The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016 TV Movie) User Reviews

Casting Laverne Cox was a big mistake

[sylvesterthekat · 5/10 · 21 October 2016]

Now don't get me wrong, she performed fine, sang reasonably well and had 'attitude'. But she's too feminine! The whole point, at least for me, of the Frank N Furter character is that it's obviously a GUY dressed as a woman, ie a TRANSVESTITE! Not transgender, not a woman. A man. Think about it, Brad and Janet aren't going to think hey, that's a guy wearing risqué women's clothing. No, they're going to think it's a tall woman with big boobs wearing risqué clothing. The shock value is reduced. And while we're on the subject of shock value, they totally messed up the Frank entrance scene after Time Warp. Then, later on, the whole dynamic of Frank ending up in bed with both Brad and Janet is substantially altered if Frank is a woman. Just think about it!

I've given it 5/10 mostly because they did a fairly good job with the songs and who can go wrong with those? But, exacerbated by the monumentally annoying commercial breaks, it's really not worth watching this. Buy or rent the original instead, it's much much better.

Was on board until Frank-n-Furter

[MillB · 5/10 · 20 October 2016]

LOVE the new opening (re-envisioned) LOVE the supporting cast (especially Riff-Raff), and I was diving into the pool. . . great great great . . enjoying it. Like showing the audience. Loving the new music and dance I was ALL IN. . .until. . . um

Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The character needs to be BOLD and shocking and BOTH masculine AND feminine at the same time. Needs to be playful, violent, and sexual or the premise does not work. FnF needs to take command of the stage AND seduce everyone. In leather and fishnet stockings. The seduction is what MAKES the show.

Where was the raw sex appeal? The boldness, the Master toying with a mouse? The line, "Don't be upset by the way I look" fell flat with a tentative FnF wearing a red sequined dress from Golden Girls.

If you enjoyed the original---You should probably just go watch that instead

[walrusegg · 4/10 · 20 October 2016]

If the original "Rocky Horror Picture Show" is so bad it's good, the "Let's Do the Time Warp Again" is so good it's bad,"Good" in the sense that it is far too polished and glamorized to even come close to capturing what made the original so enjoyable. There was no sense of grit or earnestness when it came to the singing or the acting. As strange and incoherent as the plot in the original RHPS, the cast made you feel for each character and connect with them. In the new one, sure, the actors are talented but everything comes across as too neatly put together, and maybe it was the commercial breaks but there hardly seemed to be any real chemistry built up between the actors.

I don't know that anyone wanted a new RHPS in the first place. BUT, I think there was a chance that if this project were in different hands it could have been something uniquely its own. Instead, all of the edge is removed and I don't think there would be any reason to watch this over the other, beyond sheer curiosity.

"It's Worse Than I Imagined"

[marloweisdead · 22 October 2016]

The original film of The Rocky Horror Picture Show was flawed and at times sloppy, but it was brimming with heart and a genuine weirdness of character. It could be confusing to follow at times but it remained a mostly straight-faced homage to the weird science films of the 1950s with the added attraction of sexual and gender twisting, but crucially presented without comment or focus - this is one of the reasons it succeeded so well and why it became an underground hit.

This new version of this classic film made sure to disembowel the original, reach up and pull out its heart, and to then airbrush the empty husk that remained.

One of the major downfalls is the absolutely lifeless soundtrack recordings of the songs: they sound as if they have been compressed and muted of life to ensure that nobody's heart rises above sixty beats per minutes. Over this limp soundtrack the characters mime their songs, mostly badly, some not even making a huge effort to even sync up at times (particularly guilty of this is Columbia).

As to the casting, gone are the individual characteristics and introduced are a parade of generically handsome and pretty boys and gals with all the individuality of a Toys R Us dolls aisle. The original worked because it was played mainly straight; the new version gives us hammy overacting with too much self-awareness which obviously does nothing to draw an audience in; it's as if the new production had either never watched the original film or had so grossly misread it as to be almost imbecilic. Talking of Frankestein, we are treated to an on-the-nose depiction of Mary Shelley's gravestone, despite the fact she died in London, England; anything to ram down our throats the Frankenstein connection! In the original film Rocky was slightly neanderthal in appearance - blankish expression that reminded us of Frankenstein's monster (after all that's what he represents) with a hard muscular body, with tight buns showing through tight gold undies; the new Rocky looks like a gym-bro with dipped highlights who may or may not be slightly constipated: he is more Brut than brute.

Dr Frank-N-Furter, crucially, is a transvestite not a transsexual - Transsexual is the name of the planet. The stunt casting of Laverne Cox is badly done: whereas the original had a skinny flat-chested Tim Curry working brilliantly as a transvestite, Laverne Cox is a female Dr Frank-N-Furter and, as the transvestite she sings about being, should be dressed in a male attire: this casting was ill-thought-out. I enjoyed Laverne in Orange in the New Black but her attempts to channel Tim Curry's origination of Frank-N-Furter is embarrassing: the British accent is all over the place, often with an American twang at the end of phrases, and often sounded like it's being strangled out of her. Her rendition of 'I'm Going Home' at the climax should have been emotional and stirring, as in the original, but it was in fact as empty as the preceding hour and a half had been. Speaking of the climax, Riff-Raff and Magenta strongly resembled a pair of Red Dwarf villains in their silver get-up, and the castle crumbling brought to mind the old British children's show Knightmare.

The film also suffered from an almost total lack of character delineation - far more-so than even the original which, as I said before, certain had its sloppy moments of confusion. Magenta and Columbia were more marginal than in the original and Eddie's cameo was almost completely pointless if not for the fact that he is used as a postmortem device later on in the film.

The film also suffered from a real lack of chemistry, not only between the viewer and the cast but also between cast members; Rocky and Janet's bedroom scene lacked any sexuality or tension whatsoever: Hank drinking Manny's corpse-water in Swiss Army Man was more romantic and sexual than this white-bread colourless scene; not to mention the bed-hopping hilarity of the original was almost entirely airbrushed to be as inoffensive as possible.

The nod to the cult of audience participation at theatrical showings of the film fell very flat also - the audience seemed to be a TV exec's idea of what edgy, weird, non-mainstream people looked like in the 1980s (TV punks) and 1990s (TV grunge).

The saddest crime of all was the rolling in of stroke-victim Tim Curry in a pathetic attempt to give credence and validation to this travesty - the only moments of any emotion in the film were when he appeared on screen and my heart filled with sadness at what they had persuaded him to do, and to watch him valiantly attempt his line-readings.

I am not looking forward to an anemic version of Cronenberg's / Burroughs' "Naked Lunch".

It's a Rocky Horror alright

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 30 October 2016]

'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' is a film that still holds up to me as enormous fun and is a great experience when seeing it at a midnight showing which adds to the atmosphere. There are a lot of people who don't see the appeal and understandably, as it is not a film for all tastes.

What makes 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' still great fun to watch are its timeless songs (especially "Time Warp" and "Sweet Transvestite"), a clever and very funny script, a wonderfully naughty and risqué atmosphere that pushed boundaries like no film had ever before and Tim Curry's landmark performance that deservedly turned him into a star. Whether you like it or not, it is difficult to deny that it is an ahead of its time film and that there's very few if any films like it.

It is always fairer to judge something as its own entity, but there are times where it is very difficult to compare two versions when so much that worked so well previously fares disastrously here. That is the case with this 2016 TV production, as an adaptation of the film and even the stage show it's an abomination but it is also an example of something where people would still be making the same criticisms without having seen or needing to see the original.

Redeeming values are very difficult to find on the whole, but two things are done well. One is the cool opening scene in one of the few song renditions that treats the previous film version's with even a shade of respect. The other is the courageous performance of Tim Curry in the very small role of the Criminologist, despite being so badly diminished by his stroke four years ago that hasn't stopped him doing what he loves and it's not stopped him giving a sincere, moving and authoritative performance.

However, the production does suffer badly from being too clean and too glamorous in production values when part of the film's charm was its decadence and that it feels far too watered down and too safe, there's very little to none of the sense that the film pushed boundaries or what made it so daring, wickedly naughty and unique. Despite the songs being so great themselves, the re-arrangements certainly aren't, sounding and performed like they came from 'Glee' or something from the Disney Channel. Only "Science Fiction" and "Hot Patootie" are treated with respect, with "Time Warp" being an absolute train-wreck in every regard and "Sweet Transvestite" was just dull with Frank's entrance (iconic before) lacking impact completely.

As for the script, little of the naughtiness and wit comes through due to erratic and too fast line delivery, so the lines feel like they were thrown away rather than relished. Aside from Curry, another huge issue is bad casting. Topping or matching Tim Curry is impossible, but Laverne Cox (also have to agree that Frank does not work when played as a woman, which points the point of the character, causing distracting and constant gender confusion that were very likely accidental) even as a standalone performance tries far too hard that everything about her performance becomes flat and forced.

Ryan McCarten and Victoria Justice sound, look and act like they were auditioning for 'Glee', while Ben Vereen is a forgettable Dr Scott weirdly made up, Reeve Carney overdoes it as Riff Raff and strains his way through his whole music, Christina Milian is nowhere near sinister or conniving enough as Magenta and Annaleigh Ashford sleepwalks her way through Columbia. Adam Lambert also had potential to be a redeeming quality and while his singing is brilliant he would have made a much better Frank, he is too polished and theatrical for Eddie. Chemistry between the performers is non-existent and the choreography is both leaden and overblown performed with lumbering energy.

Overall, a huge disappointment even when watching it with an open mind and without prejudice. Did think it was not a good idea but have been pleasantly surprised by how potentially bad ideas have actually been executed well, but this TV production fails spectacularly when compared and on its own. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Overproduced

[tyler_dean_smith · 1/10 · 20 October 2016]

This remake attempts to stay true to the original. While the story line modifications are fitting the performances are lacking the emotion of the original.

The musical performances also stay true to the original, which I enjoyed but it was very difficult to get over the overproduction of the vocal performances as it clearly highlights the lip syncing. I feel that if the vocal performances were recorded during filming that it would be much better.

The acting lacks any emotion. It's like watching the cast going through the motions and running lines to an empty audience.

I want to give a better rating, but this is not how we should be honouring a classic.

Sad day for Rocky Horror fans

[jeffreydemerly · 1/10 · 20 October 2016]

I cannot believe Tim Curry actually agreed to be a part of this. They have taken a cult classic and ruined it. The dialog is horrible and over dramatized making these actors and actresses seem like middle school kids doing their first play. Truly sad that some talented people had to be a part of this production. The changes to the musical numbers further ruin this version. The only thing that they seem to have gotten correct are the character names and the general plot. i would classify this as either a very bad tribute to the original or a total mockery of the original and the cast. If this is you first introduction to Rocky Horror please, please watch the original instead of this.

20 minutes into this so and I'm regretting it.

[skipper_mso · 1/10 · 20 October 2016]

In the late 70's we used to go to the theater and watch the original. Before they banned using lighters in theaters. The characters, if over the top, were 3 dimensional. There were things you could see in their faces and hear in their voices that told you they were really there. So far in this show all of the songs come off as flat. If there is any emotion in the characters faces or voices it seems forced (as if the director said "YOU MUST EMOTE"). A woman playing a transvestite that dresses like a woman seems a little off as well. Columbia can't tap dance, they try to cover it up with sound effects but it's very obvious she's not dancing. It's depressing to someone like myself that grew up with this show and actually went once dressed as Magenta (I'm a guy, a 50 year old guy) I think I'll turn this off and go dig up my old VHS and watch that. It's infinitely better.

They really screwed the pooch with this one folks.

[Ducsoup · 1/10 · 20 October 2016]

I'm not sure where to begin. I have no idea what they were going for but boy, did they miss in every aspect. We had to stop watching. It didn't capture the essence, it was not a good homage and it was just plain bad. We just can't imagine who would come up with such an awful idea like remaking such a perfect classic. I use the term "remake" ever so loosely. Our expectations were low, considering how good the original was and we were expecting some new voices honoring some old songs and music, but again...it didn't happen.

If you are even slightly, the tiniest fan of the original, this rendition will make you nauseous. It is that bad.

No one can ever replace Tim Curry

[rieaz · 7/10 · 31 October 2020]

No one can ever replace Tim Curry but I will say that the theatrics and costumes and acting was decent. I loved the audience participation!

I saw this in the beginning when I was 16 years old. I'm now in my 60s. Fun memories about from every time I ever saw it and the fun we had.

So ... this was okay, but I'm still basing everything on the feel-good from seeing the original with friends way back in the day!

Really not sure what to say

[Seiluna · 1/10 · 20 October 2016]

I grew up watching the original Rocky Horror Picture Show and that I loved. Every part of it, the cast the music all of it.

Then I watched this remake.....

Other then a few small things (Like the Awesome Tim Curry being in it) I was left disappointed.

Far too many scenes had parts missing or felt empty and yes I know certain things had to be changed for TV but for example and yes SPOILER the character Eddie's death was far more violent in the original or hell even the Time Warp scene and the song being changed that was not OK.

It felt more like a teen pop movie at times rather then this violent, creepy, sexual thing it really should have been.

Don't ask me to recommend this version for anyone because I would never.

Quit Whining it's Not the Original

[calvinzane · 10/10 · 22 October 2016]

I was super excited for this and I was not disappointed. Laverne Cox nails Curry's memorable laugh and lightens up the character of Frank N Furter, the film-within-a-film acknowledges the call outs, and the film itself oozes nostalgia. If you watch this with an open mind and not anticipating a remake (which it isn't) then you'll be fine and enjoy yourself. If not, then I say quit dragging a TV movie down because it failed to live up to expectations it was never going to achieve anyway.

As for the actual content, Laverne Cox went full drag queen (in a way RuPaul himself would love) and outrageously camp and over the top. As a fan of campy drag queens, I loved it and more importantly it does re-imagine Frank in a more sympathetic light than the original (which is why this isn't a remake). She can still pull out the violent crazy card wonderfully and, in the hardest role to take on in the film, she stands on her own at the epicenter of the madness that is 'Rocky Horror'. McCartan pays tribute to Bostwick's overacting while still adding emotion in key parts which Bostwick did not that made me laugh at how much he nailed the part; Victoria Justice did wonderfully, with nods to Sarandon in enough parts that you recognize the tribute while she still made the character her own in new ways.

As for the rest? Staz Nair was the best Rocky I've seen as he managed to skillfully pull off the character in a way the first didn't. Rocky is shown to struggle with motor functions and in many ways act like a child in the first few scenes. For a character who only really speaks when he sings, it was an impressive performance. Ashford nailed Columbia, and she wasn't as screechy as Little Nell which was a blessing to my ears. Lambert was great as Eddy, which doesn't surprise me as he has that classic rock 'n' roll voice that Eddy needs.

Levan as the Usherette was a wonderful intro into the film that moved beyond just the iconic red lips as she introduced the audience to, well, the audience. Milian's Magenta has a more manipulative feel to her and she pulled the character off well, despite Magenta having some of the most iconic sound bites (I can hear Patricia Quinn yelling 'Master! Dinner is prepared!' just from memory). Carney had the hardest job next to Laverne, as he had the dubious honor of playing a character who was for so long played by the creator of the show. But he also did a wonderful job and, as compared to the 2001 Broadway revival, I preferred Carney's portrayal. Vereen is as good a Doctor Scott as any. Lastly, Tim Curry. Seeing him post-stroke is rather heartbreaking, in truth, but the fact that he demanded to be part of the film speaks to his love for the show that shot him to stardom and the uproar in- film when he appears on the screen the first time acknowledges what fans of the first film (I refuse to call it the 'original' since everyone involved has made it clear this is a re-imagining and not a remake) feel upon seeing him.

Comparing the two is naturally going to happen, but everyone involved worked so hard at throwing in Easter Eggs for fans of the first film to see and hear to give them nods to the first, I'm irritated to see those same fans using those nods to attack this re-imagining. The first film is extremely campy; in fact I could write an essay on how much the first film isn't a good film. BUT that's why people love it. Rocky Horror is what it is, doesn't pretend not to be, and the message of the film(s) speak to a wide range of audiences.

As for my own comparisons- it is most assuredly not a literal translation but the premise remains the same. The overacting in the first still lingers in this film, but when you consider that O'Brien wrote the film in the vein of all those sci-fi films of the time, it's not surprising at all. Frankly, if there wasn't overacting I'd be offended as that is part of the Rocky Horror brand.

The 'updates' (if you'll call them such) work. Riff-Raff's new ray- gun looked ridiculously awesome and while Frank had a larger wardrobe selection in this film thanks to the bigger budget, they don't upstage the film itself. Obviously there are less nipples because, hello, network television and I'm sure many things had to be altered to dance around the censors given this aired at 8 o'clock. Still you'd be surprised with how much they get away with. I thought Columbia and Eddy were just going to do it on the motorcycle at one point. The improved sound quality is obviously nice and the overall costumes are greatly improved and less...well less those sci-fi films O'Brien was emulating.

Overall, I loved this film. I enjoyed myself and my mom, who's in her fifties, also really enjoyed it. Laverne Cox is not Tim Curry; nor was she trying to be. She pays homage to him, yes. Her voice fluctuates between feminine and masculine throughout the film as she plays with gender lines and sexuality the way Curry played with sexuality and gender stereotypes of the time. But no, this film is not the original. It is not a remake. It's just breathing new life into a film and story that is 41 years old this year.

It's worth remembering that Rocky Horror is something that has never taken itself seriously; that so many fans suddenly do as they target this re-imagining is both ironic and hilarious.

A Nice Adaption That Certainly Had Its Moments

[NDbportmanfan · 6/10 · 21 October 2016]

I wasn't planning on writing a review for this movie but after seeing all the hate it is getting, I had to try and balance the scale in the review section. The rating is a real poor representation of the quality that the show provided. I usually only see this kind of hate on the comic book movie pages, but at least there is a good amount of 10's and 1's to even out the score. The problem here is that the majority of people who wanted to watch it were fans of the original, and from what I hear most seem to hate on it. So don't believe in the rating as the show was no where near that bad.

Of course I was skeptical at first when the announcement came. As soon as the music started playing and we see the usherette; I was assured that this will not be awful. Most of the scenes were faithful to the movie with the best moments coming from the "Touch Me" song between Victoria Justice and Staz Nair. To some of the cringe worthy attempts namely the entrance of Laverne Cox (she did get better as the movie progressed though). For the movie as a whole I rather enjoyed it. I believe the problem with most is that they compared it to the original. The film is such an iconic piece of cinema that of course a TV movie on Fox will fail in comparison (they are limited as to what they can and can't show). I rarely say this but this TV MOVIE is worth checking out. If you enjoyed the film but don't think of it as some holy scripture that can't be touched then definitely give this a try as you will be surprised at the fact they captured some of the scenes very well.

I enjoyed most of the characters in the show and would rank them as such:

1.)Ryan McCartan as Brad 2.)Adam Lambert as Eddy 3.)Ivy Levan as Usherette 4.)Annaleigh Ashford as Columbia 5.)Victoria Justice as Janet(she grew on me/ didn't start well) 6.)Laverne Cox as Dr.Frank-N-Furter 7.)Tim Curry as the Criminologist8.)Ben Vereen as Everett Scott 9.)Staz Nair as Rocky 10.)Reeve Carney as Riff Raff 11.)Christina Milian as Magenta...or whatever that was

A insult

[leavymusic-2 · 1/10 · 26 September 2019]

A insult to the original, astonishingly bad, amazing that many people involved in the original were involved in this travesty.

I guess they thought it would make some money, how wrong, the film should have never been made.

If you watch this you wouldn't want to see the classic version as you would be put off, true Rocky fans can't stand this either, it's just awful, miscast, bad acting, glee performances and over produced garbage.

Unwatchable, avoid like the plague and watch the fabulous original, that one you wont regret ! It's genius.

Lacked any life.

[L_Lawliett · 26 April 2017]

I've been a fan of Rocky Horror for as long as I can remember and I've seen it live on stage a couple f times and love seeing different ideas and approaches to it but unfortunately this falls pretty flat. A small few of the cast were good, the guy playing Riff-Raff did quite well and I enjoyed watching him, and I did find seeing Tim Curry as the narrator with some odd Rosa Klebb type quite funny. But the woman playing Magenta just annoyed me as I've always loved Magenta and near enough all the people I've a seen playing her, obviously Pat Quinn as the original is my favourite because she is just fabulous, but the woman in this version just wasted the character, she gave off the impression she just thought "oh it's a small part so I'm not going to bother" and just turned up and did whatever. Janet was pretty good but Brad was more annoying than anything. And the biggie, Frank. Well though the character had some amazing costumes it was not Frank. Frank is a man in women's lingerie (hence the sweet transvestite) not a woman in lingerie. It does not work. It just contradicts itself. It was more like watching Grace Jones.

The visuals left much to be desired. It felt empty all the away through, like they just could not really be bothered so it lacked real life. Same goes for the music, it just lacked life and soul. The choreography was shabby and not done well really.

Over all really it just seemed drab, lifeless, and half arsed. Just watch the original or go watch it live, you will enjoy it more.

bad, bad, bad

[p-caldwell-87-952886 · 1/10 · 20 October 2016]

I grew up going to RHPS, this didn't even come close to what it was all about! Not even worth a review....…I was so looking forward to seeing this :(, its kind of like when you were a kid and you thought Santa was going to bring you what you wanted and when you opened your present you Found an ugly sweater and socks. I really wish they would stop trying to improve the classics and just stick to the story, there is nothing wrong with redoing a classic just don't try to put your spin on it, if its made it this far then there had to be something about it.They will not post this review with out it being 10 lines so I guess I will just keep typing like this. :(

If I saw it first I might have liked it

[lorielles_1960 · 2/10 · 21 October 2016]

I knew before I watched this movie that I would not be pleased, but I never thought that I would be so disappointed. If the producers of this mistake wanted to be true to the original, they would never have been able to run it on network television. It almost felt as if the movie tried to take itself too seriously...and that was never the intention of the original.

There are just two things that I can compliment this film on...the vocal talents of the cast, which were overall better than the original, and the inclusion of the audience. It was also good to see Tim Curry, but I wonder what he really feels about the completed film.

Laverne Cox, while extremely talented, was totally wrong for Frankenfurter. The whole point here is that Frankenfurter is a transvestite...NOT a transsexual. The costuming was PG13 and way to glitzy and glamorous.

If I had never seen the original, I might have thought this was a bizarre TV movie, but would most likely have not watched it more than once. The original...is true camp...it is an even to watch.

This is a film that should never have been made...the original did not need a remake.

Not worth the time it took to watch

[distopian_dream · 2/10 · 21 October 2016]

I love the original Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I am a huge fan of Laverne Cox, so I was really excited to see how an updated version would turn out. But I am only disappointed. The best part of the movie was Tim Curry, I just wish he had more screen time. Again, while I am a huge fan of Laverne Cox, and she didn't butcher the role like the actor playing Columbia did, she really didn't do the role justice. I don't know if casting a male actor would have been better, or if it's just because no one could hold a candle to Tim Curry's performance, but this Dr. Frank-N-Furter really left me wanting more from the performance. Reeve Carney did an amazing job as Riff Raff, and the roles of Brad, Janet, and Rocky were wonderfully filled. Other than those four roles (and of course, Tim Curry), I feel the whole show was improperly cast. Especially Columbia, who just seemed to be reaching too far and falling too short every time she was on screen. Magenta wasn't great, but wasn't bad either. She was just there. Really, they just should have left a classic alone, because this was just a disappointment.

So bad don't bother

[madamdoc69 · 1/10 · 20 October 2016]

Butchered the movie, I've seen High school productions that were better! It is making me scream at the TV it sucks so much! This just breaks my heart. I wish I hadn't wasted my time. bad acting, bad interpretation, no energy, a must skip. parts like Mystery Science Theater 2000 but not done half as well. If you are going to have the audience then say all the lines folks scream during the movie not 4. Janet and Eddie were the only good characters. Columbia and Riff Raff blew chunks . Sad sad sad! Cox was muddled in her speech, and just was flat,she was either trying so hard it was hard to watch or it was phoned in and she seemed lost. The colors and hairdo's were so poorly done it made folks look washed out. I've seen and done the show for a long time and it wasn't even a shadow of the original.

For the love of.....

[katejess44 · 1/10 · 5 November 2016]

I'm not sure I know where to begin with this.

Having been to the theatre on several occasions to see this in London in the early 90s, I mistakenly thought that a filmed version, with a bigger budget and ability to edit, would make it even more outrageous and glorious. With diabolical miming and lacklustre performances to choreography that a kindergartener might be proud of, the whole thing is total and utter bilge. And what the hell is that accent, Laverne? It reminds me of a high-school performance, only it's less charming and far more amateur.

I'm astonished that Richard O'Brien gave his blessing for this travesty - for that is precisely what it is. It lacks any of the sense of fun and whimsy of the stage or previous screen performances and if you are a traditionalist when it comes to Rocky Horror, I implore you to avoid this at all costs.

It's Okay!

[TheHarlequinHatter · 6/10 · 22 October 2016]

Okay... OKAY?! I think we can do better than that!

Apparently they can't. It's okay. It's not as bad as the haters say nor as good as the supporters say. It does a lot well. The sets, costumes, props, Make-up, and choreography are great. Really the while visual direction is really stylish. It looks really good. The cast has it's ups and downs. The only one who was solid all the way through was Dr. Scott, who was a riot. Laverne Cox did okay as well, but her casting remains problematic, as the general consensus is that Transgender and Transvestite are not as interchangeable as they treat them. The music has some ups and downs as well. Some were great covers, some fell utterly flat.

If your curious, or a fan of the stage show, go ahead and watch it. If you keep an open mind, you may enjoy the spectacle. If you're hoping for something super loyal to the original, skip it. Just watch the original instead.

Over produced fluff with no soul

[monkeybznzz · 1/10 · 21 May 2017]

It would be fine for a college production or something. But there is minimal homage and the direction is like the cast of Glee pretending to go through puberty and suck the life out of the story. I'm going to pretend Ben Vereen and Tim Curry have lost their minds. This makes me sad. Now I'm going to watch the original.

BTW, here's your spoiler.....it's crap.

I'm shocked by bad reviews!! It's Amazing!

[rebeccax5 · 10/10 · 27 October 2016]

I expected I'd hate it. I loved it.

I've seen the original film many times and had all the soundtracks. Went to midnight shows a few times and knew every moment of it, since it first came out. I loved this re-imagining.

The sound quality is far better then the original and some of singing is better and the mix is thicker than the original. I was so surprised how good it is. Of course our new narrator is hilarious.

Getting use to the new Frankenfurter is hard of course, but again I was surprised. It was fantastic performance, although her lead vocals should have louder in the mix at times. What a role challenge!

From a purely cinematic viewpoint, this one is superior. In the original film there are some poor sound recording here and there with a hollow cheap sound at times.

I'm sad to see these bad reviews, that must sting these performers. It was terrific and should get awards. To those disappointed, watch it again. 10+

EXCELLENT! BRAVO!

Second Viewing was Better-Of Course Cleaned-Up for TV!

[mike48128 · 7/10 · 21 October 2016]

The original has a few more "showstopping" songs. The costumes needed to be tighter and skimpier. The only improved scene was the pyrotechnics for the birth of Rocky. Laverne Cox is a bit too female-looking! Tim Curry was a more accurate cross-dresser. The "Castle Usherette" was better than 10 minutes of just red lips, a cop-out to save money as It was too expensive in 1975, to shoot the original titles with the movie clips. The new Dr. Frank-N-Furter should have been Miley Syrus, who can look very androgynous, if she wants to. Seems to drag a bit in the middle. (Sorry) Watch the old movie and compare them to each other. It seems more like a tribute show and it plays so much better if you think of it that way. IMDb "User critics" are calling it the worst TV remake ever? "Peter Pan" was far worse with a dreadful performance by Christopher Walken as Capt. Hook. How quickly they forget! I own several versions of "Scrooge" and the comparison here is that there just might be room in my big disc collection for another RHPS version as well!

No charm....no spark.....no muscle

[trelloskilos-1 · 2/10 · 3 February 2017]

It is a real shame that this remake of the cult classic was a real let-down. I think that a whole generation of RHPS fans wanted to like this movie, but the result was a botch job with a complete lack of all the charm and raunch that made the original such a great film.

The problem seems to stem with what the film is trying to be. Is it a tribute? A remake? A homage? An update for a modern audience? Are the actors trying to bring a new spin on the characters or are they trying to mimic the nuances of the original cast? - Unfortunately, the answer seems to be a bit of everything and nothing, and that's why it all becomes a bit of a mess.

Firstly, the music. Richard O'Brien & Jim Steinman created characters and wrote music that was supposed to be raunchy, sexy and appealing. The original RHPS featured rock guitars, pounding beats and a streak of devilish mischief. When Frank first appears to stomping drumbeats, or when Eddie belts out Hot Patootie, you feel the music. When Frank sings to Rocky, its flirtatious, and sexy. Each cast member injects their character into the song, whether it's Magenta's vampishness, Riff-Raff's dryness, Brad & Janet's naivety etc, its all there. This remake has none of that. The music seems sterile, no rock, no passion, no life.

I didn't mind Laverne Cox too much. She was OK as Frank, but didn't really bring anything new to the table. Tim Curry was pretty much inimitable, which is why it would have been better for Laverne Cox to do something different with Frank's character. She didn't. Instead, it just felt like she had watched the original movie, and tried to mimic all the moves & speech patterns of Curry's Frank'n'Furter, and ended up missing the point.

In fact, I could make the same criticism of most of the other characters. Riff Raff, Brad, Janet and (sadly) the Narrator all sounded like they had watched the original too many times,and practiced their role independently of each other, but together, it all became disjointed, with no comic pacing or understanding of the actual character. Sorry, but Magenta needs to be vampish, Riff Raff needs to be Machiavellian, Columbia needs to be hedonistic, Frank needs to be a larger-than-life charismatic glam degenerate rockstar playboy onmisexual predator mad scientist. Brad & Janet just need to be confused innocents and Rocky just needs to be a dunce. Nobody succeeded in encapsulating their actual role. It just looked like everyone was trying to out-ham everyone else. Even Rocky juddered about like a wind-up toy with a bladder problem.

Again, going back to what the movie wanted to be, it seemed confused. Some scenes were almost take-for-take retreads of the original. Some were completely new, in a 'good idea at the time' sort of way. sometimes, the movie tried too hard, and sometimes it all seems phoned-in. Even Tim Curry delivered his lines with no real aplomb, and seemed to have just been added for the sake of an obligatory cameo.

It's a shame. I wanted this to succeed, but it was a remake without the soul and heart of the original.