Detroit Rock City (1999)

47% of critics liked it
(38 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(54,292 ratings)

Are you ready for the hottest band in the land? It's 1978 in Detroit, and pretty much any teenager who isn't a total wimp is totally stoked for the upcoming Kiss concert (as anyone who ever listened to Kiss Alive! knows, Detroit has always loved this band). But four proud members of the Kiss Army… More Are you ready for the hottest band in the land? It's 1978 in Detroit, and pretty much any teenager who isn't a total wimp is totally stoked for the upcoming Kiss concert (as anyone who ever listened to Kiss Alive! knows, Detroit has always loved this band). But four proud members of the Kiss Army find themselves without tickets to the show, and one has to deal with a mother who is convinced that Kiss and their music are evil incarnate. Will they be able to foil scalpers, security, and paranoid parents to witness the fire-spitting, blood-puking, hard rock frenzy that is Kiss on stage? Detroit Rock City stars Edward Furlong, Sam Huntington, Natasha Lyonne, Giuseppe Andrews, and James DeBello as the representative members of the Teenage Nation; the original four members of Kiss (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss) play themselves, and Simmons also co-produced. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Adam Rifkin
Written By: Carl Dupre, Carl V. Dupre
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 13, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Dec 21, 1999
Studio: New Line Cinema

Critic Reviews

Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
A valentine to sex, drugs, and cutting school.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
What works for rocking and rolling all night (and partying every day) doesn't necessarily hold true for movies.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
The movie isn't a trailblazer; it's an exuberantly trashy party, a comedy of lowdown defeats and triumphs.
James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
sorely in need of the authenticity and easy humor of "Dazed and Confused," the 1994 Richard Linklater comedy it's obviously trying hard to imitate.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Detroit Rock City is a pleasant little comedy film that focuses on a group of friends who are setting out on a road trip to go see their favorite band, Kiss. Though not an excellent comedy, Detroit Rock City is an accomplished effort as I thought the idea behind the plot was quite… More
Detroit Rock City is a pleasant little comedy film that focuses on a group of friends who are setting out on a road trip to go see their favorite band, Kiss. Though not an excellent comedy, Detroit Rock City is an accomplished effort as I thought the idea behind the plot was quite good, and above all fun. As a fan of Rock and Heavy Metal music, I thoroughly liked this film for what it was. There's some great comedy on screen, that'll make you laugh and chuckle. However, the film is far from perfect. Things could've been better, but for what it is, Detroit Rock City is lots of fun. What's really funny about the film is how we see the group of teens do almost the impossible to go see Kiss; you gotta admire their dedication to the band and its music. Detroit Rock City is a fun road trip film, and for me, as a person who's gone on multiple road trips to go see my favorite bands, this film brings back all the crazy memories from the road. This is a film that I can only recommend to fans of the band, and to fans of Rock and Metal music. This is a fun, funny comedy that though not perfect, is far from awful.
Melvin W

Mrs. Bruce: God forbid one day you have a son like you, Jeremiah. A boy who lies through his teeth, buys demonic records, and smokes the dope! "They came. They saw. They rocked." I've always had a thing for Detroit Rock City. It's a fun comedy that you can watch… More
Mrs. Bruce: God forbid one day you have a son like you, Jeremiah. A boy who lies through his teeth, buys demonic records, and smokes the dope! "They came. They saw. They rocked." I've always had a thing for Detroit Rock City. It's a fun comedy that you can watch over and over again. But seeing it again now, it's not as good as I remembered. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy it, but it does have it's share of problems. For one it's completely stupid and his very little if any intelligent comedy, but I can get over that because I do love the music and the situations. The second thing that really sort of irritates me every time I watch this movie, is some of it's editing tricks. Rifkin seems like he wants the movie to come off as really flashy, but he kind of fails in that department. It's just annoying. For all of it's problems, I still really enjoy it. The movie features an awesome soundtrack that has a lot of Kiss, but not just Kiss. There's Thin Lizzy, ACDC, Van Halen and many more. I like the cast, too. Their nothing special, but their not working on an Oscar level movie here. Cool little cameo by Shannon Tweed really tops this movie off nicely. If your a fan of 70's rock and Kiss or you grew up in the 70's this is a movie you'll probably enjoy. For everyone, you'll see the stupidity as annoying and not cool.
Mike S

Something tells me that whoever directed this, must have been pretty stoned out of his mind. Especially if you look at some of the editing and directorial choices. It was just way too much at times, and very over the top. Apart from that little drawback, however, it's a pretty… More
Something tells me that whoever directed this, must have been pretty stoned out of his mind. Especially if you look at some of the editing and directorial choices. It was just way too much at times, and very over the top. Apart from that little drawback, however, it's a pretty good coming-of-age movie, and a nice tribute to the rock band Kiss. Loved the soundtrack!
Ginny

Loved this back in the 90s and I still find it fun to watch 9 years after! -- rewrite this later -- Pending Review
Martin S

na man....it had some fun moments but.....na man
Jason S

Funny movie about some kids trying to see a KISS concert.
Dean M

Really FUCKING funny and great memories of late 1970s at the start scenes when I was a 5 by remembering the old TV series, advertisements and more things.
Tedd P

Have you ever wondered "I love Dazed and Confused! Now if only I could see the ADD Nickelodeon director's cut"? Well here you go. Detroit Rock City's script is serviceable enough, but the direction is so misguided and spastic (a fun drinking game is to count the… More
Have you ever wondered "I love Dazed and Confused! Now if only I could see the ADD Nickelodeon director's cut"? Well here you go. Detroit Rock City's script is serviceable enough, but the direction is so misguided and spastic (a fun drinking game is to count the unnecessary uses of wide-angle lenses) and the comedic acting so obnoxious that any redeeming values are stripped away
Ira Z

I honestly believe this was a good movie. Sure, it was really a cliche and there wasn't anything really substantial about it. Yet beyond that, the director offered the viewer a sincere story about a group of motely friends and their zany escapades. On this alone, I feel that the… More
I honestly believe this was a good movie. Sure, it was really a cliche and there wasn't anything really substantial about it. Yet beyond that, the director offered the viewer a sincere story about a group of motely friends and their zany escapades. On this alone, I feel that the director has already succeeded. Aside from obviously liking the story, I really liked the main cast of this film (Though I know that they really didn't give great performances, hehe.)
Moe E

Looking through those listed as fans of this movie, having been a teenager during the 70's doesn't seem to be a prerequiste to enjoy this movie. It certainly doesn't hurt, though! KISS Rocks!
Leo L

V ery funny!