The relationship model of interaction is a theoretical idea used to track the progression of relationships that may be coming together or coming apart. Using this designed model one is able to gauge where he/she is in a relationship. The stages of coming together are; initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating and bonding. Filmed this past year, the movie Rock of Ages presents these stages of coming together using the romantic interaction between the main characters Drew and Sherrie. From the director of Hairspray, Rock of Ages is a classic musical brought to life. This movie brings back the popular music of infamous 1980s artists such as Pat Benatar, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Journey, Twisted Sister, Poison and Whitesnake. The story takes place during 1987 in Hollywood Los Angeles. Drew Boley, a young aspiring rocker works as a busboy at a bar called The Bourbon Room, owned by Dennis Dupree. He bumps into Sherrie Christian, a country girl from Kansas hoping to make it big in Hollywood. Drew convinces Dennis to give Sherrie a job as a waitress. During this time, the “rock and roll, sex and drugs” trend isn’t proving favorable to the city’s developers and the Mayor is pushing to “clean up the city.” To bring in revenue, Dennis Dupree invites the band Arsenal and rock star Stacee Jaxx to play their last song at The Bourbon Room. Drew’s band gets the opportunity to open for Arsenal. Before the performance Sherrie runs an errand for Stacee Jaxx, but Drew mistakens it as something more. Paul Gill, Stacee’s manager sees Drew’s potential and has him sign a recording contract. That night both Sherrie and Drew quit The Bourbon Room. Desperate for money, Sherrie becomes a pole dancer at the Venus Club for Gentlemen. Eventually, Drew and Sherrie meet up to clear the air about he Stacee Jaxx incident and eventually join Stacee Jaxx and Arsenal as additional lead singers. The Bourbon Room makes enough to save itself and rock and roll lives on. The first stage of coming together is Initiating. This stage is about establishing contact with another to make judgements, determine availability, and search for appropriate opening. It’s a ritualistic interaction and touches on ones impression management. In Rock of Ages, Drew and Sherrie go through this initiation as Drew walks out of The Bourbon Room and sees someone run away with Sherries collection of records. Although he failed to save her music, Drew used that opening to make initial contact with Sherrie. He also turned it into a second opportunity of initiation as he brought her back to the bar to persuade his boss to hire her as a waitress. Drew and Sherrie then hit the second stage of coming together, Experimenting. After initiating, couples start to discover the unknown such as demographic information, commonalities, and interests. Small talk plays an important part in this stage as it helps to uncover information and reduces uncertainty. Drew and Sherrie begin experimenting as they work at The Bourbon Room showing patterns of interest in another and hanging around each other throughout the day. He also takes her to a used record store and they talk about their dreams of rock and roll stardom. They go through this stage a second time on their first date. Drew takes Sherrie to Hollywoods famous sign for a semi romantic dinner under the stars. During that date both reveal more about where they came from, and their families. Intensifying is the third stage of coming together. Intimacy is increased in this stage as two become “close friends” and “we” talk starts to form along with nicknames and verbal shortcuts. Both Drew and Sherrie start to become more comfortable with one
