Source plot synopsis — includes the ending
In October 1978 in Cleveland, Ohio, four rebellious teenage boys – Hawk, Lex, Trip Verudie, and Jeremiah "Jam" Bruce – play in Kiss cover band "Mystery" and prepare to see their idols in concert in Detroit, Michigan the following night. Their hopes are dashed when Jam's religiously conservative mother finds their tickets, humiliates Jam over the school intercom, and burns the tickets before having Jam transferred to a Catholic boarding school.
After Trip skips class and wins tickets and backstage passes from a radio contest in Detroit, the boys ditch school and, with Hawk disguised as pizza deliveryman, rescued Jam from the boarding school by drugging Father Phillip McNulty using a pizza topped with hallucinogenic mushrooms before setting off for Detroit in the Volvo of Lex's mother to collect the tickets. En route, they get into a road rage incident with disco fanatics Kenny and Bobby after Trip throws a slice of pizza on their windshield. When Kenny runs them off the road and destroys their Kiss 8-track, the quartet beat up the duo, tie them and their female colleague to a railguard, give them Kiss face paint, send their Trans Am into the creek, and continue their journey before picking up Kenny's girlfriend, Christine, after she dumped him.
In Detroit, the boys discover that Trip did not stay on the phone long enough to give the radio station his information, resulting in the tickets being given to the next caller. While exiting the building, they find the Volvo missing and assumed Christine stole it. The four split up to find Kiss tickets and the Volvo, planning to regroup in 105 minutes. Hawk sees a scalper who suggests that he enter a male stripping contest to raise money for tickets. He gets drunk and loses the contest after vomiting and falling off stage, but is paid by the company and has sex with Amanda Finch, an older woman. He later locates the scalper, only to discover that his tickets are sold out. Trip goes to a convenience store, hoping to mug a younger child for his ticket, but the boy's older athletic brother, Chongo, and his friends confront and extort him for $200. He then plans to rob the store with a Stretch Armstrong doll he stole from some kids, disguised as a gun, but ends up receiving $150 and a kiss from the female clerk after thwarting a genuine robbery attempt. Trip gives the money to Chongo's gang, who assault him for coming up short and steals his wallet.
Lex sneaks backstage with the concert loading crew but is caught and tossed over a fence where he tames a group of vicious dogs with a Frisbee, then saves Christine and the Volvo from two car thieves (who are responsible for stealing the car) at a nearby chop shop. Jam encounters his mother at an anti-Kiss rally. She takes his drumsticks before dragging him to a nearby Cathedral for confession with a perverted priest who is more interested in salacious conversation than an actual confession. He is then greeted by classmate Beth Bumstein, who is moving to Ann Arbor. After admitting their feelings for each other, they have sex in the confession booth before parting ways, agreeing to maintain contact with each other, while Beth gives Jam a custom made shirt with his bands "Mystery" logo. Jam, imbued with new confidence, returns to the rally and criticizes his mother's domineering ways and hypocrisy, saying that her extreme religious views and controlling attitude have only caused him to rebel. He ultimately breaks her spirit by labelling her as a lousy mother and proclaiming to her and the rally attendees that he lost his virginity in a confessional booth. He then demands his drumsticks back, one of which she broke in half. She complies and accepts his life choice.
When the boys meet empty-handed, Jam suggests beating each other up to imply having been mugged for their tickets. Upon their arrival at Cobo Hall, the guards initially doubt the boys' claims, until Trip points out Chongo's gang, who are just entering, as their assailants. When the guards search them, they find Trip's wallet with his Kiss Army picture ID and money, then confiscate Chongo's tickets, and give them to the boys before taking him, his little brother, and his friends into custody. The quartet enters the concert hall as Kiss plays their song "Detroit Rock City". Peter Criss eventually throws a drumstick, which Jam catches.
After Trip skips class and wins tickets and backstage passes from a radio contest in Detroit, the boys ditch school and, with Hawk disguised as pizza deliveryman, rescued Jam from the boarding school by drugging Father Phillip McNulty using a pizza topped with hallucinogenic mushrooms before setting off for Detroit in the Volvo of Lex's mother to collect the tickets. En route, they get into a road rage incident with disco fanatics Kenny and Bobby after Trip throws a slice of pizza on their windshield. When Kenny runs them off the road and destroys their Kiss 8-track, the quartet beat up the duo, tie them and their female colleague to a railguard, give them Kiss face paint, send their Trans Am into the creek, and continue their journey before picking up Kenny's girlfriend, Christine, after she dumped him.
In Detroit, the boys discover that Trip did not stay on the phone long enough to give the radio station his information, resulting in the tickets being given to the next caller. While exiting the building, they find the Volvo missing and assumed Christine stole it. The four split up to find Kiss tickets and the Volvo, planning to regroup in 105 minutes. Hawk sees a scalper who suggests that he enter a male stripping contest to raise money for tickets. He gets drunk and loses the contest after vomiting and falling off stage, but is paid by the company and has sex with Amanda Finch, an older woman. He later locates the scalper, only to discover that his tickets are sold out. Trip goes to a convenience store, hoping to mug a younger child for his ticket, but the boy's older athletic brother, Chongo, and his friends confront and extort him for $200. He then plans to rob the store with a Stretch Armstrong doll he stole from some kids, disguised as a gun, but ends up receiving $150 and a kiss from the female clerk after thwarting a genuine robbery attempt. Trip gives the money to Chongo's gang, who assault him for coming up short and steals his wallet.
Lex sneaks backstage with the concert loading crew but is caught and tossed over a fence where he tames a group of vicious dogs with a Frisbee, then saves Christine and the Volvo from two car thieves (who are responsible for stealing the car) at a nearby chop shop. Jam encounters his mother at an anti-Kiss rally. She takes his drumsticks before dragging him to a nearby Cathedral for confession with a perverted priest who is more interested in salacious conversation than an actual confession. He is then greeted by classmate Beth Bumstein, who is moving to Ann Arbor. After admitting their feelings for each other, they have sex in the confession booth before parting ways, agreeing to maintain contact with each other, while Beth gives Jam a custom made shirt with his bands "Mystery" logo. Jam, imbued with new confidence, returns to the rally and criticizes his mother's domineering ways and hypocrisy, saying that her extreme religious views and controlling attitude have only caused him to rebel. He ultimately breaks her spirit by labelling her as a lousy mother and proclaiming to her and the rally attendees that he lost his virginity in a confessional booth. He then demands his drumsticks back, one of which she broke in half. She complies and accepts his life choice.
When the boys meet empty-handed, Jam suggests beating each other up to imply having been mugged for their tickets. Upon their arrival at Cobo Hall, the guards initially doubt the boys' claims, until Trip points out Chongo's gang, who are just entering, as their assailants. When the guards search them, they find Trip's wallet with his Kiss Army picture ID and money, then confiscate Chongo's tickets, and give them to the boys before taking him, his little brother, and his friends into custody. The quartet enters the concert hall as Kiss plays their song "Detroit Rock City". Peter Criss eventually throws a drumstick, which Jam catches.
Sources and content license
Source and revision history ↗ · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Detroit Rock City (film). Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license