.....Pat Boone was to Little Richard. They did the same songs, but it was not the same thing. One was an original, and the other was highly manufactured and didn't feel authentic.Not to say this was absolutely terrible, it is worth a watch, but nobody will be seeing it 300+ times.....nor should they

Disclaimer: Unlike some other reviewers of this movie, I was introduced to Rocky Horror through the 2015 live show starring David Bedella and Ben Forster, among others (it's on YouTube, give it a watch). While I wasn't familiar with the audience participation or the dressing up, I immediately fell in love with this story of new love being tested and surviving against all odds. This also may have opened me up to the possibility of many "Rocky"s and made it feel less like an attack on an interest I felt very close to. While that version still remains my favorite, I am a firm believer that this movie does not deserve all the criticism that it got. Where it failed, it failed spectacularly, but when it soared, it invoked an emotional connection in me that I never felt watching the original 1975 movie.For the most part, the cast is wonderful. Victoria Justice and Ryan McCartan shine as the movie's protagonists, and bring layers to the characters that made me think more critically about how I viewed them. In particular, the emphasis on bisexual/multi-gendered attraction in a non-shaming way was a nice contrast to the narrative of the stage show & 1975 movie, wherein Janet "becomes a slut" and Brad "turns gay". (Granted, I knew about Ryan since his days in Heathers, so I was excited when I heard he'd be playing Brad.) Laverne Cox shone during the floor show, and while her take on the character didn't feel brand-new, she brought new meaning to the role of Frank-n-Furter in the modern day. Other highlights include Christina Millan and that blue-haired rocker Transylvanian. The performances by Annaleigh Ashford and Tim Curry fell flat for me, but I appreciate Ashford's grungy/fangirl take on Columbia and Tim Curry was really trying to give a great performance in the aftermath of his stroke. I understand that Ortega and the casting team used Curry to replace Richard O'Brien after the transphobic comments O'Brien made about Laverne, but other actorsfrom the 1975 film (like Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, and Little Nell) all indicated an interest in playing the Criminologist as well. Could Ortega have worked in a team of actors, ala Stephen Fry/Antony Head/Mel Gideroyc/Emma Bunton? Just a thought.The reworking of the story shines. What a lot of modern Rocky fans forget in their reviews is the political stance the movie took in the 70s, and Ortega's interests in creating an adaptation with modernized messages about LGBTQ identity. As a trans guy, I fully supported and encouraged Ortega's choice to cast Laverne in a traditionally male role. Sure, drag queens were exciting and new when the show was conceived, but isn't it a greater homage to the original's political identity to cast the first trans actor ever leading on a major TV network? Isn't that exciting and new? I also appreciated the subtle nod to the modern role of the police versus individuals of color, and the phasing out of Frank-n-Furter's "mental illness" that resulted in the excusing of murder. In 1975, Riff Raff's killing of Frank may have represented the pro- police view that it was heroic to put down a dangerous criminal, but in the 2016 film, Ortega tried his hardest to show a new side of the narrative by suggesting that Riff Raff, a white and (presumably) cisgender & straight man killing an unarmed trans black woman is a more modern reflection of today's police state. This narrative may have come across as forced and clunky, but I have to give him credit for trying.Yes, the soundtrack is overproduced, and the workarounds for the TV-14 rating are awkward, and certain elements still miss what I personally believe the true message of Rocky Horror to be, but this take on a familiar classic tries its hardest to get rid of the original's transmisogynistic undertones and move its political message into a new age, while still managing to have a lot of fun in the process. It's a big, fun party covered in gold and glitter, imposing on its viewers a simple message: Don't just dream that LGBTQ-friendly media can exist in the mainstream. Make it a reality.

As someone who was originally a huge nope to a remake of this, but has also seen a lot of good remakes lately, I thought I'd give this a chance to prove me wrong. I really ... really... really... was right, this should've never been remade. This was so bad I just logged into my account for the first time in probably a year. I've never done a review of any movie before, but I watched this, and I had to let this one thing at least be known:If you have ONLY seen this version, try to erase the entire thing from your memory and please watch the original. Its a beautiful story and nothing like these emotionless hipster kids playing Halloween dress up. Oh and Jesus Christ is it that hard to find an actual tap dancer?

It's got a modern look! Better cameras! Cleaner soundtrack! Even more exaggerated! An even more slick and polished soundtrack that sounds like it was produced along with a big band! It sucks!I heard the slick, styled remake of The Time Warp that reminded me of Footloose and couldn't help but laugh at this farce. And when you hear the classic line "it's just a jump to the left!" you hear zero spirit and strength from Tim Curry, who sounds like he's sadly on his way out. No spirit, no gusto, no enthusiasm, more like grabbing a name who is so far past his prime and getting him excited about one last time... driving at the Indy 500 as a septuagenarian. That's what this is.The original was ridiculous. The music was clearly the best part and the movie so ridiculous that the fun was in talking back to the screen such as in Mystery Science Theatre 3000. And the only saving graces in this film is that Tim Curry is so hilarious with his perfectly timed facial expressions, inspired by not copying anyone else. Yet this version rips everything that "worked" out from the original to create a pitiful "homage" version - complete with an audience talking back to the screen - as if it wants to have nostalgic appeal to old fans and bring them in. It's such forced fun that it's painful to watch. Even the famous "I see you shiver in anticip.... ation" line is blown badly. It's so overproduced shmaltzy Hollywood conceit that it completely misses the point of why Curry's take was so fresh. I have no problem with multiculturalism but this one also strains it with adding another name, Ben Vereen, into the mix. Someone in Hollywood came up with this dumb idea to appeal to everyone and casting a black transsexual as Dr. Frank... which is missing the entire point. The point is that Frank is obviously a MAN dressed up as a woman, not a man who has been phsycially altered and is taking hormones to look like a woman. They just decided to go with "well, she's popular, black and does a pretty good imitation, let the story line and point of the whole routine be damned."Rating this a 4 is giving it too much credit, even with some of the talent in the show. Adam Lambert is pretty funny and nails his small part very well. But even he can't save this overproduced farce which has cutaways to show it's a movie / musical and that merchandise can be purchased easily and tweet it out to all your friends. Hollywood only survives because Indies have yet to supplant this big budget slop.