"Rocky Horror" sucks; "Shock Treatment" rocks

Cafe Society
1

I discovered Shock Treatment in 1992, got my best friend into it, and it’s been one of my favorite movies ever since. It’s got great music, amazing performances, and a great story. Most important, it’s got a great underlying idea: A town exists within a TV studio and everyone’s life is merely a show.

Same composer (Richard O’Brien), same director (Jim Sharman) as The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Various times thereafter I have tried to sit through RH but was unable, mainly because RH flat-out sucks as a movie. But last week I bought the set containing the 25th anniversary editions of both movies and was able finally to get through RH. Every time I hope it’s a good movie, every time I’m disappointed.

Let me mention first what’s good about RH:

  1. Tim Curry is awesome, and he has the only grade-A song in the flick: “Sweet Transvestite.” His character is entertaining for the first 1/2 hour of the movie or so. Thereafter, owing to a complete lack of plot and misuse of the character, he grows tiresome.

  2. Among a lot (A LOT) of songs in the movie, there are a few B+ers, some might consider them A’s: the theme song, Time Warp, Meatloaf’s song. Beyond those, the music is a nondescript hash.

  3. Some neat costumes and sets, some appealing females (Susan Sarandon in her bra, Little Nell, etc.).

But come on. The movie starts out OK, and the idea of a musical based on bad B movies is a great one. But the movie is nothing but unappealing sludge after we hear “Sweet Transvestites.”

Why, then, has this movie remained so popular? Audience participation? Sure. But why don’t more of the reviewers on IMDb, etc., recognize the problems?

Anyhow, tell me your thoughts.

2

Rocky Horror isn’t popular because people think it’s a great movie. It’s because seeing it in a theater full of people is a great, fun experience. [If you find it’s your kind of thing.] Frankly, if you only saw RHPS in a movie theater - as opposed to a friend’s basement, where I saw it the first ten times or so - you probably wouldn’t know much about the plot, because there’s so much talking and yelling from the audience. I’ve watched parts of RHPS on my own. It’s not good, but the real problem is that there’s just no energy.

I do want to see Shock Treatment. It may be a good movie, but as an event, it couldn’t be as good without the audience partici…

pation.

3

[QUOTE=Marley23]
I do want to see Shock Treatment. It may be a good movie, but as an event, it couldn’t be as good without the audience partici…

pation.
[/QUOTE]

There isn’t any. Or at least, not much. It didn’t accumulate the sort of long-lasting following as RHPS and didn’t inspire people to shout things (although I have a book that talks about how some of the hardcore RHPS people turned out for the ST premiere in full ST costume they’d made from viewing stills).

As to the OP, the only other person I know who liked ST better than RHPS was schizophrenic so take that for what it’s worth…

Actually I agree that the music is in many ways superior to RHPS, although I think it’s more like RHPS has an A- average and ST has an A. But if you think RHPS doesn’t have much of a plot, then ST’s plot is even slighter and more incomprehensible. While I also agree that some of the ideas in ST are interesting and presaged a number of trends including the rise of reality television, it should be noted that a number of those ideas were not part of the original vision for the project but were imposed because of budget issues and an impending strike which forced the scaling down of the project.

I will admit to some bias in favor of RHPS because of its strong positive associations (I literally credit going to RHPS with getting me through high school alive, as in without it I’d have killed myself junior year), and my appreciation for ST has increased over the years (although the storyline I created based on hearing the soundtrack years before I saw the movie was way better than the film). But I can’t agree that ST is the better film.

4

Interesting thoughts, Otto.

5

[QUOTE=Otto]
There isn’t any. Or at least, not much. It didn’t accumulate the sort of long-lasting following as RHPS and didn’t inspire people to shout things (although I have a book that talks about how some of the hardcore RHPS people turned out for the ST premiere in full ST costume they’d made from viewing stills).
[/QUOTE]

Spoilers ahead for those who haven’t seen the film.

Long-time NY RHPSer here.

When Shock Treatment was completed, a group of us from the 8th St. Playhouse were invited to a preview screening. Naturally, going in, most of us (myself included) had a prejudice against it–how dare they make a sequel, how can you make a sequel without Tim Curry, etc. Imagine my surprise when I actually ended up enjoying it! As far as just the technical aspects are concerned, it is, IMHO, a much better film than RHPS. I wouldn’t say that RHPS “sucks”, per se, but ST sans participation stands up better.

There was an attempt at participation, however. ST ran midnights at the Waverly in NY for several months, and in that time it did generate a “floor show” of sorts, as well as lines shouted at the screen. Some of them were actually pretty clever, too. The problem was that, while RHPS’s audience hijinks evolved over a period of years, ST didn’t have that luxury; therefore, some of the participation seemed forced. Still, as I said, some of the lines were good. For example, in the very beginning, before Neely turns around to sing, the audience said “First there were lips, now there’s a whole face!” I guess you had to be there, but it was pretty funny.

I believe there are many references to the original in ST (apart from the obvious returning characters). I’ve always believed that Cosmo and Nation are Riff and Magenta. There’s a line in the film referring to the fact that C & N had “a long running series that’s still being seen in many countries”. And it’s not too far of a stretch to believe that Judge Wright (Charles Gray) is the criminologist from RHPS.
Indeed, I think the TV audience scenes are a parody of the whole Rocky Horror phenomenon itself. I had occasion to briefly meet Richard O’Brien and ask him about that, but his response was evasive.

I strongly urge any Rocky fan to see ST. Put your prejudices aside and appreciate it for what it is–a very good satire of mass media and cults of personality.

6

I actually enjoy RHPS as a movie. I used to watch it for fun …by myself… on lonely nights… sigh… Huh! Where was I? I also REALLY like Shock Treatment. So much that I tracked a copy of it on VHS on Ebay… I spent way too much but it was the onyl time I had found a copy anywhere. NOW its out on DVD… for about half what I paid for hte VHS I can get it at Circuit City of all places.

7

[QUOTE=Push You Down]
I also REALLY like Shock Treatment. So much that I tracked a copy of it on VHS on Ebay… I spent way too much but it was the onyl time I had found a copy anywhere. NOW its out on DVD… for about half what I paid for hte VHS I can get it at Circuit City of all places.
[/QUOTE]

Same thing happened to me, not with ST but with the 1980 Flash Gordon and Buckaroo Banzai. Bought them for way too much on eBay and then they were out on DVD in, like, minutes. ST turns up with some regularity of Fox Movie Channel, which is where I taped it (initially for the aforementioned schizophrenic, who was my boyfriend but who fled the state before I was able give him the tape).