Tom is still cruising

Women scream at the mere mention of his name, fainting when he strolls past them.

Everyone wants a piece of him wherever he goes.

That sums up the life of Tom Cruise, or rather, his latest alter-ego Stacee Jaxx.

In Rock Of Ages, the big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, Cruise plays Jaxx, a fading rock god from the 1980s, complete with hair extensions, tattoos, eyeliner and black nail polish.

Oh, and a set of rock-hard abs.

While the movie focuses on the budding romance between a small-town girl (Julianne Hough) and a city boy (Diego Boneta), Cruise rules the roost.

Jaxx may be a supporting character, yet the 50-year-old Hollywood superstar's performance as a larger-than-life version of Axl Rose-meets-Steven Tyler received rave reviews from the critics.

Directed by Adam Shankman, Rock Of Ages, which opens here today, also stars Malin Akerman, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Bryan Cranston, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mary J. Blige.

Wrote the Los Angeles Times: "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."

Time magazine praised Cruise for delivering "an awesomely deranged intensity".

CNN agreed: "Cruise has the charisma to sell all that even as he shows us a boozed-up captive to celebrity, sex and ego. When he does perform, he's electric."

Co-star Cranston, 56, even proclaimed to E! News that he wouldn't be surprised if Cruise gets an Oscar nod.

Added the 47-year-old Shankman: "There's no question why Tom is Tom, and why he's a movie star of this calibre and has had the career that he's had, because his level of commitment and professionalism is unparalleled."

Jaxx is definitely a step out of the stereotypical action heroes Cruise has played over the course of his 31-year career.

The last time he exited his comfort zone and received critical acclaim was in Tropic Thunder (2008), where he played the crude and potty-mouthed movie executive Les Grossman.

But like Jaxx, whose singing and songwriting abilities are eclipsed by his sex god persona, Cruise's personal affairs often overshadow his professional work.

The latest tumultuous chapter is no exception.

Two weeks into the release of Rock Of Ages in the US on June 15, Cruise's US actress-wife Katie Holmes dropped a bombshell by filing for divorce after more than five years of marriage.

And that effectively eclipsed Jaxx - and the movie - in one swoop.

The news came as a shock to many, more so than when Cruise called it quits with previous ex-wives Mimi Rogers and Nicole Kidman.

That's because TomKat - as Cruise and Holmes were affectionately called - appeared loving and devoted their attention to six-year-old daughter Suri, Cruise's only biological child.

He shares two adopted children, Isabella, 19, and Connor, 17, with Kidman.

Naturally, the whirlwind divorce became sensational tabloid fodder, especially when it seemed to have unfolded like a perfectly orchestrated plan - with Holmes as the mastermind and Cruise, who had always seemed to be in control, the victim of a blindside.

She ended up receiving sole custody of Suri.

Ironically, Cruise approached Shankman to create a role for him in a musical because of Holmes.

He told W Magazine in a pre-divorce interview: "Kate loves musicals. She sings and dances, and we kind of went through the history of musicals together."

Cruise has yet to comment on the split, except to offer a brief "I'm good" and his trademark mega-watt smile to paparazzi from TMZ a month after the divorce, reported the Daily Mail.

His lawyer Bert Fields told RadarOnline website: "He's still tremendously saddened and shocked about the divorce. Tom is obviously relieved that the settlement was reached, but is still sad, obviously."

But in Cruise's typical calm and collected style, the consummate pro channelled his energies back into work.

After a swift settlement - less than two weeks after Holmes filed for divorce - Cruise was back on the set of sci-fi action flick Oblivion.

His Oblivion co-star, former Bond babe Olga Kurylenko, told InStyle magazine that she was impressed by his professionalism.

"He's amazing! I was impressed...when he comes on set, he gives you so much energy, you don't even need to drink coffee."

His work ethic is clearly commendable.

This is the same guy who has no qualms throwing himself out of the tallest building in the world just to give moviegoers an adrenaline rush, in last year's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

For Rock Of Ages, Cruise went from one who couldn't carry a tune to perfecting Axl Rose's trademark screech.

He also had to learn how to play a guitar - this was on top of the five hours of singing a day, plus an additional three hours of dance to channel Jaxx's rock star stamina, reported Entertainment Weekly.

He even bared his rear in his introduction scene, where he wore a pair of "butt-less" leather chaps adorned with a rhinestone-studded devil-face codpiece.

"It's like learning a new sport or a skill for a character," Cruise told Playboy magazine about his preparation.

His showbiz longevity can certainly be credited to his impoverished upbringing, which saw him working to help support his family at the tender age of eight.

The young boy moved around a lot after his parents divorced, leaving his mother to raise him and his three sisters.

"Life's about change and solving problems and living it. My mother worked three jobs, but she's a woman for whom the cup is always half full. I wanted to help her and my sisters," he told Playboy.

"What I believe in my own life is that it's a search for how I can do things better, whether it's being a better man or a better father or finding ways for myself to improve.

"I'm fortunate in the life I have. I try to look to the future and look at life in a way that, no matter how tough something can be, I don't go in blindly but step back and try to understand it.

"You can let something overwhelm you, or you can take one step at a time and figure it out.

Because life is problems. We've all got problems."

Cruise's philosophy - and the numerous projects on his plates - will no doubt carry him through life's problems.

Wrote Cindy Clark of USA Today about Cruise's showbiz longeviety: "Tom Cruise may be weathering a storm when it comes to his personal life, but professionally, he's still on top."

joannes@sph.com.sg

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