With all the crappy news that I’ve had to report in recent weeks I nearly forgot about something that was actually pretty cool. Back on Halloween (the day of the car accident), Monica and I went to see a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Tarrytown Music Hall. Monica is a huge Rocky Horror fan. One of the framed movie posters in our living room is of the infamous lips seen in the beginning of the film. I’ve seen the film exactly two times, both times on DVD. The first was by myself and the second was with Monica. We watched the movie with the crowd commentary but turned it off after a few minutes because it was too distracting.

I had heard rumors about how wild a showing of this film could be but it was something else to experience it first hand. You’d think that the idea of going to see a movie where everyone is going to be not only shouting stuff throughout the showing but throwing things and spraying water, would be a horrible one. In most cases I would agree with you, but Rocky Horror is a very unique thing in and of itself. Thus it has spawned this bizarro world where you’re not only encouraged to yell things out at the screen, but if you showed up dressed as one of the characters you would fit right in.

rockyhorrorWe watched the film near the front, just to the right of the mass of people dressed up as various characters from the movie. It seems that the theater was selling Rocky Horror prop packs of some sort that came with the various things that you’re supposed to throw along with a guide as to when to toss them. The film began after a brief introduction and I’ll never look at it the same way again. Watching Rocky Horror alone at home is OK. Yes, the movie is pretty weird and many parts make no sense but it is nothing compared to the experience of sitting with a packed theater with everyone yelling in unison (most of the time) lines back to the movie.

Most of the time the quips that the audience yelled out were set-ups. “Say something in French!” just before Dr. Frank-N-Furter…says something in French. Others are responses to what the characters are saying. For example, Riff Raff opens the door on Brad (ASSHOLE!) and Janet (SLUT!) and says “You’re wet.” The crowd then shouts “No shit, Sherlock!” There were also many things that were pointed out that I didn’t notice on my initial viewings, like the lack of a neck on the narrator.

My only qualm with the experience was that you couldn’t always hear what everyone was shouting. It makes sense when you put a crowd of people together and let them go like this. It’s not like they’re all going to do it at the same time. As a result you get these sort of ramblings that you can barely understand in parts. I could make out most of the jokes though.

One thing I thought was really interesting though was that the songs (with the exception of the brief speaking parts seen in a few of them) were left untouched by the crowd. It’s like they were sacred. Monica was singing along and I’m sure others were too, but the songs were not the time to make jokes and yell obscenities at the screen. That was for the rest of the movie.

I have to say that this was something I really enjoyed. It surprised me how much I liked it too. Talking during a movie is like heresy to me (just ask Monica, who feels the need to talk through just about everything we watch). If given the opportunity, I would definitely go see the film with a crowd again. While I dig the features and whatnot that are on the DVD, it just doesn’t cut it now that I’ve seen it in a theater with a bunch of Rocky Horror fans.