Detroit Rock City

Released 1999
Stars Edward Furlong, Natasha Lyonne, Sam Huntington, James DeBello, Giuseppe Andrews
Directed by Adam Rifkin

Set in 1978, "Detroit Rock City" follows the hilarious misadventures of four high school friends and their quest to see their heroes, Kiss, in a sold out concert. When their Kiss tickets are burned by a religious fanatic parent, the four teens must battle, well, everything that could possibly go wrong, in an effort to see, in person, the "Loudest band in the world."

"Detroit Rock City" is a wonderful film that manages to strike a nice balance of John Hughes teen comedy and late-seventies period piece. The performances are all quite good and the soundtrack manages to help capture the time brilliantly. The catchy direction by Adam Rifkin lends an  almost comic book-like feel to the proceedings, which only helps add to the nostalgic feel of this film. "Detroit Rock City" is not the campy fiasco that Kiss' previous film, "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park", was. Instead, it is a celebration of a significant, yet largely forgotten, movement in seventies pop culture.

Summary by Thom Bennett