It took a lot of movie magic (mainly plywood, paint, and CGI) to turn Miami's gritty 14th Street and North Miami Avenue intersection into Hollywood's ideal Sunset Strip -- you know, the place where homeless teenagers and crack cocaine users aren't seen. And after seeing the trailer for Rock of Ages, we've got to admit, Miami and Broward are looking good, even if the movie itself looks like a dud.
By now you are well aware that South Florida stood in for Los Angeles over the summer with Fort Lauderdale's Revolution being transformed into the fictional Bourbon Room, a Broward landfill being used to stage the Hollywood sign (how appropriate), 14th Street and North Miami Avenue painted up to look like the Sunset Strip, and various interior scenes being shot inside Ice Palace Film Studios in Overtown.
You can get a glimpse of the whole charade in the trailer, which hit the web yesterday (and was quickly removed by Warner Bros from YouTube). The film stars Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Mary J. Blige, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, and some other people your tweenage daughter probably knows. The whole thing looks like a shit show, but then again, we probably aren't its target demographic.
The movie is obviously pandering to the American Idol/Glee generation that doesn't care that rock classics are being sung in an awkward karaoke fashion by A-list celebrities actors. Why listen to Twisted Sister perform "We're Not Gonna Take It", when Catherine Zeta-Jones does it so much better?
Snarky remarks aside, New Line Cinema, we eagerly await our invitation to the Miami premiere -- that's if there is one. (Oh, please let there be one!)
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