In 1975, the world was rocked when Tim Curry laced up his corset and played everyone’s favorite evil transvestite scientist. The movie was given a 2.5/4 by Roger Ebert a year after its release and then later called a “long-running social phenomenon” by the same critic years later. The show got off to a rocky start (get it) but now, forty-one years later, it’s officially been remade.
While Rocky Horror Picture Show was a movie adaptation of the play Rocky Horror Show, Rocky Horror: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again was a remake of the 1975 movie. In the forty-one years since its release, the film has attracted the types of filmgoers who spend $5 on a goodie bag every time they see it in a crowd participation show at midnight. In other words; it has a plethora of dedicated fans. That being said, these same fans were all equally excited to see what Fox would do with this remake of a cult classic. Naturally, there were skeptics. Many fans of both the play and movie thought that casting Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black), an out transgender woman, as Frank-N-Furter (originally played by Tim Curry) would take away from the film’s original gusto. Because Curry played a transvestite or someone whose style of dress goes against the gender binary, and Cox is a trans woman (transgender being someone whose gender identity doesn’t align with their assigned gender, people were upset with her being cast as the psychotic scientist. However, it’s understandable as to why she was cast. Rocky Horror might have been a complete flop had it not appealed to the nitty-gritty underdogs of the world and just as moral standards change with time, so do the underdogs. In 1975, Rocky Horror opened the door for more acceptance when it came to kinks and fantasies. In 2016, the remake opened the door for trans men and women to play roles not made for them. It’s the same idea of encouraging acceptance of something that makes someone different only with a different underdog singing everyone’s favorite song, “Sweet Transvestite”.
And so, the problem that made the Rocky Horror remake underwhelming wasn’t anything to do with its cast– because they were quite amazing– it was more to do with the show lacking its original context overall. Rocky Horror might have had a few subliminal messages but there was no real intent other than shock. The movie was successful only in certain crowds whereas this remake tries to make it successful with everyone. Except, it just attracted the exact same types of people. The LGBTQ+ community will always love Rocky Horror and its campy theatrics no matter how old they are but, in today’s society when everyone tends to be generally more accepting– no one is shocked when they see Brad in a gold bustier and Frank-N-Furter in her fishnets (she/her because these are Laverne’s pronouns).
Unlike Grease and Hairspray, musicals that both have classic themes, Rocky Horror Picture Show doesn’t really contain a topic that can transcend time.
It mainly just has a consistent audience that appreciates it in its original glory.
Now, let’s talk about the actual performances. Janet Weiss, played by Victoria Justice (Victorious) was a wonderful choice for the role. She was every bit as scared and fragile as Susan Sarandon’s Janet but she also brought something young and fresh to both Janet’s solo songs and her transition from sweet Janet to sexy Janet. Christina Milian and Reeve Carney both provided the creepy yet comedic characteristics of Magenta and Riff Raff. Adam Lambert played Eddie perfectly and definitely revitalized “Hot Patootie”. As for Brad, Ryan McCartan was both sexy and humorous throughout the entire show but he definitely went all-in for his performance in “Rose Tint My World”. And lastly, Laverne Cox was perfect in her Beyonce inspired version of Frank-N-Furter. The show itself, and everyone in it was absolute perfection but, there are just some things that can’t (or shouldn’t) be remade. Casting someone different or male to play Frank wouldn’t have changed the fact that Rocky Horror Picture Show doesn’t feel the same without its original value. The sets and costumes were all so elaborate in this remake which was something that the original definitely didn’t have. It was undoubtedly a good show whereas fans have always loved Rocky Horror for being so bad, and if they don’t love it for being bad they love it for its ability to incorporate crowd participation. Watching these big performances played out in didn’t spark that same feeling.
Rocky Horror: Let’s Do The TimeWarp Again was fantastic but it will never be the social phenomenon that its original was in 1975. Maybe it’s because nothing in the script is shock-worthy anymore (let’s face it Frank giving Brad a blowjob will forever be iconic), or maybe it’s because everything was too good to compare to the original’s low-quality production. What we can definitely take from this, is that the kiss between Janet and Frank and the almost kiss between Brad and Frank was the absolute hottest thing of 2016. And the fact that this is probably one of the worst election years in history, we obviously needed a little light-heartedness in our lives right about now.
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