(this, btw, is where the jump break should be--Blogger's been screwing around with the posting format and for some reason decided to remove that option, right after I asked all my contributors to start using it! Way to make me look like a complete tool, Blogger!)
Right. I thought the best way to go about this would be to look at the categories Lizzie employed in judging these films, and discuss where we agree and/or disagree. Beginning with:
PROTAGONISTS:
I actually have no argument whatsoever with Lizzie's assertion here: Of course Seymour and Audrey are far and away more likeable than Brad and Janet!
Problem is--since when are these two middle-America schmucks the protagonists of Rocky Horror? We HATE Brad and Janet! (or, as the community affectionately knows them: Asshole and Slut) And that's exactly what they're there for--the whole film concerns destroying this couple's smarmy, white-bread, midwestern innocence. They're walking archetypes, symbols of all that is anachronistic and intolerant in modern society.
We all know who the REAL protagonist is:
Hells Yeah! (I got to play Frank on 3 separate occasions--THERE IS NO GREATER THRILL ON EARTH!!! I don't care who you are, you get in that costume and make-up, and you can't NOT strut!)
Need more proof? Exhibit B:
That's right! Dr. Frank N. Furter is the film's Protagonist. Brad and Janet only seem to be Protagonists because of their large amount of screen time--and the fact that the story begins with them. Truth is, they're audience surrogates more than anything else--the real source of the film's motive power comes from Frank, it's the story of the world he built himself, and it's his actions and will that drive the story. Oh, sure--he tampered in God's Domain by creating life (and then pounding it in the ass), as well as that little matter of cold blooded murder and forced cannibalism--but no one ever claimed Frank was a particularly "moral" Protagonist!
COSTUMES:
Not much to say here--Lizzie and I are on the same page regarding the majesty of Sue Blane's costume designing skills. So here's a funny pic:
CELEBRITY CAMEOS:
I may be biased, but I'm not unreasonable: Lizzie called this one right--Bill Murray trumps Meatloaf any day of the week. Score One for Little Shop.
PLOT:
Plot? Folks, these are musicals--by even HAVING plots they've both greatly exceeded expectations!
However, I give the edge to Rocky for one simple reason: Originality.
Little Shop is an adapted work--all the makers of the musical had to do was tweak the Corman film and write songs. Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien had to work from scratch--creating story and music out of the blue.
SPECIAL EFFECTS/PIZAZZ/"WOW" FACTOR:
This category baffled me somewhat--for it would seem to cover a broad range of aspects, yet Lizzie gave the nod to Little Shop based solely on special effects.
Well, when the star of your film is a giant, singing, man-eating alien plant, you NEED special effects! The audience had to accept Audrey II as a character, and this could not be accomplished without the best animatronics and puppetry 1986 had to offer, not to mention the likes of Frank Oz.
I don't belittle their achievement in the slightest--but Rocky Horror had a slightly different idea of "Pizazz"--Observe:
Advantage: Time Warp! :)
We're talking about musicals here--not Sci-Fi epics. Special effects are nice, but hardly essential. Show stopping productions are far more important. The only number in Little Shop that even approached this kind of scope was "Downtown".
SONGS:
Again, nothing really to say: Lizzie and I are in accord concerning our preference of Rocky's music. Oddly enough, the only point of contention I have with her on this involves Little Shop: I can do without "Somewhere That's Green", but I love "Suddenly Seymour", mostly because I can passably sing as Seymour (though to be sure, "Feed Me" is a great deal more fun!)
ANTAGONIST:
Ok, some of you must have already been wondering: "If Frank's the Protagonist, who's the Antagonist?"
That one's not as easy to answer--Brad and Janet are far too bland and ineffectual to make serious foes. Besides, Frank "defeated" them rather handily! (in a manner of speaking)
Riff-Raff and Magenta, then? After all, they did kill him.
But when you come down to it--Frank was finally defeated by his own personal flaws and uncontrolled lifestyle, Riff's laser was merely the instrument of this defeat.
So Frank is both Protagonist AND Antagonist!
Which actually changes nothing--I have to admit, Dr. Orin Scrivello, DDS is a far more vile and reprehensible individual, and I do not dispute Little Shop's taking of the Villain Prize.
NARRATOR:
Oh you did NOT just diss my boy Chuckie!
Of COURSE Rocky's Criminologist was out of place, and his presence jarring--THAT WAS HIS JOB! They went out of the way to make him as foreign to the characters and setting of the film as possible. Oh, and I played him for six years. ;)
Nothing at all is wrong with Crystal, Ronnette, and Chiffon (though they were slightly misnamed, as The Crystals were white). But they're not narrators, they're a Greek Chorus--not quite the same thing.
A Narrator remains above and outside the story(even in the rare cases when he is a character in the story, he still manages to remain essentially aloof)--a Chorus is part of the story, albeit always in the background.
I call this one a draw, as the combatants are not evenly matched.
CONCLUSION:
Um...yeah. In case you haven't been paying attention--I prefer Rocky Horror.
However, I don't want anyone to think I have ANYTHING against Little Shop! I've loved it since I was 9 years old and always will. I leave you with a vid of the aforementioned "Feed Me".
If you'll excuse me--I'm about to embarrass myself in front of my roommates...
Scoot On Musicals
