In my youth, I was a “regular Frankie fan”; I've seen the movie 40+ times, only giving it up when I moved to Knoxville for college and no one showed it (can you believe in a college town no one showed RHPS? How crazy is that?). After my initial withdrawal pangs, I settled into a grown-up life where I didn't hurl rice at strangers and shout the word “a**hole” every time someone said the name Brad. I also reached the age where the thought of something beginning at midnight was insane.
But when Smarty Pants announced she'd seen an advert for a midnight showing of Rocky in town, I was more than willing to go with her. See, SP was a Rocky virgin, and I got a little kick out of the idea of initiating her into something that would be right up her weird alley. 
We even dressed up for the event – I'd say we did a pretty good job, considering how I only gave SP 24 hours notice she'd need a costume. Unconventional Conventionists, at your service, ready to Time Warp again.
I think SP will blog on Friday about her experience (aided and muddied by tequila as it was...), but I had a BLAST. Granted, the last time I saw Rocky I wasn't old enough to drink, so it's been a while. I was worried I wouldn't remember any of the lines – the remarks you shout at the screen – but most of them came back to me once the music started. It wasn't my old crowd, so some folks had different call-backs at different times, but it nice to hear other lines from other places. Probably half of the audience in attendance were virgins, so there were some etiquette problems that annoyed me, but I tried to shrug it off. After all, we were all virgins once, and enthusiasm shouldn't be squashed unmercifully. (Even if they were terribly annoying.) Plus, without a large group of regulars, it's difficult for the virgins to learn how to behave :-)
I will say that SP was not an annoying virgin. She did very well, even if she wouldn't turn off her flashlight when we told her too, and hearing her giggle at some of the lines warmed the cockles of my heart. (Ask any Playfriend – getting SP giddy enough to giggle is something we all aim for and relish when it happens.) And I think if Rocky had a regular showing around here, she'd be willing to aim for a Rocky “Slut” status.
There would be a small problem with that for me though – the whole “midnight showing” thing. Honestly, I'm too freaking old to Time Warp until 3 am. I was worthless most of the day Sunday. On most nights, 11 pm is my bedtime – I'm sound asleep by midnight, and 3 am is only something I see if AC has a nightmare. Regular Rocky showings would kill me, and I'd be torn between the doing the Time Warp and being a functioning human being.
But, gosh, it was fun. Talk about a time warp – I felt underage again. Thinner, less wrinkly, too. It was a nice stress-reliever as well – shouting profanity at a movie screen is oddly cathartic. Go figure.
Any other Rocky fans on the Playground? Could you do midnight showings? Anything from your youth you revisited recently?
PC
13 comments:
Y'all did NOT go out in public like that, did you? Of course you did!
I've touched base with a couple high school friends on Facebook, and I also learned someone is planning a *gulp* 40 year reunion for our class. I hope I can go, but it's 500 miles away and I have no family in that area anymore. So it will entail a hotel and eating out in addition to the cost of the reunion and gasoline. Of course, #2 son lives along the way and that would be a good excuse to visit him.
And I hear ya on those midnight shows. I may pull some late nights at conference, but I pay dearly for them later. I just run on adrenalin for the week and then crash and burn once I get home.
Sounds like great fun! I've only seen the movie once, but I can see the fun in "audience participation".
I can pull the late nights, but only occassionally. And they do wipe me out. Oh, the pains of getting older...
Angel
It would be better if they used the phrase "midnight" loosely like the Catholics, where Midnight Mass actually gets out and midnight instead of starting at midnight. That would work better for me.
It was pretty darn fun. What I remember at least...
I only went to a showing once, many years ago, and it was NOT a midnight show. I'm was too old for midnight shows then, and I'm definitely too old for one now. I didn't dress up, but I did have rice, newspaper, and a water gun. :-)
LJ
Too old to stay up past midnight and survive. I have the movie at home and have done the time warp there with friends.
love this movie... so fun... touch me touch me touch me... please me.... sooooo fun.
Tim Curry is just about the only man in drag that I find incredibly sexy (or maybe it's just Tim Curry in general -- always been a TC fan). I've seen the movie, but in the comfort of my home. Never at the theater. Unfortunately, I don't have the first clue about what to throw, when to throw it, what to say, etc.
Now, if it were like SP said about Midnight Mass, I could do it. But starting at midnight? No, those days are long gone for me. I may be awake at 1 or 2 in the morning when I've been writing, but it's not a happy awake. It's a tired, cranky, want to go to sleep but brain won't stop churning sort of awake. Not the kind of awake to be throwing things at people.
If my parents hadn't been so strict, I'd have had this experience at the appropriate age. But they wouldn't let me go, even though it was a regular feature in our town and I had lots of friends who went. Yeah, think I'll call my mother and blame her for my lack of Rocky Horror experience. That should make her day. :)
I love Tim Curry! Especially in fishnets. :) I was so sad when I went to NY to see Spamalot and I'd missed his run as King Arthur by a week! I did get to see Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce, though. My CD soundtrack has Tim Curry on it, though.
Sit down ladies and grab a paper bag. I have never watched this movie. Don't have a clue what y'all are talking about. Throwing rice, yelling at the screen, time warp...fishnet stockings?? Yes, it was a really big rock and I was under it for quite a while. The rock was called S. GA. I don't remember our theater ever showing this movie and forget a midnight showing. They rolled up the streets about 10pm every night. But I don't live under that rock anymore and thanks to all of you, I am probably more educated on a few things than I need to be. :D
Now I'm gonna have to find out what all the fuss is about.
Woohooo! The corruption of the Writing Playground strikes again. :) We're good at that, Sherry.
Angel
Ah! The power of RHPS! I adore Tim Curry. You'll be surprised to find out that the DH and I went to a showing in CA where everyone dressed in apporpriate attire. Very amusing! ;)
I'm glad you guys had a great time! Seeing SP giggle would have almost made the lack of sleep worth it. :-) If they ever do the catholic thing though I am so there!
I love it when the Playground corrupts... :-D
Instigator
I have seen the movie several times (enjoyed it!), and I love Tim Curry. Sadly, although sensational, his presence just isn't enough to lure me out at midnight.
Well I'm just as lost as Sherry. LOL. Looks like I have some catching up to do. HAHA.
Glad ya'll had fun! What's that? HAHA. JK. ;)
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