Shake, Rattle and Rock!

1994 "If rock'n'roll is bad... she doesn't want to be good!"
5.2| 1h24m| en
Details

In 1950s America, teenage rebellion comes easy when something like rock 'n' roll is viewed as sinful. Looking to have a good time while they're young, Susan, Cookie and Tony -- three teenagers from a small town -- start a nightclub where host Danny Klay introduces the newest rock 'n' roll talent, and everyone can dance the night away. Of course, not everyone in town is happy with the new establishment.

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Reviews

Organnall Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,
ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
gavin6942 Two young girls start a band and open up a nightclub in town where the local kids can hang out and stay out of trouble, but they encounter opposition from local people who think rock is the devil's music and will corrupt their kids.Is it wrong that I found it ironic Howie Mandel was accused of allowing close dancing, when it is well known he is terrified of people touching him? In a strange way, this exists in a parallel world to "Rock and Rock High School", with Mary Woronov again as the rock-hating lady, and Dick Miller again as a cop (Officer Paisley!). Even P. J. Soles as an adult Riff Randell?John Doe, who plays Lucky, recalls Allan Arkush being "everything you'd want in a director. He was one of those people who really got it. He knew how to have fun, how to let people cut loose... and you can feel it." He says the movie took only three days to shoot.
jrobles-106-996645 About the only thing going for this movie was the music. Not only was this movie disappointing, but the ending was very unsatisfactory. I'm surprised Rene Zellwiger's career recovered from this. Howie Mandel was at that point in his career to actually turn down roles. This one, he should have turned down. Hairspray, (original) was way better than this disappointment. At least that movie had a satisfactory ending. Shake Rattle and Rock should be retitled "Shake Rattle and put this DVD under the tire of your car and run over it. " This movie was a low point for everyone involved.
Amanda Shake, Rattle and Rock was a 1994 effort made by Renee Zellweger before she was famous, so I suppose she can be forgiven for this film (and I use that word loosely). Renee does at least try to make the best of a hackneyed plot, about kids who just want to rock 'n' roll in 1950's America, while looking adorable as a redhead in the process.However, even her cuteness cannot save this blatantly cheap looking movie. I have no problem with a movie being low budget (a lot of my favourite movies are of the independent variety) but a movie should never look this cheap. Also it's kind of hard to have a period piece when it looked like there was very little money, talent or competence to work with. I didn't see one classic car, and isn't that a prerequisite of a movie that's supposed to take place in past (especially the 50's or 60's)? Another bad sign that I noticed right away was that the opening credits were done in the same style of font that is often favoured by cheap porn. Now I'm not a porn connoisseur mind you, but I have seen a few with this same style of (hilariously cheap looking) opening credits.Zellweger plays a chick named Susan whose parents just don't get her, so she unleashes her frustrations by dancing it up as a regular on an American Bandstand rip off show called The 3 O'clock Bop (or something like that) that is hosted by Howie Mandel! That should be a red light right from the start; that Howie Mandel is making an attempt to act! This movie was so pathetically bad that I found it hysterical. There are some comments on this site that say this film was a satire, and hence was trying to be horrible on purpose, but I really and honestly think that it took itself seriously. And THAT made me laugh my ass off! How did I come to watch such a train wreck? I'm visiting my parents for a few days and I woke up about two hours ago and couldn't get back to sleep, and I actually found Shake, Rattle and Rock on my parents DVD shelf. What possessed my mother to buy this is beyond me, so I will have to investigate when she gets up. I'm betting five bucks that she came across it in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart...wait a minute, I can't make a bet with myself! Anyway, I have to make fun when she gets up none the less. Most likely this DVD was purchased for five bucks or less, but it's still a gip.I can't really review this movie because I only watched about 45 minutes of it before I had to turn it off! It's pretty bad that I couldn't force myself to sit through the entire 83 minutes, but maybe I'll torture myself and watch the remainder of it later if I'm really and truly bored (and I would have to be).I just really couldn't stomach watching Renee be attracted to the token bad boy of the movie, because it's obvious this teenage motorcycle hoodlum is at least 40! Wait, I have the IMDb page open for this piece of junk, let me check out the motorcycle hoods filmography. YES, I was right! The actor's name is John Doe (of all names) and he WAS 40 when this movie was made! I was jovial before, but now I'm cracking up! The make-up in Shake, Rattle and Rock was obviously one of the films many other oversights, and was probably done by the directors little sister. I say this because 40-year-old teenage motorcycle punk has a noticeable black eye that pops up (not long before I turned the movie off) that isn't explained, and it looks like an attempt to conceal it was made with a dollop of cheap foundation. I'm guessing that someone on set punched him because of his lousy acting, and that fact that he was 20 years too old for this damn part.The breaking point for me came when the cast started doing a montage/dance sequence in slow motion while getting ready for the big concert. Ugh, I must have looked bi-polar at that moment because I was both disgusted and laughing so hard that my stomach muscles hurt. Only watch this movie if you are in the mood to see what parts an A-list actress like Renee Zellweger had to reduce herself to back when she was slumming it in Hollywood.
nuthillproductions Although Renee Zellwegger is a great actress in later films her presence here is merely serviceable. The real problem lies in the concept of remaking a teen exploitation film. The original film might have a charm for its naive cheesiness that now looks camp and amusing. To remake such a product is a poor premise. The film looked like it wished it were Hairspray by John Waters (who knows how to make material that refenences the original materials without looking like a wannabe). It also had annoyingly poor art direction and script writing. The music was fairly good but stories like this are more successful in films like Grace of My Heart. For a good time got to Blackboard Jungle and Jailhouse Rock. This kind of film is a product of its' time and not likely to be successfully translated into a nostalgia vehicle.