MovieChat Forums > The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016) Discussion > Millenials and Gen Y... this was not you...

Millenials and Gen Y... this was not your parents' Rocky Horror

posted 8 years ago by laplante-co-672-297856
22 replies | jump to latest

This was... not good.

As a concept/experience this re-make came off as dated. Back the 70s this play/movie was a novelty with its take on fluid sexuality, cross-dressing, etc. Coming out of the sexual revolution of the 60s, these were concepts that weren't yet mainstream. Today, they are firmly embedded in our culture -- if not accepted by all -- and they aren't really shocking or titillating.

I was distracted by the setup where we watch the 'faux audience' watching the movie. The faux audience does all the things that we used to do back in the 70s, watching the movie in the dark at theatres -- rice, water, TP (but I didn't hear the cries of "SLUT!') -- in an attempt to re-create the experience. For the benefit of millenials, I guess, who didn't live through the original times. Did it work for them or leave them wondering what the deal was?

Commercials! They really took me out of the experience and worse, they seemed to be stuck in there at random times rather than during a natural break in the story. One set of commercials literally cut off a conversation. The producers might have been better to somehow acknowledge and incorporate these into the production.

Direction/choreography. Awful. The actors lurch about acting all 'zany', often looking awkward and uncomfortable trying to force an energy that wasn't there. The camera never seemed to know where to focus attention. Even the few clips I saw of Glee seemed to be better than this.

Cheesy CGI, e.g. that collapsing castle at the end. They would have been better to go old school on the special effects in keeping with the lo-fi spirit of the original.

Tim Curry. Maybe it was a symptom of his post-stroke recovery, but it was hard to watch this formerly high-energy actor reduced to a mumbling minor role in a bit of stunt casting.

Casting. Laverne Cox was okay, a mix of the original Frank-N-Furter and a bit of Tina Turner at the end. Adam Lambert... wasted. Brad and Janet characters... forgettable... give me Barry and Susan back. I did like the character of Riff Raff (Reeve Carney) who didn't seemed to be so self-conscious of his role.

This will probably become some sort of Halloween standard a la It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Unfortunately, the original was very much a product of its times and can't be re-created.

Disagree? Agree? Did you see the original way back when?

[–] moosefeather 8 years ago

Agree. But, Laverne Cox's performance was weak.

[–] mel_arewar 8 years ago

I agree, and yeah, I saw the original in 1991 at the Naro Expanded Cinema--I was a college freshman and I went with a bunch of friends. Laverne Cox's performance wasn't terrible, exactly, but it didn't hold a candle to Tim Curry's. It was just okay.

[–] Bookmanmovielover 8 years ago

agreed but some newer generations are less likely to watch what they consider to do be older shows. If they liked this one maybe they will check out the one we know & love.

<“Every man of courage is a man of his word.” - Pierre Corneille>

[–] academas-177-729004 8 years ago

If they liked this then they should be shot because that is the future of America. I've never seen the original and even I know this was a total piece of crap, blasphemous, way too PC, and tried way to hard to shove liberal agendas down my throat

[–] alejandromolinac 8 years ago

I know! I looked at the pictures if the cast… YAY! Another neutered, toothless product where they can pat their back cause it's got…. WAIT FOR IT……. DIVERSITY!!!!!!!!

The original is a product of its time. The sexual irreverence, fluidity, excesses, weirdos being provocative; all reaching a peak due to the sexual revolution of the 60's. Itself a rebellious product of the strict norms of the 50's…

How does this relate to our current social climate…. DIVERSITY!!!!!!!!!!

Kids today try way to hard to be unique…

[–] Katachthonios 8 years ago

Why do you assume the cast was selected solely for the sake of diversity?

[–] alejandromolinac 8 years ago

Because that's the MO of anything on TV nowadays…

Otherwise crybabies on the internet will throw a temper tantrum… remember #oscarsowhite….

Can't have negative press like that, yes have a movie that has absolutely no current cultural relevance other than having the Supremes on the Background doing back up for… can I say black tranny?

And before you come attacking me, I've been hanging out with men in dresses decades before you kids jumped into the bandwagon… Back then it took balls, there was no internet forum to keep you safe.

[–] krispykremekiller 8 years ago

All the edges have been sanded off. Laverne Cox was very good. Some of the Mick Jagger by way of David Bowie influences remained. Everything else was smooth as glass and for rock'n roll, that's bad. My take was that 2000s style singing with multiple melismas really hurt. This is rock'n roll people! Bad! Riff Raff was great, perhaps the best, unfortunately with everyone having to be so beautiful he looked like a goth Keith Urban. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad, but I think it's a sign of the times. Music is slick and smooth now rather than raw and edgy. People in entertainment must be beautiful and perfect. There can be no warts. Everyone is contour made up, plastic cookie cutter Barbies now.

[–] SerDarioTaranFulci 8 years ago

This isn't our Rocky either. It's nobody's Rocky. It's just a homesick abortion

[–] delerium76 8 years ago

nice audience participation reference there. lol

[–] robstackley 8 years ago

As I peruse all of the "RHPS" vs. "RH: LDtTWA" conversations, I see a lot of great commentary regarding sexuality, sexual identity, "facing the strange", etc, and these are all very valid observations.

There's one that's missing for me, and maybe it's because "RHPS" is a film released in my youth, so this didn't "get by me"...

One of the main targets of "RHPS" is the total vanilla-WASP-rigidity of America. Remember, this whole creation is of British origin, and they spent a LOT of time shredding the American way of life.

What I find odd is that now that America is at its' lowest point since the Civil War, now that American culture is at its' most intolerant, most internally combative, as we divide ourselves into hunkering, hyphenatedly-isolated islands, this key element of the original is completely eliminated at a time when it is more deserving of ridicule than any time in our history.

[–] alejandromolinac 8 years ago

You are correct, Pop Art initiated in Britain as a response to American Culture at the time… Would make sense that an English product would make commentary of the American way of life at the time...

[–] Lunalobo91 8 years ago

I actually remember reading a review of the movie in the paper the year it came out. I don't think it was given a good review. I was too young to see it anyway because it was rated R back then-- probably because of Frank-n-Furter's outfit and sexuality. It's so strange now because it's really tame compared to what would be R-rated today. They thought The Tubes and Alice Cooper were controversial back then.

I don't think this remake was bad. I liked it. I agree that some of the roles could have been cast better-- and Adam Lambert's talent was wasted on a role that was much too small. ...but I felt they were trying to honor the camp and spirit of the original movie and I think they did a good job at that. I was OK with the homage to the midnight shows-- and audience interaction with the film. I think the writer of the original show was the actor who played Riff Raff(can't remember his name). I am pretty sure he was one of the screenwriters for this version of the movie.

The only thing I hated was Frank's entrance. Just didn't pack the punch of the original and I hated the gigantic mask. Really hated the mask. I also did not like the arrangement for "Sweet Transvestite". The original had more guitar-- little more rock and roll sounding. However,I did like the band in the background-- I thought that was a good change.

Just my opinion...which means nothing in the grand scope of the Universe. lol

"By the way, All just married hermself. Mono marriage is finally legal in Italy."

[–] paolo-severini-1 8 years ago

Back the 70s this play/movie was a novelty with its take on fluid sexuality, cross-dressing, etc. Coming out of the sexual revolution of the 60s, these were concepts that weren't yet mainstream. Today, they are firmly embedded in our culture -- if not accepted by all -- and they aren't really shocking or titillating.

And yet this version is much more sanitised and mild than the original. So I wonder if these concepts were actually more mainstream in 1975 than they are today.

Unfortunately, the original was very much a product of its times and can't be re-created.

Perfectly put.