Casey Duggan
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Freeman
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
KINGJO4606-1
It was a very boring movie. Practically the whole film takes place within the confines of one building despite the emphasis the movie's characters put on the town of Denton. The movie starts off well with the 'Denton USA' song. Admittedly, the song is a very good and addicting one to listen to. However, the only other songs that I can think of which I also enjoyed included 'Bitchin' in the Kitchen' and some other punk rock song towards the end. The viewer would expect to witness the film to take off, as one would witness the turmoils Brad and Janet would experience in suburbia. The film centripetally focuses its attention on Brad Majors, a so-called 'emotional cripple' who unknowingly gets committed to an insane asylum. Janet Weiss, throughout the movie, is torn between her loyalty to Brad Majors and her desire for fame, fortune, respect, a better-looking man who happen to be Brad's twin and an easier, more fun life in general. However, the film butchers this theme over-and-over again. None of the jokes or comments made in this film were funny. In fact, many of the comments made in this 90 minute motion picture were repetitive! The acting was affected and fake. More importantly, the film was not as fun or amusing as 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' a movie with better songs, lines and characters. Susan Surandon did not reprise her role, surprisingly.However, I will admit that some/many will disagree with my opinion of the film. Considering the fact that there still is a potent 'Rocky Horror' cult following, one would film himself having easy access to this film on DVD or internet and for a cheap price. No one can quibble with the reality that the Internet, a modern-day invention, facilitates access to overlooked motion pictures such as this one. And many will find this movie to be underrated, to have good songs, to have a decent screenplay and to be fun overall. However, my appraisal stands. My concluding statement is that I actually did want to have really liked this movie. Perhaps I set my expectations too high.
Gameguyadv
While not as popular, or recognized as, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment gives us another look into music genius Richard O'Brien's outlook on life. This time in reality television. Denton is just an allusion to the iron grip that the media holds on everyone's life. Heck, it was like O'Brien had a vision during the actor's strike to rewrite The Brad and Janet Show as Shock Treatment to warn us all about the media and its control on our lives. Someone tell me that the Farley Flavors Fabulous Fast Food logo is not the Nazi Swastika. But still, while not as popular as Rocky, ST still had its crowning moments. The villainous wardrobe change, the ride into the err sunset, and the everyone in town ending up in straight jackets for blindly following Mussolini I mean farley are all there. Despite lack of character development and confusing back story, Shock Treatment will please everyone, and their English teacher.
FloatingOpera7
Shock Treatment (1981): Richard O'Brien, Cliff De Young, Jessica Harper, Patricia Quinn, Charles Grey, Nelle Campbell, Rik Mayall, Barry Humphries, Darlene Johnson, Manning Redwood, Jeremy Newson, Betsy Brantley, Perry Bedden, Christopher Malcolm, Ray Charleson, Imgone Claire, Eugene Lipinski, Barry Dennen....Original Music by Richard O'Brien, Richard Harley...Director Jim Sharman.Shock Treatment, released in 1981, was the follow-up to the far more popular and successful musical "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" of 1975. Richard O'Brien, the lyricist and Richard Harley the composer, teamed up once again to make this lesser sequel for the new MTV generation of the 1980's. Despite using the same characters of Brad and Janet, and some of the same actors from Rocky Horror, namely Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nelle "Little Nelle" Campbell and Charles Grey (who was the narrator in Rocky Horror), there is still no real semblance to Rocky Horror Picture Show and it's a completely different animal. Gone is the vulgarity of the original, the in-your-face raunchy humor, the camp and the overall fun spirit of Rocky Horror. Also, the plot in this sequel is painfully thin compared to the science fiction/horror parody of the first and it turns out to be simply a boring musical satire about empty glamour of the 80's, the consumerism and materialism of pop culture. Why the creative genius of the Rocky Horror Picture Show should want to make a "thinking man's comedy" is beyond me. If you're like me, you only watched this because it's got the Rocky Horror Picture Show team working on a new musical but it's no Rocky Horror Picture Show. Ultimately, it's too long, boring and the songs aren't even as good. But here's the plot for those curious enough to see this train wreck of a film: Brad and Janet, fresh from their adventures with the ghouls from the Rocky Horror Picture Show (Frank'N'Furter is dead, Riff Raff and Magenta and the rest return to Transsexual Transylvania), return to their beloved and wholesome American small town of Denton. But they soon discover that even this Rockefeller painting of a town is not what it used to be. The whole town has been invaded by the phenomenon of Television and everyone is part of the audience or performers of a hugely popular game show. The whole thing is eerily like what today we call reality television. The "real lives" of certain people are seen as either glamorous or deplorable. In the case of Brad and Janet, Janet decides to liberate herself from her formerly submissive "housewife" role of Brad's woman and turns into a glamorous TV soap star, with the ad and flattery of creepy, agenda-driven producers. The industry mogul is himself Brad Majors' own long lost brother who intends to crush his brother whom he is jealous of and win the heart of Janet Weiss. Brad is sent to a mental asylum where he undergoes the eponymous "shock treatment" by its managers played by Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn, who are NOT Riff Raff and Magenta but entirely new characters. In the end, even Janet realizes she's been brainwashed and turned into a product rather than a whole person and she, Brad, her best friend Betty and Betty's new boyfriend (Charles Grey) decide to leave the crazy TV-infected town.The songs are creatively written, no doubt, and only a few are actually good including "Denton USA" and "Shock Treatment" but this time around the songs are too "intellectual" and satirical. They contain none of the nonsense and campy humor of Rocky Horror Picture Show and therefore are forgettable songs. Everyone knows the songs from Rocky Horror Picture Show and their respective scenes/plot point/ from the movie but with Shock Treatment, the whole thing is like some weird and crazy MTV video spoof. Nevertheless, it contains fine cinematography, and often it does seem to fit into MTV individualized videos. But the story itself is too dull and meaningless. At least with RHPS there was an obvious satire of science fiction and horror mixed with 1970's decadence. Shock Treatment manages to put you in a state of shock, straps you into a chair and gives you high dosage of insane music, color, 80's fashion and pop culture. It's really very sad that this was the last we saw or heard of the Rocy Horror team.
Seamus2829
This was THE film that us Rocky Horror fanatics drooled about when we first heard that it was announced by Richard O'Brien, as far back as 1979. When we heard that it finally got made...well, suffice it to say, the prospects of a RHPS sequel had us doing back flips (me, included). Shock Treatment, released in 1981 was that dream come true (or so we had hoped). When it finally reached theaters (with as spotty distribution as Rocky had in 1975),we flocked to our local cinema,in eager anticipation. What we got was a somewhat shallow attempt to reproduce the same cult film that Rocky was. Problem was (and still is) one cannot make a cult film. Cult movies become cult movies, due to their quirky nature (the cheap budgets help,too). Shock Treatment, originally announced as 'The Brad And Janet Show' is a perfect example of a good idea gone bad. The plot concerns Brad & Janet Majors (yes, they're now married),who becomes hapless contestants on a game show, with it's own agenda. What follows is a forced attempt to recapture the same spirit that Rocky had. Brad & Janet are both played by other actors(as the originals opted not to appear in the sequel),although most of the cast from RHPS appear in this film (Richard O'Brien & Pat Quinn play another weird brother & sister act,and Little Nell plays a nurse, plus others from Rocky also are featured). Some of the songs in the film are nice, but doesn't have the verve that the originals have. In short,if you feel you absolutely need to see this, a one time will do fine.
