With more than 150 million in worldwide record sales, Aerosmith is the bestselling hard rock band in the history of American music. Hailing from Boston, the iconic blues-based rock band holds the record for the most certifications for a U.S. musical act and they’re tied for the most multi-platinum albums. They have a whopping 25 gold, 18 platinum, and 12 multi-platinum albums.
As with any wildly popular rock band, Aerosmith’s music has attracted the interest of a handful of filmmakers who have used them on their soundtracks and directors ranging from Richard Linklater to Michael Bay have used Aerosmith’s music in their movies.
“Sweet Emotion” - Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
Just like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen started out as an Animal House-style college raunch-fest, Transformers: Dark of the Moon started out as a fish-out-of-water comedy about a recent graduate entering the weird world of corporate America.
Before the Michael Bay threequel becomes a large-scale robot war across Chicago, Aerosmith’s hit “Sweet Emotion” plays over a montage of Sam going to a bunch of job interviews.
“Back In The Saddle” - Say Anything...
Obviously, the most memorable music moment in the teen rom-com Say Anything... is when Lloyd serenades his love with “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel blasting from a boombox he’s holding over his head.
But the movie also has a great use of Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle” when Lloyd and Diane arrive at the graduation party.
“Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” - Mrs. Doubtfire
One night in a bar, Steven Tyler mistook Mötley Crüe’s lead singer Vince Neil for a blonde woman. This gave him the idea for the song “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” the first of four singles from Permanent Vacation.
Since Mrs. Doubtfire revolves around a single dad disguising himself as a female housekeeper to spend time with his kids, it was only natural to include “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” on the soundtrack.
“Sweet Emotion” - We’re The Millers
Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston star in We’re the Millers as a drug dealer and an exotic dancer who disguise themselves as a family with a couple of teenage runaways to avoid looking suspicious when they drive down to Mexico to pick up a shipment of marijuana.
When the so-called Millers are cornered by Mexican gangsters and try to explain the ploy, Rose is asked to strip to prove she’s really an exotic dancer. “Sweet Emotion” plays over the striptease.
“Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu” - Less Than Zero
Bret Easton Ellis’s debut novel, Less Than Zero, revolves around a group of college kids who have come home for the holidays. It was loosely adapted into a hangout movie in 1987.
In addition to songs by Joan Jett and Poison, the Less Than Zero soundtrack features the lesser-known Aerosmith track, “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu.”
“The Other Side” - True Romance
Before making it as a writer-director with Reservoir Dogs, Scott mostly stuck to Tarantino’s writing – except for linearizing the story and adding a happy ending.
Aerosmith’s “The Other Side” plays as Clarence and Alabama have sex in a phone booth at the side of the road before driving to L.A. to meet up with Dick Ritchie.
“Back In The Saddle” - The Fighter
While Rocky and Raging Bull are the two undisputed champions of the boxing drama, David O. Russell’s biopic of Micky Ward, The Fighter, was similarly praised by critics and audiences. Mark Wahlberg stars as Ward, while Christian Bale co-stars as his trainer and half-brother who is recovering from an addiction to cocaine, Dicky Eklund.
Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle” plays over a montage in which Ward starts emerging victorious in all the fights he takes on. At the same time, Eklund is seen running laps around the prison yard.
“I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” - Blades Of Glory
Will Ferrell and Jon Heder star in Blades of Glory as two rival figure skaters who reluctantly compete together. The duo’s “Fire and Ice” dance is choreographed to Aerosmith’s love ballad “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”
Surprisingly, the song is better used in Blades of Glory than in the movie it was actually recorded for, Michael Bay’s sci-fi disaster epic, Armageddon.
“Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” - Wayne’s World 2
Wayne and Garth attend an Aerosmith concert at the beginning of Wayne’s World 2, then get to meet the band themselves backstage. They drop to their knees and worship at the band’s feet, saying, “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!” An embarrassed Steven Tyler says, “You’re worthy, you’re worthy, get up!”
The band performs their beloved hit “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” at the concert, and they later play “Shut Up and Dance” at the Waynestock festival that Wayne and Garth put on at the end of the movie.
“Sweet Emotion” - Dazed And Confused
Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age hangout comedy, Dazed and Confused, constructed from a series of vignettes set on the last day of school, perfectly encapsulates the liberating feeling of being young.
Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” plays over the movie’s opening credits, kicking off one of the greatest soundtracks in film history. The movie also includes hits by Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan, Deep Purple, Joan Jett, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
