Movie of the Week: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Title: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Director: Jim Sharman

Release year: 1975

Notable cast: Tim Curry, Richard O’Brien, Susan Sarandon, Patricia Quinn, Little Nell, & Barry Bostwick

Genre: Musical comedy

Recommended for: if you want to have a good time!

Rating: 4/5

Description: I watched this to get the awful remake off my mind and I still love it! It’s not perfect, but it’s not meant to be; it’s meant to be rough around the edges, something which the remake completely missed. It’s got a great balance of crazy, comedy and shock-horror and fun, which makes it enjoyable every time!

Plot Summary: A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a visit to a castle of a mad alien scientist which leads them on a strange journey.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s do the Time Warp Again

Title: The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s do the Time Warp Again

Director: Kenny Ortega

Release year: 2016

Notable cast: Victoria Justice, Laverne Cox, Ryan McCartan, Reeve Carney, Christina Milan and Annaleigh Ashford

Genre: Musical something?

Recommended for: if you want to cry

Rating: 1/5

Description: This is was just awful. It was an abomination. I actually cried twice because it was so bad. I can’t think of anything good to say except that Annaleigh Ashford as Columbia was ok – that’s genuinely the best I can do. This production completely missed the essence of Rocky Horror – what made the film what it is. Rocky Horror is inspired by B grade horror films and the accidental comedy in them – it is meant to be a grubby looking low budget production, not a huge flashy show with no comedy, instead just very serious actors trying to look sexy; the whole film just completely missed the point. I was also very confused about how I was supposed to be watching the film. At the start they showed a movie theatre and people watching it on the screen but then the film was like a live stage show – am I meant to watch it like a film or stage show? I was also confused about the music, sometimes they stayed pretty much true to the original song and sometimes they made songs or part of them like a rock song like they were trying to revamp a song – just pick one, the original or a new version of the song! The acting was pretty atrocious, it seems that none of the actors understood their characters. Anyway, I have many more criticisms and things to say but I’ll leave it here for now and this will be like a thesis paper.

Plot Summary: A straitlaced, square couple, seeking shelter from a storm, find themselves in the castle of a transsexual alien mad scientist who has just built a buff man.