I feel alone every time I try to talk about Glee with my male friends. Turns out, it’s not a show that other guys watch. But I’m not ashamed to be a straight man who loves musicals and TV shows filled with showtunes. It’s just my upbringing, having been raised somewhat by Rodgers & Hammerstein and spending most of my teen years acting in high school drama productions.

Ironically, though, I have no interest in the film adaptation of Rock of Ages, the 80s rock anthem-filled “jukebox musical” that Adam Shankman (Hairspray) has been tapped to direct. It looks cheesy and I don’t much like the idea of these types of musicals that revolve a plot around a greatest hits compilation. But Shankman thinks it will be like “Mamma Mia! for dudes,” meaning he actually believes heterosexual guys, the kind that don’t watch Glee and The Sound of Music if they can help it, will want to see it.

The whole idea got me wondering, though. What are the most guy-friendly musicals ever made? Probably those from Monty Python. Is Paint Your Wagon on the list? How about Tommy? Grease? Is Guys and Dolls cutting it close? Honestly, unless Rock of Ages has a lot of action and explosions, I don’t see it appealing to the average straight man.

Shankman is also in the news today with the announcement that he’ll co-produce the 2010 Academy Awards telecast with former Fox exec/producer Bill Mechanic (The New World). This makes me wonder if Shankman will try to jump off last year’s “musicals are back!” theme with a “guys can like musicals and the Oscars, too!” vibe. Preferably with his Pacifier star, Vin Diesel, hosting (and dancing and singing and maybe kicking some ass). In all seriousness, though, Shankman will probably try to bring Steve Martin back.

What do you think it would take for real manly dudes to both go see Rock of Ages and watch the Oscars? Comment below with your suggestions and check out the other film blogs’ responses to Shankman’s goal after the jump:

• Krystal Clark at ScreenCrave believes Shankman’s claim, though it may be dependent on who is in the film:
  

  That’s so true. I’m interested in seeing who they’ll cast in this film. Will they go for people who can actually sing, or will they dub the voices over? I hope that won’t be the case, because one of the musical’s signature tunes is Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and you need range to belt that out.

• Paul Tassi at JoBlo.com has a casting suggestion that fits Shankman’s goal:
  

  Shankman is excited about the project, and has adopted a “go big or go home” mentality about it, due to the fact that he thinks he’s going to be able to reach a wider audience thanks to the tunes of the play. [...] Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Hugh Jackman as Jon Bon Jovi. Yup. Just so long as it’s not Mark Wahlberg.

• Adam K. Raymond at Vulture expects a more likely casting idea:
  

  “I’m thinking big, and absolutely am going to attempt to cast with movie stars,” Shankman said. Can’t wait to see Zac Efron as metal head.

• Elisabeth Rappe at Cinematical hopes Shankman does succeed with his claim:
  

  If this could succeed in converting ordinary men to musicals (something Hugh Jackman hasn’t even managed), I will love it on principle. Maybe it’ll even bring back big hair — and yes, I wish for that every day because I never got to rock that look.

• Katey Rich at Cinema Blend agrees the appeal is there but that Shankman may not necessarily be trying to “spread the joy of musicals with the world.”:
  

  “Guy” is the operative word here, and Shankman doesn’t mean the gay guys who know all the words to “Good Morning Baltimore” when they play it as part of Musical Mondays at Splash bar in Chelsea. Rock of Ages is the kind of musical that appeals to the hetero boys and men who made Transformers 2 a hit, and Shankman and company want some of that money for themselves.

• Ethan Anderton at FirstShowing is a guy who is interested in Rock of Ages:
  

  Despite my dig into the cliche nature of the musical romance, I certainly still have a soft spot for them in my heart. I absolutely adored Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, thoroughly enjoyed Rob Marshall’s Chicago (and can’t wait for Marshall’s Fellini-inspired musical Nine to hit theaters this years) and especially love musicals from the past like Grease, West Side Story, Newsies, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. But I’m especially excited because this musical combines all those predictable romantic elements with the popular 80’s rock that I love anyway into one package that I, personally, can’t wait to see.

• Oli Lyttelton at The Playlist is a guy who isn’t interested in Rock of Ages:
  

  Following his success with “Hairspray,” director/choreographer Adam Shankman will adapt another Broadway smash for the screen: the musical “Rock of Ages,” which follows two people who fall in love at a Sunset Strip club, and features 80s rock from the likes of Journey, Joan Jett, Bon Jovi and Pat Benatar. [...] There are literally no circumstances under which we would see this movie.

• Mark at I Watch Stuff doesn’t get the appeal of this musical for anyone, male or female:
  

  With fellow musical adaptation Mamma Mia! having raked in over $609 million worldwide, New Line Cinema expects similarly impressive numbers for this film–assuming that, between now and the release, no one realizes you can listen to the same songs, sung by the actual artists and without all the annoying story elements, by turning on a radio.

• Vince Mancini at FilmDrunk foresees the movie ruining at least one good tune:
  

  I’m constantly amazed that ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ can retain kitsch value even while being one of the most overexposed and f-cked out songs at karaoke night.  It’s a good song, but think about it, The Sopranos finale was more than two years ago.  All I can say is that if it can still be likable even after a cheesy dork like Adam Shankman makes a movie with it, and a Variety writer uses its “message” as the last line of his article, it should be recognized by Guinness as the most invincible song in history.  It’ll eventually be like Demolition Man where in the future, all the restaurants are Taco Bell, and the only song they play is “Don’t Stop Believin.”

• Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood broke the news about the Oscars. Here are her initial thoughts on the men chosen to produce the show:
  

  This is an unexpected combination, one that surely will have Hollywood scratching its collective head. But I consider it a good choice that bodes well for AMPAS new president Tom Sherak. Both Adam Shankman and Bill Mechanic are experienced movie people, and Shankman has the added benefit of current TV experience.

• Seth Abramovitch at Movieline responds to Finke’s “toldjus” with focus on who Shankman and Mechanic should get to host the event:
  

  [Nikki Finke] suggests the popular choice to replace him is Tom Hanks, who could probably squeeze the gig into his busy schedule as Hollywood elder statesman and occasional papal crime solver. But can he carry a tune? Not that we’re aware of. And the guy smells of mothballs. Hey Shankman and Mechanic: You might want to take a look at this post, and the comments beneath it. Tina Fey, Ricky Gervais, Justin Timberlake. Let’s try and sex things up a bit this year, yeah?

• David Poland at The Hot Blog mentions an actor who could potentially end up hosting this show given the connections:
  

  Interestingly, the Adam Sandler connection is not only with Shankman, but with Sherak via Revolution Studios, which funded 4 Sandler movies including Punch Drunk Love and Sandler-produced The Animal, the company’s first greenlit production and second release. The connection also reaches to last year’s producer, Bill Condon, whose Richard Pryor film is being made at Sony via Sandler’s Happy Madison.