MovieChat Forums > The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016) Discussion > Cringe Worthy...

Cringe Worthy...

posted 8 years ago by Bello-4
6 replies | jump to latest

Yeah have to agree, it was pretty bad - not bad to the point it was good like the original - it was just plain bad. I'm a fan of Victoria Justice and she did try, but the others around her were just awful...

Particularly disappointing was the Time Warp. It's supposed to be done in a big hall, the doors thrown open with a grand entrance. It looked like it was instead done in an over sized living room you'd find in one of the large expensive homes in the "good neighborhood" wherever you might live. The new Columbia wasn't at all dressed anywhere near like the classic Columbia and was she wearing tennis shoes? Did they not even try to come close to the classic original version? Could barely hear Frank-n-Furter, who's supposed to be played by a man in drag - it's why it's so scandalous. Do they not teach annunciation anymore, or was the music track just to loud the woman playing the role couldn't overcome the music? Very, very Glee like and I didn't like Glee when it was on so this was very disappointing...

About the best thing was the usherette at the beginning of the movie, Ivy Levan. I enjoy a variety of different music, including your mainstream artists, but I'm always on the look out for up and coming artists, little heard, and I looked up Ms. Levan on Google Play Music and really enjoyed some of the songs in the listing. So I guess not all was lost, but an otherwise disappointing rendition.

[–] ebeall-87107 8 years ago

I pretty much agree with your assessment. I thought Victoria Justice was good. Didn't mind Brad or Rocky. I thought Adam Lambert did a good job.

I like Laverne on OITNB but she was miscast here. Also the styling for her seemed off. I can forgive her not being a transvestite but what was so shocking about any of her outfits etc? I don't think in real life you'd automatically assume she was born a man, at least not the first second you see her. So what was it that shocked Janet and Brad about her? Perhaps all the sex stuff going on at the castle but when Laverne first walked out there was no reason for Janet to scream. She just had a stupid face mask on.

[–] Mickyfinn 8 years ago

Look, I was going to see TRHPS when I was in high school in the early 80s. I will admit all I saw in this was up through the Time Warp (I DVR'd it). I will watch the rest, but I cannot be kind right now, and I don't think I will after. Sure a lot has to do with about 33 years of loving the original, but 'cringe worthy' really isn't strong enough.

And yes, you can call it a 're-imagining', and therefore needs a fresh look, but you can't give it a complete pass - there is source material.

I was interested with what they would do with the music. I am not a musician, but I know what I like. And (so far) I think they took the whole life out of them.

I liked the concept of the way they handled 'Science Fiction Double Feature', but the actress's demeanor gave it too much attitude and maybe sexuality that killed the homage to old B Movies that it was.

Again I didn't watch the whole thing, but the other songs didn't score with me either. Riff's stanza in 'Over at the Frankenstein Place' was, well... bad. And they pulled the heart out of the Time Warp and stepped on it.

I totally understand there was obviously a budget thing going on (1 motorcycle??!!!), but one way to evaluate it is would it hold its own if the original never existed. I'll let you guess my opinion.

But really, if TRHPS ever really needed a remake it deserved more care and love than what we see here.

For the record, most (and I mean 'almost every') remake/redo/remix/reload/remake re(anything) really fail to anyone who was a fan of the original. And why is it almost everything? There must some fresh ideas out there. I would not be hurt a bit if this trend dies peacefully.

Please don't shame me for posting without watching the whole thing. If I don't like a piece of pie I don't have to eat the rest to confirm it. Each piece will taste the same. But if something changes I'll come here and update.

Update: Um, nothing changed.

You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design

[–] Mickyfinn 8 years ago

I see that maybe I was wrong and this is just a parody. I still think it is really bad, though.

You just have to be resigned-
You're crashing by design

[–] Blue_Eyes_James 8 years ago

Mickyfinn, I couldn't watch it all in one dose either. It was literally too painful, so scene-by-scene with breaks in between was the only way to digest it.
As for the music it's such a solid soundtrack that since 1975 I've collected LPs, singles, cds & mp3s of various versions of the show or individual artist's interpretations. As a small sampling I have the -

1973 London Cast
1974 Los Angeles Roxy Cast
1975 Australian Cast
1975 Film Version
1975 Brazilian Cast
1976 Mexican Cast
1980 German Cast
1987 U.K. Royal Hanley Tour
1990 London Revival Cast
1991 Icelandic Cast
1995 Danish Cast
1995 Studio Cast - Christopher Lee, Brian May
1997 South African Cast
2001 Broadway Cast - Dick Cavett
2015 The Rocky Horror Show Live
2003 Rocky Horror Punk Rock Show
2012 The Gothy Horror Picture Show
Perfectly Frank by Paul Pecorino
Shock-coustic Treatment by Marc With a C

and about 40 others. Heck I even have the Rocky Horror Yoga tunes cd! An unknown amount of versions of The Time Warp. So there's a LOT there in the history, great, good, bad and unexplainable. Meat Loaf's “Eddie's Teddy” makes you wish he played Dr. Scott in the film also... except that Jonathan Adams is so imbedded in our consciousness now I can't imagine anything else!

I LOVE Jason Donovan's 1998 throaty rock & roll Frank (though that Brad was a bit of a whiny spaz). Aidan Bell on the 1995 Studio album is another fav, plus he had the addition of Christopher Lee as the Narrator. I could go on and on but the fact is, thanks to 2 years of a solid 1973-1975 touring and film the die was cast. There is a general template how this should be performed, period. No, comma, instead of “period” because every show should keep the door open to experimentation, to a point.

This version's singing, choreography, blocking, enunciation, characterization, vocal projection, set design, costumes, cinematography and of course casting just boggled my mind with even the slightest moment of a scene. I'll post a smaller post later about what I actually did like... it will be a smaller post!

[–] Kompressor_Fan 8 years ago

I liked the opening segment with the woman in the theater singing "Science Fiction, Double Feature." After that, it was all down hill. The direction was awful, because Laverne Cox is a very good actress and could have made the part work if she had a director willing to let her play it right. Same goes for the Riff-Raff character.....totally off....although I know the actor is very talented (played Dorian Gray to perfection on Penny Dreadful.) The rest of the cast was off. The one playing Columbia couldn't have given a worse performance if she tried. Just awful....so awful I could not make it to the end.

It's on the DVR, and I have not erased it. Like a previous poster mentioned, I'll have to restart where I left off and eventually make it to the end. Something tells me it's not going to get better as it goes along.

[–] reaseltbim 8 years ago

feels like a high school drama department production.

I have seen actual college productions with better talent and more production than this.

This was beyond awful. this was an insult. This was just Glee all over again.