Shock Treatment

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This article is about the 1981 musical comedy film. For the British reality documentary show, see Shock Treatment (reality show). For the medical treatment, see Electroconvulsive therapy. For album by the Edgar Winter Group, see Shock Treatment (album).
Shock Treatment

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jim Sharman
Produced by Lou Adler
Michael White
Written by Jim Sharman
Richard O'Brien
Starring Cliff De Young
Jessica Harper
Richard O'Brien
Patricia Quinn
Music by Richard Hartley
Richard O'Brien
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) October 31, 1981
Running time 94 min.
Country Flag of the United States
Language English
Budget $3.5 million
Gross revenue $2,385,107
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Shock Treatment is a 1981 comedy-musical and a follow up to the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. While not an outright sequel, the movie does feature several characters from the movie portrayed by different actors and several Rocky Horror actors portraying new characters.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Continuing from The Rocky Horror Picture Show are the characters of Brad and Janet Majors (portrayed by Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper, respectively), now married.

The film takes place in the fictional town of Denton USA, which has been taken over by fast food magnate Farley Flavors (also played by De Young).

Brad (Cliff De Young) and Janet (Jessica Harper) are picked out of the audience by the "blind host" (Barry Humphries) to participate in the game show "Marriage Maze"
Brad (Cliff De Young) and Janet (Jessica Harper) are picked out of the audience by the "blind host" (Barry Humphries) to participate in the game show "Marriage Maze"

The town of Denton is entirely encased within a television studio for network DTV (Denton Television). Residents are either stars and regulars on a show, cast and crew, or audience members. Brad and Janet, while seated in the audience are chosen to participate in the game show Marriage Maze, by the blind and kooky host Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries). As a "prize", Brad is imprisoned on Dentonvale, a soap opera that centers around the local mental hospital run by brother and sister Cosmo and Nation McKinley (Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn).

Janet is given a taste of show-biz as Farley Flavors molds her into a singing diva superstar in an attempt to take her away from Brad. Her compliance is assured through the use of drugs supplied by the McKinleys.

Betty Hapschatt (Ruby Wax) and Judge Oliver Wright (Charles Gray) investigate Farley and other people involved in DTV, eventually discovering that Cosmo and Nation are not doctors, but merely character actors, and Farley Flavors is Brad's jealous, long-lost twin brother, seeking to destroy Brad and take Janet for himself.

The pair rescue Brad from Dentonvale and have Brad confront his twin on his show Faith Factory. Farley imprisons the three and Janet but they manage to escape in a car along with a local band.

During the movie, it is also revealed that Bert Schnick can really see.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

The film was shot entirely in a sound studio. The original intent had been to shoot the film in realistic locations in the USA, but a 1979 Screen Actors Guild strike froze the production funds. Jim Sharman suggested possibly doing the production as a London stage show and filming it in a theatre, which gave Richard O'Brien the idea to rework the locations as a giant TV studio using a film studio in England, trimming the budget and reviving the project. [1] Although several Rocky Horror cast members returned for this movie, only Jeremy Newson reprised his role as Ralph Hapschatt. Tim Curry was offered the roles of Brad Majors and Farley Flavors, but declined because he didn't think his American accent would be convincing. Barry Bostwick was unable to reprise his role as Brad due to other filming commitments, and Susan Sarandon wanted half a million dollars to play Janet again. [2] Cliff De Young had been director Jim Sharman's original choice for Brad in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as Sharman had worked with De Young off-Broadway in the play "Trials of Oz" in 1972. De Young had been unavailable then, as he was appearing on the television show "Sunshine" in California. Cast now as Brad and Farley, De Young modeled his performance of Brad Majors after David Eisenhower, and modeled Farley Flavors after Jack Nicholson. [3] Shock Treatment's original working title was The Brad and Janet Show. Founder and long-time president of The Rocky Horror Picture Show Fan Club, Sal Piro, has a cameo role as the man using the payphone during the opening sequence. Several of the costumes and props from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, including Frank's throne (painted red), can be seen in Shock Treatment.

[edit] Reaction

In spite of pre-release hype (Including a promotional TV special called The Rocky Horror Treatment), the film was a failure when it was released only as a midnight movie in late 1981. It never had a general first-run release in theaters. It turned out, with its increased budget and box office failure, to be an even bigger flop than Rocky Horror's original first-run release in 1975. The movie, at face value, was very difficult for mainstream audiences to understand, and was of a different structure of plot than Rocky Horror. Some were put off by the absence of Tim Curry's Dr. Frank N. Furter, who died in the original film. The idea of a town as one large TV studio was far more unusual in 1981, when reality TV had not yet hit the ascendancy it found in later years. However, Shock Treatment eventually got showings at Rocky Horror conventions, and has ended up having occasional performance casts every now and then.

[edit] DVD releases

DVD cover.
DVD cover.

A special edition DVD was released in the United States, on September 5, 2006. Included is a 1:85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround 2.0, and Spanish Mono audio tracks, with Spanish, French and English subtitles. Bonus materials include audio commentary with fan club presidents Mad Man Mike & Bill Brennan, a making-of featurette, a music retrospective featurette, and domestic and international trailers.[4]

[edit] Musical numbers

Main article: Shock Treatment (soundtrack)
Song Chiefly Sung By Other Singers
Overture Instrumental N/A
Denton U.S.A. Neely, Harry, Emily, Vance,
Brenda and Frankie, Ralph, Macy		 Audience
Bitchin' in the Kitchen Brad, Janet N/A
In My Own Way Janet N/A
Thank God I'm a Man Harry Audience
Farley's Song Farley Cosmo, Nation, Ansalong, Ricky
Lullaby Nation, Cosmo, Janet, Ansalong, Ricky N/A
Little Black Dress Cosmo, Janet, Bert, Nation N/A
Me of Me Janet Frankie and Brenda
Shock Treatment Cosmo, Nation, Ansalong Janet, Ricky, Bert, Harry, Emily
Carte Blanche Janet N/A
Looking for Trade Janet Brad
Look What I Did to My Id Emily, Harry, Cosmo, Nation,
Macy, Ralph, Ansalong, Ricky		 N/A
Breaking Out Oscar Drill The Bits
Duel Duet Farley, Brad N/A
Anyhow, Anyhow Brad, Janet, Oliver, Betty All characters (including Chorus and other minor characters)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Conroy, Mike (1981). "Richard O'Brien and Shock Treatment." Fangoria, No. 15. New York; O'Quinn Studios. 66.
  2. ^ Conroy, Mike, "Richard O'Brien and Shock Treatment," op cit., 66.
  3. ^ 20th Century-Fox (1981). Shock Treatment Press Kit. 5.
  4. ^ http://www.davisdvd.com/news/news.html

[edit] External links