That ain’t no crime
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Can someone explain the appeal of this movie to me? I’ve always heard about it and I know it’s a cult classic, and I adore Tim Curry, but when I watched the show recently with my wife I just couldn’t get into it. Maybe it’s because we have better queer media now and this is all they had back then? Even if it’s problematic? It also was just very confusing, maybe it’s something you have to watch a few times?
it’s way more fun seeing a shadowcast with the audience participation
This is the thing. That’s how I saw it the first time and there was so much energy, the costumes everybody wore were great, both the shadow cast and the audience. There was so chaotic. People were throwing rice and condoms and there was water being sprayed and people held up newspapers. I had no idea what was going on but what people were yelling at the screen was so funny. I even dressed up even though I had never seen it before.
Then, on the way home, I told my girlfriend that I liked it, but I had no idea what happened. And she and her roommate decided to watch the whole movie again at 1am, this time without the shadow cast. And the movie by itself has a lot more awkward pauses, which is why it’s so conducive towards people yelling out call outs.
I once read a fantastic analysis where it described the plot of Rocky Horror as a allegory for the decline of rock and roll into glam, rock, and decadence, whereas people yearn for the more straightforward days of 1950s rock and roll. And it actually predicted punk in a way. It is hard to find now that there is so much ai bullshit in search results but here is something similar.
https://medium.com/@georgiahadjis/rocky-horror-picture-show-an-analysis-ffb92cf06e80
Or maybe this one https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304700233_Rocky_Horror_Glam_Rock
I saw it only once recently and loved it! For sure parts made me incredibly uncomfortable (tricking each member of the couple into sleeping with him namely), but the absurd over-the-topness and how it continues to deadpan one-up itself with insane campiness was the appeal for me. Also apologies if that came out as word salad lol
That does make sense. Maybe I’ll give it another shot someday.
Did you hop to the left and bring your knees in tight? Perhaps a pelvic thrust will really help you realize.
That song I liked haha
I’m in a similar boat- the members of my polycule have been raving about it for a long time ad we finally watched it last month (both the movie and a live production).
The plot is almost non-existent. Like, not a whole lot really happens in the story. It could easily be condensed into an 11-minute cartoon runtime.
The music is… Bad. Just generic, theatrical, musical rock 'n roll. The songs aren’t really memorable or catchy. Tim Curry gives a great acting performance, and he has given great singing performances in other things, but all of the songs are written as more musical conversations than standalone songs. I’ve never even seen Frozen but I still get Let It Go stuck in my head sometimes. I hated Rent but I still get the stupid “525,600 minutes” song stuck in my head. From Rocky, I only remember funny moments like when he goes “antici… Pation”.
It’s dropping with elements of sexuality but never really uses them to say anything. Frank N Furter spends most of the time in a corset and garter, and a good chunk of the cast gets out in similar outfits too, but it’s more funny than sexy. There’s no message being sent about trans people. There’s very little even said about sexuality- maybe a soft message that Brad and Janet need to loosen up a bit, but at the same time Furter’s promiscuity is kind of condemned.
I do see a couple of strengths in it though. Most of the film/play is characterization. There’s tons of dialogue that doesn’t really explain what is going on but does give insight into the personalities of the characters. The long, drawn out, repetitive songs give plenty of time for the actors to dance around and interact with each other and the sets.
The other part is just… Fan service, I suppose. Especially for people who like muscles- even in the live production I saw both Frank and Rocky were impressively jacked. Colombia and Magenta show plenty of leg and cleavage. And I think you’re really on to something about there just not being a whole lot of queer media at the time.
You’re a low down cheap little punk taking everyone for a ride
🎵 Ooooh, can’t you see, that I’ve got the start of a pretty big boner
I think those are the lyrics.
Yep!
