Thunderstruck

My Best Friend's Wedding the pals promised to marry each other if they were both still single at 30? Well, Darren Ashton's Thunderstruck is similar, only it's about five heavy-metal fans who vowed, as teenagers, that if any of them died before turning 40, the others would bury him next to Australian rock idol Bon Scott of AC/DC fame. Guess what happens? Quirky, Down Under-style high jinks ensue as the guys, who've pretty much all taken the scenic loser route through adulthood—one still lives at home with his parents, another stocks supermarket shelves—set about stealing their dead buddy's ashes and fulfilling the vow. Unfortunately, for a rock 'n' roll movie, tThunderstruck is pretty tame stuff--there's even a scene in which the boys sing along in the car to Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," which comes across as the equivalent of a “wacky” trying-on-hats shopping montage. An optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include an audio commentary by director Darren Ashton and producer Jodi Matterson, a “making-of” featurette, and deleted scenes. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a so-so film.] (M. Johanson)