The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do The Time Warp Again- (D+)- I knew before I watched it that I would be disappointed so at least I wasn't shocked. It began with the usherette (one of the things from the original show) and it was a sweet, even moving beginning. Then the movie started. I enjoyed Brad Majors (one of 3 characters I deemed "OK" as Columbia would say in the original movie). Janet Weiss was miscast and it didn't work. Magenta was, far and away, the worst thing about it!! If she is your favorite character, you are going to be unhappy. Riff was not absolutely terrible but not good either. Columbia was EASILY the best thing about all of it. The take is a little more modern but done well- what I wish the rest of it could have aspired to. Laverne Cox has fun as Frank and she'd be the 3rd most likable thing in it- but it is still deeply flawed but NO ONE is close to Tim Curry- especially here. Tim Curry doesn't get all the Criminologist parts that should be there..but I feel it's probably because of his health- which is quite noticeably not good. It is still touching to see him though also depressing too. Ben Vereen (of Roots) does alright with Dr. Scott. He'd be the 4th best thing. Rocky was BAD. Not as bad as Magenta. But still bad. A couple of the classic scenes are missing too- forewarning. Also- the way many songs are done leave a lot to be desired.

Now let me tell you what MOST ticks me off alongside the horrible Magenta portrayal. My favorite thing about The original Rocky Horror Picture Show is the DIVERSITY of it. There is someone for everyone in it. The Transylvanians are a huge melting pot- dwarfs, fat people, skinny people, old people, young people, really weird people of all colors, hairstyles, races, shapes and sizes and so much more. IN THIS they are all skinny, most look the same and they are all younger and they all feel false and costumed. It is not as welcoming a group as the original or the stage play. FAR FROM IT!! And the original seems to have no gender, no race, no sexual orientation and its FREE. Not the case here. And the audience participation scenes feel very false also- because they have to be sanitized (just as some of the movie does too). The Concept of that does not work at all. And even Eddie (another heavy character in the movie) becomes lean Adam Lambert.

The only reason this gets D+ instead of an F is there were a couple characters who worked- especially Brad and Columbia. It will open up the show to some new viewers- which will hopefully lead them to the insanely superior original (though I wished they would have seen the original first). Laverne Cox did still try hard and I love the Fay Wray reference towards the end. The usherette (the best voice also) and Tim Curry being there makes for a couple of moving moments. I wanted to like it more. I really did. It just didn't happen. Watch the original instead. If you still need to see it, watch the original after and cheer yourself up.

LOVE the new opening (re-envisioned) LOVE the supporting cast (especially Riff-Raff), and I was diving into the pool. . . great great great . . enjoying it. Like showing the audience. Loving the new music and dance I was ALL IN. . .until. . . um

Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The character needs to be BOLD and shocking and BOTH masculine AND feminine at the same time. Needs to be playful, violent, and sexual or the premise does not work. FnF needs to take command of the stage AND seduce everyone. In leather and fishnet stockings. The seduction is what MAKES the show.

Where was the raw sex appeal? The boldness, the Master toying with a mouse? The line, "Don't be upset by the way I look" fell flat with a tentative FnF wearing a red sequined dress from Golden Girls.

I gave it a two for costumes and it's rocky horror. But this sucks. What were they thinking with the changes to the music and the unnecessary voice changes? The only actor they got right was riff raff. How can you possibly do worse than the original? Completely lack any sort of spark, put a woman in the role of Frank, place it in an old movie house, and have some of the worst acting I've ever seen.

Why would they bring in Adam lambert and not make him frank? And do tell me why Columbia isn't falling all over Eddie.

It's actually painful to watch. And I'm seriously not sure how much more I can stand.

If the original "Rocky Horror Picture Show" is so bad it's good, the "Let's Do the Time Warp Again" is so good it's bad,"Good" in the sense that it is far too polished and glamorized to even come close to capturing what made the original so enjoyable. There was no sense of grit or earnestness when it came to the singing or the acting. As strange and incoherent as the plot in the original RHPS, the cast made you feel for each character and connect with them. In the new one, sure, the actors are talented but everything comes across as too neatly put together, and maybe it was the commercial breaks but there hardly seemed to be any real chemistry built up between the actors.

I don't know that anyone wanted a new RHPS in the first place. BUT, I think there was a chance that if this project were in different hands it could have been something uniquely its own. Instead, all of the edge is removed and I don't think there would be any reason to watch this over the other, beyond sheer curiosity.

By all that is unholy, why? Why remake the 1975 classic? It just made no sense in any way. But yet I took the time to sit down and watch the 2016 remake titled "The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again" when I got the chance. Curiosity is a strange thing, isn't it? I will be the first to admit that I was already wearing a negative collar before the movie had even started, because director Kenny Ortega was messing with a masterpiece in the musical genre.

The songs will take some time getting used to, because I have grown accustomed to the original versions and hold them up against the original. And from the very first song, it was sort of running coldly down the back of my neck, because it just sounded wrong and it felt like I was committing a sin in watching this. The songs had undergone a bit of change. For the better? Well, that depends on who you ask. But me, as a long-time fan of the original, then it didn't sit well with me that the songs were retouched and modified in this way. But fair is fair, the songs themselves are not bad, they are just not the originals. For for a new audience the songs would be great.

It should be said that they had an impressive production value to this remake. But again, so overly unnecessary to remake what was already perfect and timeless. So why do the Timewarp again?

It was nice to see Tim Curry make an appearance in this 2016 remake, despite not reprising the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. So at least the remake does pay some respect and homage to the original and also gives a nod in the direction of us long-time fans of the original musical.

As for the cast, well they had some good enough talents on the cast list, though I can't really claim to be overly familiar with the people there. But they were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters.

I am feeling somewhat ambivalent about the characters, because there are distinct similarities, but also deviations from the original ones. Reeve Carney was doing an almost a frame-by-frame copy of Richard O'Brien in the role of Riff Raff. Sure, I can acknowledge and understand the choice of Laverne Cox as Frank-N-Furter given the transsexual thing, but she was no Tim Curry as the original Frank-N-Furter, not even reaching him to the knees. Actually, most of the character were a hard pill to swallow if you are a fan of the original 1975 version, but Reeve Carney and Laverne Cox were the two that proved the most bitter.

It was a bit odd and distracting to have the movie alternate between the events in the story and showcasing the audience participation in the theater. It just didn't had a natural flow to it.

Not being able to properly sing along was a major setback for the movie, especially when watched by us long-time fans of the original. Sure, we knew the exact words, but the timing and delivery was just freakishly distorted and warped.

Visually then "The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again" was interesting and quite much in the essence and spirit of the 1975 version, though it was spruced up to a more contemporary time, for better or worse.

This musical is suitable for viewers whom like musicals and whom may for some unknown reason have eluded getting acquainted with the original 1975 masterpiece. And I can in all honesty say that I have now watched this 2016 remake once, but it will never be watched again, because it was frankly just so upsetting that they remade the original piece.

I am a big fan of the original 1975 version, as you clearly can see from my words here, but I can't claim to ever become a fan of the 2016 remake.