startingfriday Still doing the “Time Warp” after all these years by Ken Hanke Before last Saturday night at the Carolina Asheville Cinema, it had been about 30 years since I last attended a public screening of Jim Sharman’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) with a live cast. Back then these midnight shows were pretty common. A group of fans would dress up as the characters in the film and act out their parts and lip-synch the songs while standing at the bottom of the screen. The audience — mostly made up of people very familiar with the movie — did their bit to keep things going by shouting things so that the on-screen performers seemed to respond to them. The final touches were supplied by an array of apt props that usually included rice, squirt bottles, newspapers (to be turned into confetti after their initial use as rain gear), cigarette lighters, rolls of toilet paper and, for the truly ambitious, pieces of toast. It was raucous, noisy, fun and more than a little messy. So when I was told that the Montford Park Players had breathed new life into this ritualistic form of showing Rocky Horror, I was intrigued to see what changes had taken place over the years. I wasn’t surprised to notice that quite a bit had changed — after all, 30 years is a very long time, especially in terms of pop-culture references — but I was glad to see that a lot had remained fairly constant. Better still, the uninhibited spirit was largely intact, even if cigarette lighters (open flames) had been deemed out of bounds and replaced somewhat less effectively with glow sticks, while theaters had become a little less lenient on the subject of squirt bottles. One of the most notable changes was the level of preparation that went into the live show. I don’t recall seeing quite this much effort being put into the shows I’d seen. Back then it was largely limited to costumes and enough lighting to be able to see the performers. This new crop of Rocky fans have in some ways taken the proceedings to new levels
with props and other accouterments to give their show a special feel. They’ve also upped the ante on how they introduce “virgins” (first-timers) to the Rocky experience, but that’s a surprise I’ll leave folks to discover for themselves. Old-timers like myself might find a few things jarring. No one exhorts Timmy Curry to “reach for Hamilton Beach” when he takes the electric knife at the dinner table. While I’d put that down to the passing of an old ad campaign, they do retain the equally bewhiskered Shake ‘n’ Bake TV slogan, “And I helped,” to the announcement that dinner has been prepared. Other things are constant. The call-and-response on the song “Eddie” is nearly word-for-word what it was way back when. That’s kind of comforting. This new version is, if anything, wilder, raunchier and more energetic than the ones I knew. That’s mostly a plus, though it sometimes could feel a little too desperate — as if the performers’ efforts to goose the calland-response were sometimes in competition with the movie rather than complementing it. I’d rather they have worked with the film instead of against it, but that’s a minor quibble that will probably dissipate as the audiences become more used to the process and their lines. All in all, it’s a solid presentation that both newcomers and old campaigners will find entertaining. It’s usually only performed at Carolina Cinemas the second Saturday of every month, but being October with all the Halloween antics that entails, it’s been playing every Saturday night — and will be on again, of course, this coming Saturday for Halloween. I can’t think of a better way to cap Halloween than by doing the “Time Warp” at Rocky Horror at midnight. For more information, visit www.montfordparkplayers.org and click on “Show Info.”
68 OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 3, 2009 • mountainx.com
And since Bowers has a history of working for Wallace and Gromit creator Aardman, that same agreeably goofy sense of humor has been transferred to this film, something that separates Astro Boy from the Delgos (2008) and Battle for Terras (2009) of the world. There’s also some political satire tacked on, with General Stone wanting to start a war with anyone and anything in an attempt to win reelection over his “patchouli smelling hippie” opponent. No, it’s not subtle, but it never needs to be, and never feels like the point of the film, but just another layer to it. And it’s definitely a welcome relief from the usual onslaught of popculture references that festoon most animated movies these days. In the end, the movie is pleasant enough, fast-paced enough and delivers enough of what you want it to do that it’s a difficult movie to honestly dislike. Rated PG for some action and peril, and brief mild language. reviewed by Justin Souther Playing at Carolina Asheville Cinema 14, Epic of Hendersonville, Regal Biltmore Grande Stadium 15, United Artists Beaucatcher Cinema 7.
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant JJJJ
Director: Paul Weitz (American Dreamz) Players: John C. Reilly, Chris Massoglia, Josh Hutcherson, Ken Watanabe, Salma Hayek Fantasy/Adventure Rated PG-13
The Story: A teen becomes a vampire and joins a traveling freak show in order to save the life of his friend. The two friends end up being thrown into the middle of a war between vampire factions. The Lowdown: Absolutely nothing new, but the movie does have an occasional streak of dark humor and is sufficiently stylish. Plus, it’s a reminder that John C. Reilly can actually be good on occasion. With rampant Twilight hysteria running roughshod over pop culture and the subsequent reactionary knockoff-vampire-movie saturation that looks like it will mar moviegoing for the next few years, it’s nice to know that not all of these vampire flicks based on popular teen-fantasy novels are going to be bad. And while Paul Weitz’s Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant is
never anything groundbreaking, it is sufficiently stylish and entertaining. Based on novelist Darren Shan’s beautifully narcissistic, dozen-book strong Darren Shan Saga, the film is the story of a straight-laced teen named Darren Shan (Chris Massoglia), of course, and his best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson, Journey to the Center of the Earth). The friends sneak out one night to go to a freak show called Cirque du Freak—full of oddities like a bearded woman (Salma Hayek), a snake-skinned musician (Patrick Fugit, still looking for that career Almost Famous (2000) promised) and a man with two stomachs (Frankie Faison, Adam)—where they encounter a vampire named Crepsley (John C. Reilly). Through a series of events—involving the theft of Crepsley’s spider, Octa, and the near death of Steve—Darren reluctantly agrees to be turned into a half-vampire and work for Crepsley at the Cirque in order to save Steve’s life. The movie’s really just the teenage boy’s answer to the Twilight series, with all the superpowers, adventure-film fisticuffs and growing pains this entails. From here, the movie goes on with the usual spiel about destinies and whatnot, as both Darren and Steve are thrown onto opposite sides of rival vampire factions and an oncoming war between the two. It’s nothing special, and a lot of the exposition is handled in a clumsy fashion that relies too much on narration and a “oh, by the way” attitude that simply throws information in here and there. But at the same time, it does keep the movie from being bogged down in expository minutiae. The plot, however, isn’t the draw. Director Weitz (beating his brother Chris’ The Twilight Saga: New Moon to theaters by a month) coats the film in enough faux Tim Burton style and the same love of ‘50s horror movies (like Willem Dafoe as the spitting image of Vincent Price) to make the film interesting, but not so much that it becomes tiresome. There’s also a healthy streak of black humor, especially for its PG-13 rating. But the real star is the cast. While the teens are nothing special, surrounding them with veteran talent was a shrewd move, especially since the film’s a nice reminder that John C. Reilly is still a talented actor—especially obvious in a role he has no business pulling off—no matter how it seems given the last few horrid comedies he’s been in. It all adds up to a pleasantly surprising, equally entertaining little movie that, in all likelihood, will unfortunately be overlooked in the