Shock Treatment (1981)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Jim Sharman

Writers:

Richard O'Brien (writer) and
Jim Sharman (writer)

Release Date:

30 October 1981 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

The Home of Happiness

Plot:

Janet and Brad become contestants on a game show... but wind up as captives instead.

Plot Keywords:

TV Station | Nurse | Sequel | Surrealism | Soap Opera

Cast

Jessica Harper	...	Janet Majors
Cliff De Young	...	Brad Majors / Farley Flavors
Richard O'Brien	...	Cosmo McKinley
Patricia Quinn	...	Nation McKinley
Charles Gray	...	Judge Oliver Wright
Ruby Wax	...	Betty Hapschatt
Nell Campbell	...	Nurse Ansalong
Rik Mayall	...	'Rest Home' Ricky
Barry Humphries	...	Bert Schnick
Darlene Johnson	...	Emily Weiss
Manning Redwood	...	Harry Weiss
Wendy Raebeck	...	Macy Struthers
Jeremy Newson	...	Ralph Hapschatt
Betsy Brantley	...	Neely Pritt
Perry Bedden	...	Neely's Crew

Also Known As:

The Brad and Janet Show (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min | UK:88 min (PAL DVD version) | UK:88 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Ireland:15 (cut DVD version) | UK:PG (cut DVD version) | Iceland:L | Ireland:15 (DVD version) | UK:PG (DVD version) | Australia:M | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Lee International Studios, Wembley, London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The role of Bert Schnick was originally written to be Dr. Everett Scott. The part was re-written when Jonathan Adams declined to reprise the role.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Brad knocks over the pitcher of water on the "Marriage Maze" set, there is a glass propped against one of the "M"s, but in the shot before he knocks it over, there is no glass.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Once upon a time, there lived a real fast guy. His life was fast. His friends were fast. Heh - even his food was fast. But he was still not satisfied. He wanted to share his fast philosophy with someone else, a beautiful girl. Trouble was, she was in the arms of... another man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Rocky Horror Treatment (1981) (TV)

Soundtrack:

In My Own Way

You're not looking at the king of anything- you're looking at an ace!

I had heard a lot of bad things about this "sequel" to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", and I can see how people expecting a return to the sexual hi-jinx of that classic would be disappointed. I found this to be great in a completely different way. Save for a few RHPS character and location names, this is pretty much unrelated to that flick. This stands on it's own as an excellent musical-comedy with great songs and characters.

"Shock Treatment" takes place entirely in the television station of DTV, a local TV station that probes into the lives of its town's citizens. Brad and Janet (who act differently and are played by different actors than in RHPS) discuss their marital strife and appear on "Marriage Maze". Brad is found to be in need of help, so he's shipped off to "Dentonvale", the channel's bizarre medical show, while Janet is groomed to be the new star of "Denton Dossier", a show that tells people how great Denton is. Meanwhile, nefarious fast food mogul Farley Flavors is conspiring to take over the town and Janet with his latest show, "Farley Flavor's Faith Factory".

Jessica Campbell (who has worked with Dario Argento AND Woody Allen) is superb as Janet, and Cliff De Young plays Brad and Farley so excellently it's hard to tell it's the same actor (he even has a duet with himself!). The rest of the cast is populated with British comedians (Ruby Wax, Barry Humphries, and "The Young Ones"' Rik Mayal, who should have had a bigger part) and RHPS vets including Patricia Quinn, Little Nell, Charles Grey (also a former Blofeld!), and composer Richard O'Brian.

O'Brian's songs are fantastic and some exceed the quality of tunes in the better known "Rocky Horror". Clever lyrics and catchy tunes abound in classics like "Bitchin' in the Kitchen", "Little Black Dress", and the haunting "Lullaby". The choreography is great too, like the brief mirror-dance that accompanies "Look What I Did To My Id".

"Shock Treatmet" gets T-E-N, that's ten out of ten!