"Rock of Ages" is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. Blessed with unstoppable energy, an undeniably* bawdy* sense of fun and Tom Cruise in backless leather pants, it takes songs you may never have loved and turns them into a musical that's easy to enjoy.

Those tunes, undying anthems* like Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" and Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is," come courtesy of the 2009 musical tribute* to 1980s rock that was nominated for five Tonys and is still playing on Broadway.

Enthusiastically* directed by "Hairspray's" Adam Shankman and written by playwriter Chris D'Arienzo with help from Justin Theroux and Allan Loeb, the movie "Rock of Ages" adds characters and tinkers with the personalities of others, but the core of the enterprise remains the same.

Its essential sweetness leavened* by knowing winks, "Rock of Ages" succeeds as well as it does because of its unlikely combination of a guileless* boy-meets-girl plot structure conveyed in a sophisticated*, showbiz-savvy* style.

The film is also filled with actors willing to dive headfirst* into their roles and take the endeavor's inherent* foolishness seriously, all with an eye toward enhancing the audience's fun. Though "Rock of Ages" is very much an ensemble film, its success is grounded in Cruise's fearless work as ultimate rock god Stacee Jaxx.

Small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock 'n' roll romance is told through the hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake, and more.

Presumably modeled on the likes of Axl Rose, Steven Tyler and Jon Bon Jovi, Jaxx makes women faint *****- literally *****- when he walks into a room.

Heavily tattooed* and heroically* self-absorbed, with a capuchin* monkey for a pet and a devil's head codpiece for his leather pants, the lead singer of Arsenal oozes wicked charisma* in the most wasted way, and it's Cruise's deadpan work that makes the man so entertaining to observe.

Fun is definitely the byword* here, manufactured by accomplished filmmaking all around, with a special nod to the costumes of Rita Ryack and Mia Michaels' choreography*. Just like the song says, they built this city on rock 'n' roll, and that cannot be bad. (SD-Agencies)

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