Glee-view: "Rocky Horror Glee Show"

Ab-ulous

As you may or may have not noticed while reading this blog, I am not very secretive in my simultaneous fascination/disappointment with "Glee." So much so that I have dedicated multiple blog posts to that very subject.

So really, I felt that it was only a matter of time before I took to critiquing every "Glee" episode, especially since most of them contains musical references that I, as a musical theater geek (or "gleek"), should be kind to point out.

This post is a bit late since I spent this past week preparing for Halloween (which included me teasing my hair and making some pumpkin cookies and butterbeer), so there was not much time for writing.

Now I am back to long, theater-related posts and what better way to start than with the "Rocky Horror Glee Show."

My love affair with "Rocky Horror" began at the tender, innocent age of 15 (wow, that was exactly 7 years ago). My friends and I watched it for Halloween and at the end, all I could think of was, "What was that?" and "Why do I feel so intrigued?" I think that's the reaction people usually have to "Rocky Horror," a mixture of repugnance with a tinge of fascination. And when that fascination overtakes you and you find yourself staring in antici---------pation (oh you know I was going to make that joke sometime) as Frank-N-Furter descends that elevator, that's when you become those fans who dress up and throw rice at the midnight screenings.

Which was me exactly four years later. Where my best friend pulled me to the stage to be devirginized Rocky style. I'll save you the details.

And for the most part, I think the latest "Glee" episode captured the off-off-beat spirit of "Rocky Horror" while still remaining "Glee." It was not like the Britney Spears episode where it felt like the entire show was transplanted and placed into a Britney Spears music video, this episode maintained the right amount of Rocky references while still keeping the tone of "Glee."

When Mercedes quotes a line from the musical, "Don't dream it, be it," that is not mentioned in any musical number in the episode, then you know it's written by a team that has respect for the original material but still maintaining consistency of characters. It's too bad the issue of Mercedes not being the right body type to get lead roles will probably not be mentioned again. But that's "Glee" for you. One week, it's an after-school-special, another it's Lady Gaga.

But how genius were those cameos by Meatloaf and Barry Boswick? This is the perfect example of how a cameo can be used to further the storyline instead of just paying lip service. Here, it propelled the plot forward, giving Sue Sylvester a motive. And that jack-o-lantern in the shape of her face? Genius and I want to make one next year. And wow my neighbors.

Was the "Rocky Horror Glee Show" ground-breaking or awe-inspiring? Not really. But considering "Glee," it could have been a lot worse. At least it was still entertaining.

Breakdown:

Consistency: pretty good.
Last year the school was putting on a production of "Cabaret" so naturally, this year's musical would be something even more inappropriate.
Character: great.
Yes, Will acted petty and made the kids jump through hoops for his personal gain but that's nothing new ("Rhodes Not Taken," "Britney/Brittany"). Though you would think by this point, someone (Emma? Sue? Anyone?), would give him a stern warning rather than just a slight reprimand. But there was the return of Carl as the perfect boyfriend for Emma Pillsbury, while donning all leather and singing. So I can't complain, Uncle Jesse never looked so fine.
Plot: below average.
The fact that they circled an episode around the inappropriate-ness of "Rocky Horror" was smart and felt organic. But most of the issues male body image raised in the episode won't be mentioned after this so the plot felt, for the most part, arbitrary.
Believability: below average.
How did they get all of those costumes and props in less than a week? And if it was more than a week, the fact that Shuester would cancel the musical when they had been rehearsing, with costumes and set, is more foolish than prudent. Technically, he shouldn't have been allowed to do it.
Epic: hell yes!
From Mercedes' mo-town version of "Sweet Transvestite" to Kurt's spot-on Richard O'Brien impression in "Time Warp," the episode managed to make me smile while still having me fidget very uncomfortably (that was "Toucha toucha touch me"). So in short, it feels like the first time of "Rocky Horror," oh so good, and dirty.

Favorite number: