Detroit Rock City is all about what a group of highly dedicated and loyal KISS fans will do to get to the concert of their dreams in order to watch a band that were the idols of so many adolescents back in the day. You go into the film knowing the formula of a teenage movie and understanding that things are going to happen, but you still have to laugh at the misadventures and constant troubles that the guys get into in an attempt to see KISS. Personally I liked the payback scene when they encounter the two disco music lovers and teach them a few lessons in humility.
I might not be a KISS fan, but I enjoy a good movie.
10. KISS reenacted a concert for this movie.
They had 3,000 extras to act as fans and staged the entire concert for the film. Either they were really into it or were being paid really well, or both.
9. The original cut was over 3 hours long.
For a teenage movie that’s just too long. If things aren’t moving ahead quickly enough in this kind of movie the target audience tends to get bored pretty easily.
8. A lot of the memorabilia in the film is from Gene Simmons’ private collection.
That shows that he had a lot invested in this movie and was obviously impressed enough with the script that he was willing to go along with it.
7. Paul Stanley’s ex-wife was one of the protesters.
That’s kind of funny that a woman who used to be married to one of the band members was in a group of protesters working against the band.
6. The F word is said about 83 times.
That seems about right for a film with four leads that are playing the part of teenagers. In some cases it would be considered low, but for a comedy it’s not bad.
5. The stunt in which Trip gets punched by Chongo was a pretty well-rehearsed scene.
He was attached to a harness that pulled him backward and the bricks he crashed through were rubber. It was a safe scene but it still took some time to get it right.
4. The permit for the original church got pulled and they had to find a different one.
The original church they were going to use found out about the sex scene taking place in the confessional booth and wasn’t about to have that in their place of worship so they had to change venues.
3. The vomiting scene started making everyone nauseous.
Edward Furlong wasn’t actually vomiting. He had a tube that ran up his jacket and along the side of his face. Someone else had the control to the ‘vomit’, but it took so long and so many takes that it was starting to make other people sick.
2. It took three days to shoot the scene inside the confessional booth.
Maybe they couldn’t get the right angles or something. After all the confessional booth isn’t much bigger than an airplane toilet.
1. The film takes place in 1978.
If you couldn’t tell from the fashions and the fact that disco was still around, now you know.
I, wanna rock and roll all night, and party every day.
