Can we be honest with each other for a moment? I’m not much of a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Oh sure I like the majority of songs, and the dance numbers aren’t half-bad and Meat Loaf makes anything awesome. Plus Tim Curry is a cinematic B-movie God and Riff Raff is a truly outstanding character. So yes, there is plenty to like about The Rocky Horror Picture Show even if I do think the whole thing is a bit overblown.

But lets be honest here. The movie loses serious steam by the third act as it desperately searches for a single decent joke or running gag to use with even minimal effectiveness. Plus Magenta creeps the hell out of me. But I think my biggest complaint about the film is that the fans, well, suck.

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So the story goes something like this; well respected actor wants to make a movie. He pitches the idea of a quirky working man’s opera to studios and one eventually decides to take a flier on it. Then when the studio views the film, they realize their idea of a working man’s opera is Chicago, when the actor turned director in question had more of a pseudo-musical that emasculates Tony Soprano type of vibe in mind. So the studio, realizing they have no idea how to market the film, promptly shelves it and hopes it will fade into obscurity. The actor/director frustrated that his artistic vision is collecting dust on some warehouse shelf, battles the studio to try to get them to release it. After two years the studio relents and sells the film back to the actor/director, so he can release the film with his own money. So without further ado, I present to you John Turturro’s anti-musical Romance and Cigarettes.

Nick (James Gandolfini) is a New York iron worker married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon) but he is having an affair with Tula (Kate Winslet). When his adulterous behavior is discovered Nick must decide if the pain and monotony of marriage is what his heart truly yearns for. (more…)