I’ve never liked “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” but watching the film again has made me change my opinion. Just a little though. And it makes you ask the hard questions such as are all motorcyclists aliens? And what is the difference between a satanic mechanic and a regular one?

The film is, I think, a musical very loosely based on the story of Frankenstein. It follows a newly engaged couple, Brad and Janet, who end up stranded at the house of Dr. Frankenfurter who is conducting an experiment to create life. 

I find the plot very hard to follow and the film needs something to keep its audience engaged. The music is able to do that while also being my favorite part.

My personal favorites are probably “Science Fiction”, “Dammit Janet” and “Sweet Transvestite”, which is probably one of the more popular songs along with “Time Warp”. Time Warp is a good song and, well, to quote Forrest Gump “that’s all I have to say about that.”

The first third of the film has really strong energy and fast pacing but once Eddie, played by Meat Loaf, gets murdered, it slows down and makes the tone feel creepy rather than fun. 

Eddie’s song, “Hot Patootie,” is also my least favorite song and his appearance in the scene is abrupt along with the exit. 

Edit: This is Liz’s mother, and I want you to know that all of Meat Loaf’s music is amazing, you shouldn’t listen to her and you should check out the music for yourself. 

Okay, that was weird. Anyway, after Dr. Frankfurter murders Eddie, the musical loses its fun tone and takes a break from the songs for while. Without the music to keep up the pacing, it starts to drag and I don’t find the musical funny anymore. 

The only part that I do find consistently funny throughout the musical is the fact that every character seems to have a crush on Dr. Frankenfurter. Tim Curry’s performance as the flirtatious Dr. Frankenfurter makes this even funnier. 

All of the other performances are pretty good too, with Barry Bostwick as Brad and Susan Sarandon as Janet. I never realized that Sarandon was in this movie when I first watched it, even though I absolutely loved the movie Enchanted. 

It’s very funny because the character she plays in Enchanted reminds me a lot of Dr. Frankenfurter. The costumes are very eye-catching even if they can be kind of skimpy, although I suppose that’s the point. 

While I may find this film to be odd sometimes, I’ll admit, it knows how to hold an audience’s attention. I just wish it wasn’t so creepy. The floating lips that are shown at the beginning of the film will probably haunt my nightmares forever. 

All I want to do is enjoy the opening song but I feel like those lips are interrogating me. The dinner scene is gross and not in a fun way. 

I also had a problem that anytime somebody has sex in this movie it’s either under suspicious circumstances or it seems like there’s no way both parties would be able to consent and the movie just plays it for a laugh. 

I really wished that everyone in this movie would stop being horny for five seconds, but then we wouldn’t have a movie. 

Also, while the plot twist that the inhabitants of the mansion are all aliens is certainly unique, it never shocked me as much as revealing that one of the couples was committing incest the whole time. 

The goofy acting does manage to make some of this still feel charming, especially with the character Magenta who has the best comedic timing out of the cast. 

The movie also has a beautiful and colorful set that I found to be very unique since I’ve never seen a laboratory that uses the same pink tile as my grandma’s bathroom. 

And thus, the writer closes out their chaotic review of Rocky Horror Picture Show, finally satisfied with what they had written. Of course, not before adding a narrator who pops out of seemingly nowhere to interrupt her review.

 

Liz Curtin can be reached at [email protected].