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The Rocky Horror Picture Show
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alt title(s): Rocky Horror Picture Show 
I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey...
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is what you get if you aim for So Bad Its Good and pull it off. Based on The Musical/Stageshow The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O'Brien (who played Riff Raff both in its original staging and this film), the movie tells the story of Brad and Janet. These two lovely naive virgins from Denton, Texas, get engaged and drive off to tell Dr. Scott, their former teacher. However, on the way there, they get a flat tire and find themselves outside a spooky castle house ("It's probably a hunting lodge for rich weirdoes")... and that's where things get really, really, realllly weird.
They meet the servants, Riff Raff and Magenta, and groupie Columbia of the Mad Scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter... a "Sweet" Transvestite Mad Scientist, to be specific (from Transsexual, Transylvania). After being stripped down to their underwear (their clothes were rainsoaked) they are invited up to Frank-N-Furter's lab where he unveils his creation — The Brainless Beauty (almost literally) Rocky Horror.
They are interrupted by biker/delivery boy Eddie, Columbia's lover, who Frank-N-Furter had kept in the deep-freeze but Frank kills him. Brad and Janet are then shown to separate rooms, and Frank-N-Furter deceives the two into sleeping with him via Paper Thin Disguise and the fact they're both horny enough when said disguise is unveiled to sleep with him anyway. Both victims are understandably horrified and Janet wanders the castle till she finds Rocky (cowering from Riff Raff, who's been tormenting him). Thinking she's been cheated on by Brad, she sleeps with Rocky.
It's at this point where Dr. Scott appears looking for his nephew, Eddie, and Janet and Rocky are found together. Frank-N-Furter invites them all to dinner... the main constituent of which turns out to be Eddie's remains. (This is funny because Eddie is played by Meat Loaf, so they're eating Meatloaf for dinner, haha.) Dr. Scott, Brad and Janet try to escape, but Frank-N-Furter has a machine that turns them into statues which he dressed up and then uses his machine to turn them back but under his command, he forces them to do a cabaret floor show.
However, Riff Raff and Magenta disturb the show and reveal that they and Frank-N-Furter are, in fact aliens (from the planet Transsexual, in the galaxy of Transsylvania). They kill Frank-N-Furter, Rocky and Columbia, and release the humans. They power up the castle (which is a spaceship) and then take off for home, leaving Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott lying in the crater where it was, chewed-up-and-spat-out, both physically and mentally.
There is a (spiritual) sequel, Shock Treatment (1981), focusing on the bizarre turns Brad and Janet's lives take upon their return to Denton after their adventure in Rocky Horror, but it was not as popularly received as its predecessor and is thus both obscure and hard to find. The fact that the makers weren't happy with how it turned out, due to many compromises made during its production such as character recastings and a drastically cut budget, doesn't help. (It's also harder to stage as an Audience Participation show due to a bigger cast of characters.) Although it was just recently released on DVD....
Note that if a real life transvestite or Transsexual comes out to you, playing any of the soundtrack from this movie at them in response is considered insensitive. Also, it's been done already.
A remake was recently announced canceled . Richard O'Brien is was not involved and not happy...
There is now a character sheet for this film.
This film contains examples of:
- Adaptation Displacement (In America at least, hardly anyone has heard of the Musical/Stageshow. However it's pretty popular in the UK.)
- Affectionate Parody (Twice over: the film itself spoofs horror/sci-fi, and the audience participation grew from the initial fans being familiar enough with it — especially all the dramatic pauses — that they saw opportunities for verbal callbacks to tease the characters)
- A Light In The Distance ("There's a light....over at the Frankenstein place.")
- Alternative Character Interpretation (Depending on which fanfic you read, Dr. Frank N Furter is either A.) An abusive, psychotic, heartless jerk who only manipulates and hurts (both physically and emotionally) other people for his own personal amusement or B.) A misunderstood person who only acts the way he does due to some mysterious past tragedy.)
- Likewise, are Riff Raff & Magenta an evil brother/sister duo plotting Frank's downfall, or are they merely the victims of Frank's abuse and their actions are completely justified? Fanfics will vary greatly on the answer.
- All Take And No Give (Frank's very selfish as Columbia so blatantly points out.)
- Anything That Moves (Frank-N-Furter.)
- Artificial Human (Rocky)
- Audience Participation (The gold standard. The audience at a showing of Rocky Horror will have some sort of response (mostly yelled comments, sometimes actions to match) to virtually every line or action in the film; at this point the cult phenomenon of Rocky Horror is far more about the audience participation than the film itself.)
- This can have... interesting results when the audience gives the same responses to the stage show as the movie. This troper was in a production where a whole pre-show was advised to confiscate throwable items from audience members after the entire cast spent the first two performance slipping and/or choking on rice.
- This troper went to a stage production where the theater handed out paper bags of things to throw at the stage.
- The stage show can also have... inverted audience participation? Where the cast will make callbacks to the audience's callbacks.
- The best performance, of course, is when the cast involves the audience in the show and they play off of each other.
- Axe Crazy (Frank.)
- Bed Trick
- Berserk Button (Though slightly more subtle than most other examples, it is a very, very, VERY bad idea to make Frank jealous.)
- Heck, just seeing Rocky with Janet was enough to drive Frank into a blind fury and chase Janet around the castle.
- BLAM Movie
- Brainless Beauty (Rocky's only got half of a brain.)
- BSOD Song: Frank gets going home, although most of the floorshow seems to count.
- Chaotic Neutral (Good ol' psychotic, sex crazed, murderous, loving, generous Frank.)
- Cheshire Cat Grin (Considering that "Cheshire Cat" is one of Tim Curry's nicknames, take a wild guess who uses this.)
- Clingy Jealous Boy (Frank-N-Furter. Sure, he flirts with nearly everyone. But, if he sees anyone with his beloved Rocky, he unleashes his jealousy-induced rage upon them. Janet Weiss had to find this out the hard way.)
- Closed Circle (Heroes driving, flat tire, flat spare tire, rain coming down, thundering, spooky castle, Mad Scientist, critical phase of scientific breakthrough, heroes can't get away and then don't want to get away and then can't get away again, and everything goes horribly wrong. Yup, textbook case . . . naturally, since it's a parody of exactly those kind of stories.)
- Creator Backlash (Susan Sarandon refuses to talk about the movie, but not because she didn't like it. (She does, she just doesn't see why it's such a huge cult hit), but rather because she hates the fact that none of the cast members get royalties from the DVD sales.)
- Tim Curry was very reluctant to talk about the film for years and even told VH-1 that he grew "chubby and plain" in order to try and escape the role. These days, he's more open to talk about the film and even sees it as a "Rite of passage" for teenagers.
- Peter Hinwood (Rocky) is only slightly embarrassed by being in the film. Contrary to popular rumor, he's never thrown anyone out of his shop for talking about the film. He only sees the film as a "part of the past" and rarely talks about it.
- Creating Life (Duh.)
- Crowning Moment Of Awesome (Tim Curry briefly reprised his role as Frank N Furter for a short theater skit. Needless to say, the crowd went wild when he did the famous "Antici........(SAY IT!)....pation" line.)
- An in-movie example would be Columbia's truly epic verbally berating Frank for being such a heartless jerk. It doesn't end well for her but...damn!
- Crowning Moment Of Heartwarming (Dammit, Janet. Brad's devotion towards Janet is quite sweet...Too bad things take a downhill turn from there.)
- Crowning Music Of Awesome
- Dance Sensation ("Let's do the Time Warp again!")
- Dead Mans Chest
- Depraved Bisexual (Frank.)
- Development Hell (Richard O'Brien has been mulling over making a direct sequel to the original stage show for years. However, so far, all that's been produced are a few scrapped scripts and a vague concept that involves Frank coming back to life.)
- Downer Ending
- Draco In Leather Pants (Frank-N-Furter and Riff Raff in particular tend to fall victim to this within the fandom.)
- This troper gets the impression that the refrain from "Eddie" tries to paint the titular character in this light.
''"When Eddie said he didn't like his Teddie you knew he was a no good kid / but when he threatened your life with a switchblade knife!"
Frank: What a guy!
Janet: Makes you cry!
Dr. Scott: Und I did!''
- Dumb Blonde (Rocky, thanks to only having half a brain.)
- Dyeing For Your Art (In the original stage show, Tim Curry dyed his hair peroxide blonde.)
- Ear Worm (Pretty much half of the songs featured fall under this trope. Seriously, try reciting the moves to the Time Warp.)
- Ending Fatigue (The Floor Show is fun, but it doesn't advance the story.)
- Even Evil Has Standards (This is ostensibly the reason Riff Raff and Magenta turn on Frank — "Your mission is a failure/Your lifestyle's too extreme...")
- Even The Guys Want Him
- Everyone Is Bi (Except for Riff, Dr. Scott, and the Criminologist, every major character has at least one heterosexual and one homosexual encounter in the film or in the Backstory, though in some cases this is indicated only briefly. And Riff would be bi if you count a deleted scene. Google "Brad/Riff Buttfuck Scene" if you dare.)
- Evil Is Sexy (Frank is sexy. This can be attested to by pretty much every
female fan of this movie.)
- Fan Nickname (Say it with me now....ASSHOLE! (Brad) SLUT! (Janet).)
- Fetish Fuel (There's plenty to go around for everyone.)
- Foe Yay (Riff Raff/Frank-N-Furter slash fanfics, anyone?)
- Fridge Logic (Why did Eddie, Rocky and Columbia die, exactly?) Re: because they were shot with a laser, duh! who says only villains die?)
- Eddie was killed by Frank with an ax.
- Why is it that Rocky can't talk (unlike in the original stage show), yet he's able to sing?
- I think the question was, why did Eddie, Columbia, and Rocky have to die?
- Well, Columbia died because she screamed and it startled Riff Raff causing him to shoot her (In the original stage show, she dives in front of Frank to save him), Eddie dies because he was stealing Frank's spotlight (Frank's easily made jealous, remember?) and Rocky dies because he was mourning Frank's death while fleeing from Riff Raff. It's that simple.
- Fridge Horror (The Floorshow. Sure, it sounds like fun...until you realize that Brad, Janet, Rocky, Columbia, and Dr. Scott are being forced to perform against their own will by a psychotic alien (IE: Frank).)
- Gauze Gauze Kiss (Janet bandages Rocky's wounds with her own night gown. Afterward, they do more than just kiss.)
- Grandma What Massive Hotness You Have (Several cast members still look very good after all these years including Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Tim Curry, Nell Campbell, Meat Loaf, Patricia Quinn, and Richard O'Brien.)
- Hair Of Gold (Rocky.)
- The Hedonist
- High Octane Nightmare Fuel: Frank-N-Furter is sexy and somewhat creepy. Frank-N-Furter with a crazed smile on his face as hacks some poor guy to death is downright terrifying.
- A slightly more subtle example involving Frank is that he's more than willing to turn two innocent humans (IE:
Brad & Janet Asshole and Slut), his own creation (IE: Rocky), and his groupie (IE: Columbia) into mindless sex-slaves and forces them to perform a stage show against their own will.
- Even more subtle yet creepier is during Frank's final song I'm Going Home, we see the sudden appearance of a crowded audience cheering him on and he tearfully absorbs all the attention as if craving the "love" (for lack of a better term) they're giving him. Cue after the song....and it's implied that the audience is nothing more than a figment of Frank's imagination. It helps to show just how crazy Frank really is and is quite eerie to that effect.
- Hype Backlash (This movie is one acquired taste.)
- Human Aliens (Frank, Magenta, Riff Raff, and all the other Transylvanians look like
normal human beings.)
- I Can Explain (Frank says this right before singing his final song. Too bad Riff Raff and Magenta aren't convinced of his story. They shoot him anyway.)
- The Igor (Riff Raff.)
- Im A Humanitarian (Meat Loaf again?)
- I Am Not Spock (Go watch any movie/show with Tim Curry in it. Chances are, Sweet Transvestite will start playing in your head.)
- The Nostalgia Critic actually plays "Sweet Transvestite" whenever Tim Curry makes an appearance in one of the films he covers.
- I Am Song / I Want Song (Sweet Transvestite can count for both. Frank's describing himself as a sweet transvestite, yet he's also asking (or demanding because he never gave them the option) Brad and Janet to "stay for the night."
- Its Not Rape If You Enjoyed It (Frank, sleeping with Brad and Janet.)
- Large Ham (Several, but above all Tim Curry as Frank.)
- Mad Love (Columbia is hopelessly devoted to Frank despite the fact that he considers her to be nothing more than his "groupie".)
- Mad Scientist
- Magnificent Bastard (Brad! Just kidding. It's Frank.)
- Manipulative Bastard (Frank's very good at convincing people to sleep with him...)
- Mysterious Middle Initial (The "N" in Frank N Furter. "Frank" is his first name and "Furter" is his last name. "N" is his middle initial and it's never revealed what it stands for, or even if it stands for anything at all.)
- Are you serious? It's a play on the word, Frankfurter, which is a hot dog. It's sometimes pronounced Frankenfurter depending on region.
- Nightmare Fuel While the Floor Show is fun, when it's Brad's turn to sing his share of "Rose Tint My World," he trips and falls all the way to the bottom of Uncanny Valley with his incredibly robotic movements, especially his disturbing facial expressions when he says/sings "...WHOA! Here it comes again!"
- No Mr Bond I Expect You To Dine (Let's just say who's coming to dinner is more than expected.}
- The Paid For Harem
- Pieta Plagiarism / Touch Of The Monster (Rocky and Frank-N-Furter.)
- Psycho For Hire (Let's just say that Frank isn't exactly completely sane.)
- Puny Earthlings (Frank views himself as superior to the human protagonists.)
- Punny Name (Dr. Frank-N-Furter.)
- Rape As Comedy
- Relationship Sue (There are, believe it or not ([[ though, seriously, it's true]]) several Rocky Horror Picture Show fanfics that involve Dr. Frank N Furter finding his true love...often a female Mary Sue. Yes, that Dr. Frank N Furter.)
- Say My Name ("Janet!" "Dr. Scott!" "Janet!" "Brad!" "Rocky!")
- Seemingly Wholesome Fifties Girl(Janet, oh, poor Janet. Columbia may have been this before she met Frank and Eddie.)
- Sensible Heroes Skimpy Villains
- Shout Out (To various Hammer Horror films as well as film companies and 1930s-50s sci-fi/horror efforts; in fact the opening song "Science Fiction Double Feature" is built around this.)
- Slasher Smile (Again, Frank. Been nice knowing ya, Eddie.)
- Slouch Of Villainy (Dr. Frank-N-Furter is in this pose in the movie's poster.)
- Smoking Hot Sex (Brad and Frank.)
- Sound Only Death (We don't see what happens to Eddie...but we sure do hear his screams and Frank's pick-axe hacking him to pieces.)
- Sympathetic Sue (Seriously, at least 73% of all Rocky Horror fanfics try to make Riff Raff and Magenta far more pitiful than they are in the film. Yes, the same Riff Raff and Magenta who kill Rocky, Frank, and Columbia out of pure spite.)
- Likewise, there are quite a few fanfics that portray Frank in the same way. Um, since when are we supposed to feel sorry for the guy who tricked two innocent people into having sex with him, brutally murdered a guy from whom he removed half a brain (Said half-of-brain was used to make Rocky, BTW) and then tricked said people he had sex with into eating the remains of the guy he murdered? The only aspect of Frank that anyone should feel sympathy towards is the fact that he's batshit insane.
- It's likely due to the fact that Frank's final song, "I'm Going Home", is a very desperate attempt to get people to feel sorry for him. The fact that it doesn't work and he gets killed anyway speaks volumes about the character.
- Taken For Granite
- The Dog Bites Back (Riff Raff and Magenta betray Frank after realizing that he has no plans to go back to Transsexual anytime soon.)
- The Musical
- Those Wacky Nazis (Dr. Scott is implied to be one by Frank.)
Frank: Go on, Dr. Scott. Or should I say... Doctor Von Scott!
- How exactly does a middle name thing usually associated with the upper class make one a Nazi? "Von" is merely German for "of".
- Because in the films that Rocky Horror is homaging/parodying, a German scientist of the right age is always a former Nazi; Truth In Television, that, to some degree. Note that Scott has a German accent.
- This Troper actually had to explain the Historical In Joke to the actors in a local production (not a shadow play, an actual show). Almost immediately after Goebbels surrendered to the Russian Army, the US and Soviet governments began smuggling Nazi scientists out of the country. Werner von Braun is one of the most famous examples. In exchange for a pardon, they would work for them now. It was called Operation Paperclip.
- Oddly enough, in the original stage show, Frank himself had a stereotypical German accent (Most likely to go with the classic Mad Scientist genre). However, this was quickly dropped and Frank ended up with the smooth British accent we all know and love today.
- Tear Jerker (For some it's Frank's death.)
- Tim Curry (Frank-N-Furter — it was this role, which he also played on stage, that made him famous.)
- Too Dumb To Live (Brad and Janet make some really stupid mistakes throughout the film.)
- Word Of God (According to Richard O'Brien, it was actually Riff Raff who did most of the work on Rocky.)
- Villainous Crossdresser
- Villainous Lament (Frank during his final moments.)
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