Quite a few years back if I could go back and say that I owned this movie I would have been shocked and that I had recently given it a 78% score I probably would of fallen off my seat. It is here and it is here on merit just because it was a musical I may of given this a complete swerve back in the day and it took me many years to come around to watch it and then fully appreciate how blooming good it is. Before I get to movie details I will start with the Tri-Critic Sync Challenge as this movie will be joining the scoreboard sitting next to Revenge of the Sith, Unbreakable, The Ring & Watership Down on the 5% shelf with a score of 7.4/10 from IMDb and only a point between me and Rotten Tomatoes gave it 79%. So, to back up my argument against myself from years ago other agree with me now. This was released back in 1975 which was a bit of a surprise to me. Produced on a budget of $1.4m it had a return of $140.2m which adds weight to the fact this is a great movie and a well loved one at that. I will get to the stars in the last paragraph as there is a hell of a list. The screenplay was written by Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman and based on the show written by O’Brien, who I remember from the classic Crystal Maze tv show. He was crazy on that and he was instantly lovable. OK I will attempt to give you a plot overview.
The story is narrated by a criminologist about a newly engaged couple of Brad and Janet who are lost and get a flat tire on a rainy and stormy night. So, they walk to a Castle nearby to see if they have a phone they could use. Rather than an old cobwebbed run down castle they step into another world created by Dr. Frank-N-Furter a self titled ‘Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania,’ also in the castle is Frank’s servant called Riff Raff his sister Magenta and a groupie called Columbia. Frank has discovered the ‘secret to life itself’ and created a ‘man’ called Rocky. He is a fine figure of a man! The whole thing is interrupted by Eddie (Columbia’s boyfriend) and ex of Frank. He gets the crowd going with a rocking song that gets everyone going unfortunately he gets Rocky up and dancing making Frank jealous who kills Eddie with a pickaxe. Brad and Janet are shown to separate bedrooms where each is visited by Frank during the night. Janet is so upset by the visit she goes off in search of Brad but instead finds a cctv camera shot of Frank & Brad in bed smoking cigarettes. She then finds Rocky who is hiding from Riff Raff’s beatings and she finds comfort with Rocky. When Frank realises that Rocky is missing he is not happy meanwhile Eddie’s Uncle arrives looking for his nephew he is Dr Everett V. Scott who happens to be Brad & Janet’s old High School Teacher. Frank thinks he is secretly investigating UFO’s for the government and they finally find Janet and Rocky together in his birth tank. With tempers rising a gong stops everything as dinner is served.
Are you still with me? As the dinner is where I am going to stop the plot. This is a musical and there are plenty of songs that have gone beyond this movie. The story is poking fun of the old horror and sci-fi movies of yester-year but doing so in a playful way. There is a loving to the mocking and it has really worked with movie and theatre goers alike. The movie stars a list of names which is why I saved it for this part of the review as this is a hell of a list of names. So take a deep breath Hilary Farr, Jeremy Newson, Charles Gray, Meat Loaf, Peter Hintwood, Jonathan Adams, Neil Campbell, Patricia Quinn, Richard O’Brien, Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry. I have said it before and I will say it again Tim Curry is one of the most talented actors… ever. Never really given the stardom that I feel he deserves. I have not seen him perform badly in any movie role and I know he is famous for his stage performances but my recommendation is that if he is in a movie then you will enjoy it. I believe he had suffered a stroke a few years back and is now in a wheelchair but he will always have me bend at the knee as he is a true star of the big screen. He is in this movie so it has to be good and it started a few careers as well. As mentioned it’s a comedy, horror, musical with so many elements involved songs and stars and fun and sheer pleasure to watch. If you haven’t seen it and I ain’t going to demand that you do… just point out that it is your loss.
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