Detroit Rock City Blu Ray Review (Warner Bros.)

Detroit Rock City is a 1999 comedy directed by Adam Rifkin (The Invisible Maniac, Psycho Cop Returns, The Chase, Chillerama, Director’s Cut, and The Dark Backward). It was written by Carl V. Dupré (Hellraiser: Hellseeker, The Prophecy 3: The Ascent, Bone Chillers, and Hellraiser: Hellworld). It was produced by Tim Sullivan (Hood of Horror, Bloody Bloody Bible Camp, Cut/Print, 2001 Maniacs, 2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams, and Chillerama). The budget was $34,000,000 and it grossed $4,217,115 worldwide at the box office. Diehard rock fanatics plus aspiring musicians: Hawk (played by: Edward Furlong from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Pet Sematary II, Brainscan, and American History X), Lex (played by: Giuseppe Andrews from Cabin Fever franchise, 2001 Maniacs, Pleasantville, and Independence Day), Trip (played by: James DeBello from Crime + Punishment in Suburbia, Swimfan, Scary Movie 2, and Cabin Fever) and Jam (played by: Sam Huntington from Not Another Teen Movie, Being Human, Superman Returns, and Fanboys) can’t wait to see their all time favorite band KISS perform live in Detroit. However, when Jam’s prude mother (played by: Lin Shaye from Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Insidious franchise, There’s Something About Mary, and A Nightmare on Elm Street) finds their tickets to the epic event, she sets them on fire which leaves them desperate for another way to see the show of their dreams. In their hilarious attempts to see KISS, the ambitious group endures multiple misunderstandings, humiliation, and violence all just to see their beloved idols in Detroit Rock City!!!! Detroit Rock City was ahead of it’s time and it’s a real shame that it flopped really bad during it’s original theatrical release back in the day. Cult director Adam Rifkin got his big shot with this rock n roll comedy. I always thought he was very underrated with all his previous horror features. He proves that he can do any genre here if given a proper budget. The script is very creative, hilarious, and just a overall good time seeing these teens trying to go to this concert no matter what it takes. Kiss is iconic so I’m not surprised that they were picked for this entertaining concept. The leads do some of their best work in Detroit Rock City. Edward Furlong, Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, and Sam Huntington all go through completely different journeys for the same exact goal when they arrive in Detroit. Hawk gets over his stage fright in one of the worst possible ways. Jam stands up to his domineering mom and finally takes a chance with his longtime crush. Trip becomes an unlikely hero after considering doing a crime himself. Lex is determined to their borrowed vehicle back and he ends rescuing a familiar face during his bravery. All of these wild scenarios end up hooking them up with a variety of different females. Character actor Lin Shaye is top notch as the unexpected villain. She considers rock music evil especially Kiss so she doesn’t want her son being influenced by them. She destroys their tickets that they all bought with their own hard earned money without hesitation. She tries to force Jam into a religious boarding school until his friends save him for this disaster. The talented supporting cast includes Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is the New Black), Emmanuelle Chriqui (Wrong Turn), Shannon Tweed (Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death), Joe Flaherty (Happy Gilmore), Kevin Corrigan (Goodfellas), Steve Schirripa (The Sopranos), Ron Jeremy (The Boondock Saints), Gene Simmons (Trick or Treat), Paul Stanley (Scooby-Doo! And Kiss: Rock and Roll Mystery), Ace Frehley (Remedy), Peter Criss (OZ), Julian Richings (Wrong Turn), Jason Biggs (American Pie franchise), Kristin Booth (The Boys), and Miles Dougal (Director’s Cut). It’s kinda like the 90’s version of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School, it’s always had a similar vibe to that one. It’s laugh out loud funny with all it’s awkward and messed up moments. Everyone has great chemistry together. It’s an awesome road, coming of age, and adventure movie that delivers in every possible way. Detroit Rock City just gets better and better with each rewatch. It’s one of my favorites from the 90’s. I’m glad that it got a whole life and audience on home video later on because it should have blew up from the start. It’s a total blast and it brings back so many memories, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Warner Bros Pictures! This 1080p (2.40:1) transfer is the exact same restoration as the original 2015 home video release. I’m so glad that it’s back in print because it was pretty rare and expensive for a minute for collectors. It still looks really good for being an older version from the early blu ray days but I would love to see a brand new 4K in the future. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0, and Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks on the disc. Detroit Rock City still sounds awesome for home video when it comes to audio. Not a big surprise because music is a major part of it. The soundtrack really shines in that department. All of the dialogue is crisp, the ridiculous scenarios are elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with director Adam Rifkin. It has “Audio Commentary # 2” with Carl V. Dupré, Melanie Lynskey, Giuseppe Andrews, James DeBello, Lin Shaye, Sam Huntington, Tim Sullivan, Peter Schink, Richard Hillman, and Shannon Tweed. It has an additional “Audio Commentary” with the actual band Kiss. It has the 36 minutes of “Cutting Room Floor”. It has a few different angles of Kiss’s performance from the film plus additional music moments. It has almost 19 minutes of 7 different “Deleted Scenes”. It has the almost 8 minute “Look Into the Sun”. It’s a behind the scenes video diary from the production. It has the almost 37 minute “Miscellaneous Shit”. It has the cast recording music for Detroit Rock City. It has interviews with the crew, cast, and Kiss. Adam Rifkin turned down a 3 picture deal with DreamWorks to do this personal project. It has a variety of behind the scenes footage from the movie. It has two music videos featuring material from it’s soundtrack which includes The Donnas “Strutter” and Everclear “The Boys are Back in Town”. It has the “Theatrical Trailer”. It’s packed with so many extras to keep you busy for hours here. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!