The Guilty Pleasure of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

In a dark and crowded theater we wait, strewn about on sofas, sitting at tiny tables, and clustered around groups of miss matched chairs. Dressed in lingerie, visible skin in every direction, the patrons of this nearly dead theater wait with expectant breath.

The lights go dimmer still, and an old projector starts to play.

"And God said, 'Let there be lips!'" chants the crowd as the screen comes to life. Red lips, deep and sensual, wet and inviting, whisper to us from the depths of black.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Lauded to be one of the worst films in history, with such stars as Meatloaf, who makes a five minute appearance, to Tim Curry dressed in drag and strutting in heels. From every sequenced, gaudy, minute we watch for the very reason that it is a bad movie. We yell at the screen, we throw toilet paper, we chant in unison at characters sing and dance and have sex with everyone.

It is said the very first line yelled at the Rocky Horror show was, "Buy an umbrella, you cheap bitch!" It was an instant sensation. It grew into whole litanies.

Each show is different, depending on where you go, and who is playing. Each show has a group of "actors" who get on stage and act out the fiasco on screen. Of course, they rarely follow it exactly, often add odd bits. A favorite bit for many is when Trixie, someone who isn't even in the film, comes on stage and dances. At the show I went to she got down to pasties.

The shows are not static, either. They change with each showing. People bring new things from other places, or just invent on the spot. That's the beauty of Rocky Horror.

Rocky Horror was initially thought to be a failure, but people enjoyed the interaction with the screen. It's become a cult classic that even the stars of the show couldn't envision happening.

In some ways, perhaps it is the permission "normal" people have to dress in lingerie in public, and to talk back to the screen. We've been told to be quiet in theaters so long; it feels good to yell at them when they are doing something idiotic. It feels great to throw something at them. It's even better when everyone is there to help spread the unbelievable experience.