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

The original film of The Rocky Horror Picture Show was flawed and at times sloppy, but it was brimming with heart and a genuine weirdness of character. It could be confusing to follow at times but it remained a mostly straight-faced homage to the weird science films of the 1950s with the added attraction of sexual and gender twisting, but crucially presented without comment or focus - this is one of the reasons it succeeded so well and why it became an underground hit.

This new version of this classic film made sure to disembowel the original, reach up and pull out its heart, and to then airbrush the empty husk that remained.

One of the major downfalls is the absolutely lifeless soundtrack recordings of the songs: they sound as if they have been compressed and muted of life to ensure that nobody's heart rises above sixty beats per minutes. Over this limp soundtrack the characters mime their songs, mostly badly, some not even making a huge effort to even sync up at times (particularly guilty of this is Columbia).

As to the casting, gone are the individual characteristics and introduced are a parade of generically handsome and pretty boys and gals with all the individuality of a Toys R Us dolls aisle. The original worked because it was played mainly straight; the new version gives us hammy overacting with too much self-awareness which obviously does nothing to draw an audience in; it's as if the new production had either never watched the original film or had so grossly misread it as to be almost imbecilic. Talking of Frankestein, we are treated to an on-the-nose depiction of Mary Shelley's gravestone, despite the fact she died in London, England; anything to ram down our throats the Frankenstein connection! In the original film Rocky was slightly neanderthal in appearance - blankish expression that reminded us of Frankenstein's monster (after all that's what he represents) with a hard muscular body, with tight buns showing through tight gold undies; the new Rocky looks like a gym-bro with dipped highlights who may or may not be slightly constipated: he is more Brut than brute.

Dr Frank-N-Furter, crucially, is a transvestite not a transsexual - Transsexual is the name of the planet. The stunt casting of Laverne Cox is badly done: whereas the original had a skinny flat-chested Tim Curry working brilliantly as a transvestite, Laverne Cox is a female Dr Frank-N-Furter and, as the transvestite she sings about being, should be dressed in a male attire: this casting was ill-thought-out. I enjoyed Laverne in Orange in the New Black but her attempts to channel Tim Curry's origination of Frank-N-Furter is embarrassing: the British accent is all over the place, often with an American twang at the end of phrases, and often sounded like it's being strangled out of her. Her rendition of 'I'm Going Home' at the climax should have been emotional and stirring, as in the original, but it was in fact as empty as the preceding hour and a half had been. Speaking of the climax, Riff-Raff and Magenta strongly resembled a pair of Red Dwarf villains in their silver get-up, and the castle crumbling brought to mind the old British children's show Knightmare.

The film also suffered from an almost total lack of character delineation - far more-so than even the original which, as I said before, certain had its sloppy moments of confusion. Magenta and Columbia were more marginal than in the original and Eddie's cameo was almost completely pointless if not for the fact that he is used as a postmortem device later on in the film.

The film also suffered from a real lack of chemistry, not only between the viewer and the cast but also between cast members; Rocky and Janet's bedroom scene lacked any sexuality or tension whatsoever: Hank drinking Manny's corpse-water in Swiss Army Man was more romantic and sexual than this white-bread colourless scene; not to mention the bed-hopping hilarity of the original was almost entirely airbrushed to be as inoffensive as possible.

The nod to the cult of audience participation at theatrical showings of the film fell very flat also - the audience seemed to be a TV exec's idea of what edgy, weird, non-mainstream people looked like in the 1980s (TV punks) and 1990s (TV grunge).

The saddest crime of all was the rolling in of stroke-victim Tim Curry in a pathetic attempt to give credence and validation to this travesty - the only moments of any emotion in the film were when he appeared on screen and my heart filled with sadness at what they had persuaded him to do, and to watch him valiantly attempt his line-readings.

I am not looking forward to an anemic version of Cronenberg's / Burroughs' "Naked Lunch".

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.

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've been a fan of Rocky Horror for as long as I can remember and I've seen it live on stage a couple f times and love seeing different ideas and approaches to it but unfortunately this falls pretty flat. A small few of the cast were good, the guy playing Riff-Raff did quite well and I enjoyed watching him, and I did find seeing Tim Curry as the narrator with some odd Rosa Klebb type quite funny. But the woman playing Magenta just annoyed me as I've always loved Magenta and near enough all the people I've a seen playing her, obviously Pat Quinn as the original is my favourite because she is just fabulous, but the woman in this version just wasted the character, she gave off the impression she just thought "oh it's a small part so I'm not going to bother" and just turned up and did whatever. Janet was pretty good but Brad was more annoying than anything. And the biggie, Frank. Well though the character had some amazing costumes it was not Frank. Frank is a man in women's lingerie (hence the sweet transvestite) not a woman in lingerie. It does not work. It just contradicts itself. It was more like watching Grace Jones.

The visuals left much to be desired. It felt empty all the away through, like they just could not really be bothered so it lacked real life. Same goes for the music, it just lacked life and soul. The choreography was shabby and not done well really.

Over all really it just seemed drab, lifeless, and half arsed. Just watch the original or go watch it live, you will enjoy it more.