‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’: revival left much to be desired
by Masha Zhadanova
It’s 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 20 and I’m wearing a shirt I made that says “Science Fiction Double Feature.” I’m flipping madly through the TV channels in the Spring House lounge, trying to find Fox so I can watch the newest remake of my favorite movie of all time —”The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I find it as the second verse of the opening song is beginning and I’m leaning forward in my seat, singing along, and I am so, so excited. But did the remake live up to the buzz surrounding it?
The Fox production, directed by Kenny Ortega, had some truly excellent points, namely the casting. Though there is a lot of controversy over whether the role of Frank-n-Furter should’ve gone to a trans woman or a man in drag, Laverne Cox was wonderful in her role, bringing her dance training and unique vocal talents to her interpretation of the character. Adam Lambert in his brief appearance as Eddie was energetic and fun, and Reeve Carney was a funny, convincing Riff-Raff. I wish Annaleigh Ashford was more over-the-top as Columbia, but everyone else brought the excitement and passion I was hoping for from the remake.
The one iconic scene I felt the remake did more successfully than the original, perhaps due to changes in social attitudes regarding sexuality on television, was when Frank-n-Furter seduces Brad and Janet at night. The original had the action happen in silhouette, leaving the audience to guess at exactly what went on, but in the remake, everything is shot explicitly and with a more humorous bent. We get to see Brad and Janet’s faces as they hesitate over their decision to “give themselves over to absolute pleasure,” and it’s hilarious.
Unfortunately, it’s immediately followed up by a truly disappointing version of Touch Me. In the original, all of the characters were observing Janet and Rocky together and reacting to it, while in the new version Columbus and Magenta make one or two comments and that’s it. The decision to have Janet and Rocky move from the lab to her bedroom with a cut removed the feeling of absurdity and weirdness the original version of the scene had by placing the sexiness in a socially acceptable context and making it seem more normal and more pop than cult, and perfectly illustrating why this remake leaves me disappointed.
As a fan of the original Rocky Horror Picture Show, I feel like Kenny Ortega misunderstood the spirit of the original. What I love so much about the 1975 version is how wonderfully weird it is, how esoteric, how it has the couple from American Gothic walking around in “Dammit, Janet” and turns the humans into literal copies of classical statues for the Floor Show. I loved the nods to classic sci-fi and horror films, because understanding and noticing the references lent the movie a depth and meaning it wouldn’t have had otherwise. Ortega took out most of these references I love so much, and made the new version feel more pop and campy, definitely remniscent of the High School Musical films Ortega also directed. The visuals were beautiful and fun, but it just was not as offbeat and quirky as the movie I love so much. I enjoyed watching it, but ultimately, the next time I want to do the time warp, the 1975 movie is the one I’ll watch again.
