THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975)
Article 2410 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 11-1-2007
Posting Date: 3-18-2008
Directed by Jim Sharman
Featuring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick

Two young people engaged to be married find themselves stranded at the castle of Fr. Frank-N-Furter, who has created a creature named Rocky Horror.

I’ve heard tell that the best way to see this movie is at one of the repertory theaters where it plays weekly to an audience of dedicated fans who turn the movie into an interactive audience experience unlike anything else. I’m willing to believe that; the movie certainly lends itself to that sort of treatment; in fact, if I remember my reading correctly, the movie was intended to be watched in this fashion, as the same sort of thing happened during the stage presentations of the show. However, I watched it at home without the benefit of any of those dedicated fans, and have never seen it any other way, so I can only judge it on that level. And, watched in this environment, I’m afraid I found this compendium of horror, science fiction, rock music, sex, campy costumes and campy makeup less than fascinating; it starts out mildly interesting, but gets progressively more tedious as the movie progresses, no matter how many classic horror and science fiction movies it references along the way. Maybe it’s because I was left the impression that it really doesn’t add up to much of anything; if the movie really seems to be about anything, it’s about being campy, and I don’t find that a great attention holder. Still, a movie in which Meatloaf’s character dies a horrible death can’t be all bad. And I’m willing to bet that the presence of the aforementioned audience is what it really needs.