For starters, I’ve seen “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” three times at the Long Beach Rocky Horror and even more times as the film alone.

When I first heard about Fox’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again”, I felt like I was going to hate it. If you’ve never been to a live showing of Rocky Horror despite if you’ve seen the movie, you wouldn’t understand the special that Fox aired on Oct. 20.

But do yourself a favor and take a drive to the Long Beach Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Art Theatre every Saturday night, or KAOS at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana and see a real Rocky Horror Picture Show.

https://youtu.be/K3TDwa2cDOc

Nothing will ever be as good as the original and I felt like the actors in the remake felt that, too. The production seemed to have been done as more of a reminiscent of the fan based experience you get at the live productions.

I would have loved to hear the familiar vulgar and obscenities that you get throughout the film, as well as the flawed, but still sexy actors that I know and love. Also those who usually are known to play the roles of the beloved characters at live productions.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is not just a movie, but it’s a culture and a family. It’s a has a subculture entirely of it’s own and the movie stands for something that most people can’t find the words to explain.

But for me, it hits as a film that makes you feel like it’s okay to be homosexual, weird, what most people would call unattractive yet somehow be sexy and just purely feeling like all of the characters weren’t afraid to be themselves.

I commend the inclusion of minorities, especially the LGBTQ+ community representation, as well as casting Laverne Cox, an African-American transgendered woman, as Dr. Frank-N-Furter rather than a white man.

However, they were not inclusive of what the original film’s most important message – that people who didn’t follow the “perfect” stereotype still radiate sexuality.

They managed to deliver the humor of the movie, as well as over-the-top singing from all of the cast and costumes that I’m sure fans are hoping will be up for sale for their own Rocky Horror attire.

The set was nowhere near the actual film and the actors were all stiff. Not to mention that the extras in the time warp scene looked like they were an interpretive-dance group.

The only glorious performance was Dr. Frank-N-Furter, Cox was absolutely wonderful and the only natural actor in the entire cast. She could’ve possibly been the only person in the cast who’s actually fan of the original.

But Rocky didn’t even have his signature hair cut!

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show” that I know and love is not what was portrayed on the FOX remake. The Rocky Horror that I know and love will always be the original. That’s the Rocky Horror that’s made by and for “freaks” around the world like me. Those who see the beauty in imperfection, who laugh at the obscene, who know every word to the entire film, who hear the name Riff Raff and don’t think of the rapper, who have had a V or a SV painted on their face before being “de-virginized” in front of a live audience. Men who want to perform as Frank or women who want to perform as Eddie.

Those who probably felt like washing their eyeballs after watching the remake on FOX.

I’ll wrap this up by quoting Richard O’Brien when he said “I’d like to stay detached from it.”