1
AVAILABLE FROM Warner Brothers
Detroit Rock City is basically the cinematic version of a leather jacket that smells like beer, pizza, and teenage desperation—and honestly, that’s a compliment. It’s loud, it’s messy, and it’s so gloriously dumb that you can’t help but grin through the whole thing.
The plot, if you can even call it that, is simple: four teenage KISS fanatics just want to see their favorite band play. That’s it. That’s the odyssey. Forget The Odyssey—Homer never had to deal with strict moms, strip clubs, or getting pantsed in public. These guys do, and somehow it’s way more epic.
The cast sells the chaos with the energy of kids who just drank three Slurpees and dared each other to jump off a roof. Edward Furlong leads the charge, proving that if you survive Terminator 2, your next logical move is worshipping Gene Simmons. Every side character feels like they wandered in from a different kind of teen comedy—there’s the overprotective mom, the uptight Catholics, the sketchy drug dealers—and the movie just throws them all in a blender with a KISS soundtrack.
Is it high art? Absolutely not. The jokes are crude, the pacing sometimes feels like a hangover, and let’s face it: if you’re not into KISS, half the movie plays like an inside joke you weren’t invited to. But that’s part of the charm. It’s a time capsule of late-’90s teen comedy wrapped in ‘70s rock nostalgia, and it’s way more fun than it has any right to be.
At the end of the day, Detroit Rock City is basically a love letter to fandom itself. It says, “Yes, being obsessed with a band to the point of committing minor felonies is ridiculous, but isn’t that kind of passion also what makes being a teenager awesome?” And by the time KISS finally takes the stage, you’re cheering just as hard as the kids—because somehow, against all odds, you’re rooting for these idiots.
Verdict: Detroit Rock City is dumb, loud, and ridiculous—but it rocks as hard as the band it worships. Watch it with friends, laugh at how insane it is, and maybe crank some KISS after.
Extras
- Audio Commentary #1 – The first commentary track is with director Adam Rifkin, where he discusses almost all aspects of filming. He talks about how the script came to be, casting, filming with all of the KISS music, and more. It’s definitely worth listening to.
- Audio Commentary #2 – The second commentary track is will the cast and some of the crew of the film. This is a lot of fun as each actor tells us a ton of fun stories from the set, along with pointing out some easter eggs found in the film.
- Audio Commentary #3 – The third commentary track is with all four original members of KISS, as they discuss their influence and history of the film and their music. If you’re a fan of the movie and KISS, you’ll love this track.
- Deleted Scenes (SD, 19 Mins.) – There are six deleted scenes total here along with a couple of alternated angle scenes, all of which are worth watching.
- The Cutting Room Floor (SD, 33 Mins.) – Here are a few different camera angles of KISS playing a few songs on stage along with a basic lesson in guitar chords for a big KISS song.
- Look Into The Sun (SD, 8 Mins.) – This is a fun and weird look at how one of the scenes was filmed as well as the actors lounging in their trailers.
- Miscellaneous Shit (SD, 37 Mins.) – This is a three-part extra that features interviews and a behind the scenes look at the making of the film. The first part features the producers of the film as they discuss how the director and KISS became involved with the project. The second part features the director himself and discusses the film and long conversations with himself and KISS frontman Gene Simmons as they ran through the script and movie. The third segment has some behind the scenes footage along with some fun interviews with the actors.
- Music Videos (SD, 8 Mins.) – Everclear and The Donnas have music videos here from the film.
- Trailer (SD, 2 Mins.) – Trailer for the film.
