Music in Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: 48 Hrs.

Eddie Murphy has actually had a couple of legitimate hits as a singer and has sung background with the group The Bus Boys, so his performance in "48 Hrs." (and the follow-up "Another 48 Hrs.") was intentionally off-putting and played for effect.
To place this in context, Nolte's cop character (Jack Cates) goes to see Murphy's convict character (Reggie Hammond) to get his assistance in solving a big case. Cates is visiting Hammond in jail, with Hammond sitting back on the prison bunk with a set of headphones on while wailing out the song originally by the rock band The Police, "Roxanne".
"48 Hrs." was successful enough to warrant "Another 48 Hrs." though it took eight years for that sequel to be made and released. That was most likely due to Murphy's own popularity at the time with his successful run of "Beverly Hills Cop" movies and the film "Coming to America".

Answer: Central Intelligence

The film "Central Intelligence" starts with a young and sadly overweight and bullied Robbie Weirdicht aka Bob Johnson (played by Dwayne Johnson) singing and dancing in the gym showers in high school. Bullies catch him there and drag him out - stark naked - and slide him across the floor of the gym into an assembly (pep rally) where Calvin 'Golden Jet' Joyner (played by Kevin Hart) was a hero by providing his jacket to help provide a cover. Twenty years pass before Bob Johnson contacts the Golden Jet to catch up on old times. Unfortunately for Joyner, Johnson now works for the CIA and he involves his one time hero in a case that takes them both in the direction of a lot of trouble. "Moana" and "Baywatch" both featured Johnson in starring roles. "Spy" was another movie about spies that was included to offer an additional choice of answers.

Answer: Ferris Bueller's Day Off

It is hard to believe so much time has passed since 'righteous dude' Ferris Bueller led us all in singing "Twist and Shout" while he took his day off. Fans of baseball may see clips from the film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" on the big screens at the ballpark during the seventh inning stretch or at other points to fill time and entertain the crowds.
The other films listed were from the same general time frame, but don't involve the song "Twist and Shout" in downtown Chicago.
"Back to School" does involve star Rodney Dangerfield (as character Thornton Melon) singing the song "Twist and Shout" in a crowded college bar scene. Dangerfield does a rousing rendition of the song in that performance.

Answer: 13 Going on 30

"13 Going on 30", a movie that shares a major similarity with the other films offered as answers for this question - all are films where someone finds themselves older or younger than they originally were - is the film that features "Thriller" quite prominently. In "13 Going on 30" a 13-year-old girl (Jenna) is embarrassed at her thirteenth birthday party, so much so that she wishes she could hide until she was an adult. Her wish is granted and she finds herself waking up years later as a 30-year-old woman (played by Jennifer Garner). While she is in 30-year-old form, she is still very much the same 13-year-old person inside though she now has the responsibilities of a 30-year-old (along with the office back-stabbing).
Jenna feels that a party for the magazine she works for is bombing badly so to liven up the party she gets the DJ to put on Michael Jackson's "Thriller". As the music starts, she gets up and starts dancing along in a dance well choreographed to the music. While it seems corny and at first the party attendees are a little stunned, they eventually loosen up and join Jenna on the dance floor where she has also dragged co-star Mark Ruffalo.
Ruffalo was reportedly terrified at having to dance in that scene.

Answer: Baby Driver

Edgar Wright directed "Baby Driver" which features a young man (Baby, played by Ansel Elgort) with a hearing problem who uses music to enhance his skills as a driver. In a somewhat stereotypical or formulaic fashion, Baby was nearly free from a life of crime (serving as a getaway driver for his crime lord boss) only to find himself forced back into service. Baby uses his music to great effect and drives with extreme precision and skill as he matches the beat to his actions. The films listed as incorrect choices all feature driving as part of the plot, with a few of those films being released in 2017.

Answer: Hudson Hawk

"Hudson Hawk" was savaged by critics. Even among the common folks (at places such as RottenTomatoes) it scores poorly. (It does a little better at IMDB, but not very much so.)
With time, and several repeated viewings via cable TV channels, some have come to find "Hudson Hawk" wasn't that bad. It is, however, somewhat forgettable, and even giving the main stars and the year the film was made may not be enough to help quiz takers get this question correct.
In relation to the question, Willis' Hawk character and his compatriot Tommy Five-Tone (Aiello) sing various songs to time their activities and operations. Knowing the running length of various songs and keeping in time with the regular beat of those songs, the characters are able to know that they are in the right place at the right time as they pull off their burglaries.

Answer: Electric Dreams

"Electric Dreams" was a movie that 'aired' several times over on cable TV when it was originally made available that way. It features music from some of the hottest acts of the time it was made, including Electric Light Orchestra, Giorgio Moroder, Culture Club and others. Unfortunately it seems that perhaps arguments over the rights to use that music may have kept the film from being released in the U.S. on Blu-ray or even DVD.
The film features an architect (Miles, played by Lenny von Dohlen) who purchases a personal computer. He expands upon his purchases by adding a few accessories, giving the computer several different interfaces and connections to the outside world (back in the days before the Internet and the likes of Google, Yahoo, AOL or other giants of the Internet). Miles spills a drink on the guts of the computer and doing so magically brings the computer to life with a personality of its own. The computer converses (in common English) with its user/owner and mistakenly assumes the users name is 'Moles' as Miles had typed the name incorrectly during some of the initial setup of the computer.
Along the way, Madeline (Virginia Madsen) becomes a neighbor of Miles and his computer. Madeline was a classical musician who played cello. Upon hearing Madeline practicing on her cello, 'Edgar', the computer, engages Madeline in 'The Duel', with Edgar responding with electronic tunes in response to Madeline's cello.

Answer: Iron Eagle

Jason Gedrick starred alongside Gossett Jr. in this action thriller that is similar to the other titles listed (all feature pilots, or wanna be pilots) as potential answers. Gedrick was on the path to being a bit of a box office star at the point he appeared in this movie and a later successor, but he never quite gained the traction that others such as Tom Cruise (from "Top Gun") or Charlie Sheen (from "Hot Shots!") did. Never mind Richard Gere from "An Officer and a Gentleman". Note that Gossett Jr. also appeared in that movie and won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his portrayal there of the gruff Gunnery Sergeant at OCS (Officer Candidate School).
In "Iron Eagle", Gedrick's character (Doug Masters) uses a Walkman type player to play music while flying in a jet simulator, something he was able to do because of his father's role as an air force pilot. Later Doug Masters works with Gossett Jr's character (Col. Charles 'Chappie' Sinclair) to initiate a rescue mission to go save Doug's father Col. Ted Masters after he is shot down in a middle eastern nation state that was not friendly to the U.S.
During the rescue efforts, Doug uses the same Walkman type player to help concentrate on his flying and dog-fighting skills.

Answer: Guardians of the Galaxy

Ooops, tricky here on the available answers. If you jumped too quickly, you may have selected the 'None of these answers are correct' answer. The correct answer is "Guardians of the Galaxy" which was followed up in 2017 by the sequel "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2".
Both films feature a character whose main line of dialog is 'I am Groot'.
In the "Guardians" movies, character Peter Quill (aka Starlord), played by Chris Pratt, uses the music that had been handed down to him by his mother to offer a soundtrack to his activities.
"Galaxy Quest" may have gotten your quick click on the answers, as may have "The Last Starfighter". Both are space oriented, but neither is a Marvel property and neither feature the musical connection that is referenced in the question.

Answer: The Rocker

Rainn Wilson played Dwight Schrute in the U.S. version of "The Office". He also played character Robert 'Fish' Fishman a drummer for an Aerosmith style band that was on the rise and just about ready to get a record contract at the start of the movie. Unfortunately for Fish when the contract is offered to the band it comes with one small string attached - the band must use a drummer that is supplied by the record company moguls (who happens to be a relative of said mogul). Faced with the choice of contract or no contract, Fish gets kicked to the curb by his former band and goes on to lead a somewhat disappointing life until he loses his job and moves in with his relatives and somehow finds himself substituting for his nephew's band when the original drummer from that band is unable to meet the demands for time and travel. Does Fish get another chance at being a star or will he ruin it with his hard charging rock star attitude?
If you haven't seen the film, it is rather entertaining and worth viewing.
The other answers that were provided are also films that involve rock music.

Answer: Rock Star

Mark 'Marky Mark' Wahlberg was the star of this film from 2001. He starred as a singer/lead figure Chris 'Izzy' Cole for a tribute band for his favorite rock and roll band Steel Dragon, even arguing and fighting with another tribute band over how they were wearing the wrong outfits and memorabilia when they go to a concert to see their idols performing.
At about the time Chris gets booted from his own band he gets a phone call that changes his life as he is selected to replace the lead singer of his favorite band and thus starts his life as a "Rock Star".
Wahlberg was the star of "Boogie Nights" which is one of the incorrect answer choices given here. The other two films that are listed as incorrect answers were also films that involved music or musical groups.

Answer: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Some people love it, some find it to be too cheesy, but "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" is the film that involved whale songs being needed to save the Earth from total destruction. In this movie the original series crew are returning to Earth to face their punishment for stealing the Enterprise and going off on the "Search for Spock".

As they return to Earth they find that the Earth is being affected by a space probe that is causing mass destruction. Mr. Spock determines that the probe was communicating via whale song and that the only way to properly reply to the probe would be to have humpback whales provide the response. The other answers are all movies that involve whales though none of those are from back in 1986 (they'd have to have used Mr. Spock's time travel formula to get there).

Answer: Animal House

Otis Day and the Knights were created to appear in "Animal House" though they later went on to become musical performers themselves. In the film, as noted, the character of Otis Day was lip-syncing to a performance by another individual.
To give some context to the scene being discussed, the Delta house frat brothers go on a road trip and stop and catch Otis performing. They are highly entertained by that performance though their enthusiasm is also affected by the amount of alcohol they are consuming.

Answer: Music and Lyrics

This one should be easy, but then again "Music and Lyrics" is a film that did not much more than make back the original budget when it was released. (On a budget of $40M, it grossed $50.5M.) It did make the rounds on the premium cable channels and has been aired on even basic and broadcast TV along the way as well.
In "Music and Lyrics" Barrymore has a job as a person who cares for plants who has a natural ability to spin lyrics if given a little inspiration from the likes of Grant. Grant had been part of a music act that seems very much to have been modeled after the pop group Wham!. Grant is cast aside when his partner becomes more successful as a solo act and winds up with a career writing jingles and performing as a has-been pop act at bowling alleys, shopping malls and the like.
It is a cute romantic comedy and may work well as a date night movie that is acceptable to both men and women.
The other actual choices (not the 'None of these choices' selection) were films that did include Drew Barrymore, but neither of those included Hugh Grant.

Answer: Footloose

"Footloose" was originally made back in the early to mid-1980s (released in 1984). It starred Kevin Bacon (hence the Bacon score of 0), along with John Lithgow and others, giving them a Bacon score of 1 and helping to widen the pool of actors and actresses that can trace back to Kevin Bacon in six connections or fewer.
"Footloose" is about a group of young people who grew up in a midwestern U.S. environment where dancing and rock and roll are prohibited with both seen as a bad influence on society. With some leadership from the newly moved to the area Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon in the original film), the youngsters rebel against the local leadership and organize a dance where they could eventually go "Footloose".
Hollywood brought the story back to the big screen in 2011 with updated versions of the songs and music that had been included in the original. The remake was financially successful (almost $52M gross on an estimated budget of $24M) but it pales in comparison to the percentage return of the original ($80M on an estimated budget of $8.2M).