Having only seen this on tv growing up (i'm 46). Can a fan from that era who saw the first run and was part of the original movement in theaters (in the 70's) share what they thought of this version?
Thanks in advance.
...keeps alive the weak, the stupid, the lazy that breed and multiply, weakening the human race
For the most part it sucked. the opening gave me a woody then quickly left me with blue balls. I sensed things going sideways during the Timewarp number.
I had hope with the opening, I really enjoyed the usherette's performance enough to forgive the crappy nod to the lips at the end.
Brad and Janet did fine, I got annoyed with Cox's throaty voice after a while and thought the dancing seemed really bad. I really loved this Colombia, but I absolutely hated Magenta. The new look was just utter crap. The look of the original Magenta was purposeful in reflecting b horror flicks, this new Magenta look represented nothing at all. I think Riff Raff was a bit over the top and needed to be dialed back. The biggest casting issues I had was Adam Lambert as Eddie, what the crap was that all about? And Lavern Cox. It doesn't work as well with a female Frank. Frank should have been a male dressed in women's clothing, not a dude the was medically altered to look female and dressed as a female, that just gives you a female. I didn't understand all the goofy faces Adam made and they forget he was supposed to be partially lobotomized, he should have had a laceration across his forehead. I also didn't like how jerky (body movement wise) and goofy both Adam and Laverne Cox were. Rocky Horror himself was forgettable and too pretty. Rocky isn't supposed to be a model.
As for the movie itself....the whole movie theater inside the castle was a novel approach but just out of place for this film. I get it was a nod to our antics back in the day, but came across too PG. We say (said rather) some pretty vulgar stuff. Overall it was too High School Musical, too upbeat. The edge was missing. The original was something you talked about in hushed corners because people thought you were a weirdo for going to catch a screening. This new one was nothing like that. The cast was just....too pretty and too cheery. The sets and colors were too bright, it really wasn't spooky. I also felt they made intentional mistake for people to make fun of, like really bad lip-syncing, the Usherette going blech off cue.
Rocky Horror should make you feel like you need to take a shower and cover yourself in disinfectant when you walk out. This Rocky just doesn't evoke that feeling.
Edit* Ben Vereen's Dr.Scott was absolutely horrible and he shouldn't have been cast in that role.
Guessing the name of YM correctly before all others was my claim to fame....and in one night faded.
That is actually a very strait forward sober perspective. Great review and feedback.
...keeps alive the weak, the stupid, the lazy that breed and multiply, weakening the human race
I found the whole remake, aside from not having Tim Curry as Frank N Furter was better than the original film. Reeve Carney as Riff Raff, Adam Lambert as Eddie, Victoria Justice as Janet and Ben Vereen as Dr. Scott were the best. But I do agree, they needed a guy for Frank. But I did like Laverne.
shareAnd Ben Vereen is wonderful in all he does. He's a legend. There's no role he can't do.
shareBoy, I could have written the same review midnight just wrote! Right down to Lambert's goofy faces(?). I'd consider myself to be "an original Frankie fan" having seen the midnight movie since the later 70's and dressing up for the shadowcast, etc. I only differ in that I also disliked this pouty Columbia like so many others. But that was still piddling compared to the unwatchable Magenta!
The unforgivable casting of a woman/trans-woman as Frank was the death-knell, but that aside she was horrible! And people wonder why it wasn't live? Cox isn't a singer nor a talented enough performer to pull off a live set.
It was sad to see Tim Curry so frail and unable to even perform a small part of his role. I didn't hate Ben Vereen's Dr. Scott but being the good in this crap-fest isn't saying much!
But like he said the "feel" wasn't there, it couldn't be duplicated. I'm not against re-makes at all, even with musicals. My dvd library has two "Gypsy"s, two "Bye Bye Birdies", "Oklahomas"s, "South Pacific" etc.
Finally, this COULD have been done any number of successful ways. If they'd had the rights to the stage play they could have done a new re-staging of that. Or an "in concert" format tribute show to the music. Maybe even an anniversary documentary with some re-creation tributes by famous artists thrown in. This wasn't the right idea.
Blue_Eye_James, look up 2015's "Rocky Horror Show Live" (with Richard O'Brien). It got virtually no attention whatsoever in the USA and you can't legally add it to your DVD library (which is another reason to be annoyed with Fox), but it's professionally-shot, complete on You Tube, and vastly superior to the 2016 remake.
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