Shock Treatment

Plot synopsis:
A Texan-accented narrator introduces the viewers to the shadowy Denton TV executive Farley Flavors (Cliff De Young), who has lived his life "fast" but still feels incomplete without a certain woman... who belongs to someone else. As Flavors watches from his office, his television studio... which now encompasses the entire town of Denton... is steadily filled with the former residents of Denton, who gleefully assume their new roles as studio audience members of a 24-hour live reality television broadcast ('Overture'). The sole holdout in the celebration is the neurotic Brad Majors (also Cliff De Young in a dual role), who despite the insistence of his wife, Janet (Jessica Harper), that things will be OK, is ambivalent about the town's transformation. Once the audience is seated, they are greeted by a welcoming committee led by local reporter and documentary filmmaker Neely Pritt (Betsy Brantley), who inform the audience... and viewers on television... of Denton's supposed virtues ('Denton, U.S.A.').Brad and Janet are chosen as contestants on "Marriage Maze," a supposed game show whose only purpose seems to be committing people to "Dentonvale", Denton's resident hospital and insane asylum which also serves as the reality TV hospital series of the same name. Janet is given the opportunity to have Brad committed by the show's host, a supposedly blind and flaky Austrian named Bert Schnick (Barry Humphries), who promises her that the experience will improve their marriage. Janet and Brad lament the state of their relationship, with Janet ultimately deciding to have Brad sent to Dentonvale ('Bitchin' in the Kitchen').Upon arriving at Dentonvale, Brad and Janet are greeted by the eccentric staff whom include Nurse Ansalong (Nell Campbell), her boyfriend and fellow orderly 'Rest Home' Ricky (Rik Mayall), and Dentonvale's supervisors, the apparently incestuous siblings Dr. Cosmo and Nation McKinley (Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn). Despite Brad's objections, Cosmo has him drugged, bound, gagged, and placed in a padded cell known as the "Terminal Ward." Before Janet can sign the papers permitting the McKinleys to treat Brad, Nurse Ansalong tells her to wait a day, to give her time to make up her mind.Meanwhile, Janet's parents, Emily and Harry Weiss (Darlene Johnson and Manning Redwood), are brought onto "Marriage Maze" and promised a prize if they offer a psychological assessment of Brad. Deciding that he's regressing into childhood, the Weisses are awarded a vacation home on another of DTV's reality TV programs called "Happy Homes". Janet goes to meet them there and laments Brad's lack of assertiveness, wishing he could see that she still loves him instead of giving into the doldrums of marriage ('In My Own Way'). Mr. Weiss chastises Janet for marrying Brad, an orphan whose parents died in a car crash, rather than other boys from more stable home backgrounds. Janet tells her father that the boy he'd wanted her to marry turned out to be gay, prompting Mr. Weiss to proclaim the virtues of traditional American masculinity ('Thank God I'm a Man').In Dentonvale, the McKinleys are informed by Bert that financing for their show has been taken over by Farley Flavors' own personal company, a fast food enterprise, named "Five Flavors", which Farley hopes to use to finance a pop psychology movement, using a new TV reality/talk show program titled "Faith Factory" as the platform and the McKinleys as his mouthpieces. The reluctant McKinleys are quickly taken in by a persuasive videotaped pitch, and on Farley's orders, they recruit Janet to be the face of Farley's "Take Away Psychology," as he believes she is the perfect example of the girl next door ('Farley's Song'). Janet moves into Dentonvale with the McKinleys and Bert Shnick, with the promise that her new life as an exciting model will make her desirable to Brad again ('Lullaby').Meanwhile, Judge Wright (Charles Gray) and Betty Hapschatt (Ruby Wax), two DTV presenters from the news show "Denton Dossier" whom are sympathetic to Brad, look into the histories of Farley and the McKinleys, suspecting that there is a sinister motive behind "Faith Factory." However, their investigation is hampered when they are informed that they are being replaced as anchorpeople of "Denton Dossier" by Betty's ex-husband Ralph (Jeremy Newson) whom is currently dating the hot blond reporter Macy Struthers (Wendy Raeback) whom gets promoted to be the new co-anchor.The next day, after Nation catches a fully-sighted Bert Schnick spying on Janet in the shower, Cosmo strokes Janet's ego and designs a sexy new outfit for her, transforming her into "Miss Mental Health" ('Little Black Dress'). DTV manufactures Janet into an overnight sensation, and the newfound fame immediately goes to Janet's head, causing her to forget about repairing her marriage with Brad as she makes her debut by singing her song to the studio audence of her new fame. ('Me of Me').Janet, her parents, and Bert Schnick go to visit Brad at Dentonvale, where the Weisses question whether the McKinleys can really help him. The Dentonvale Staff assure everyone of their competency, "curing" Bert's blindness to demonstrate their abilities ('Shock Treatment'). Janet and her parents are completely taken in, but Janet's ego becomes difficult for the McKinley's to control. To keep Janet manageable, they drug her in her dressing room, resulting in a surreal dream sequence in which she patrols Denton looking for sex while Brad begs her for love from his asylum cell ('Looking for Trade').As the premier of the new psychology reality TV show "Faith Factory" nears, Bert, the Dentonvale Staff, and the Weisses prepare for their new TV roles by dressing up in white doctor and nurse uniforms in the wardrobe room as they sing about their new images ('Look What I Did To My Id').Meanwhile, Betty hacks into DTV's computer system and learns that the McKinleys are in fact character actors and that "Dentonvale" isn't a real hospital."Faith Factory" goes on the air, opening with a live musical performance by Janet's groupies, a punk band called Oscar Drill and the Bits ('Breaking Out'). Using the performance as a cover, Judge Wright and Betty dress up as white-lab coated doctors and break Brad out of Dentonvale, telling him that they've learned Farley is his biological twin brother, who was split from him during the adoption process and grew up poor. Now the wealthy and powerful Farley wants to destroy Brad's life out of jealousy, and is planning to seduce Janet on national TV as the last part of his plan.Brad, Judge Wright, and Betty break through the wall of the "Faith Factory" set, and Brad finally confronts Farley face-to-face about his plan ('Duel Duet'). Farley demands Brad be remanded to the hospital, but Janet, finally snapped out of her ego-trip, informs him that she never signed the consent forms. Angrily, Farley has Brad, Janet, Wright, and Betty arrested, and hastily names DTV host Macy Struthers as the new "Miss Mental Health." His psychology program ready to go, Farley invites the studio audience to join him in Dentonvale, to which they readily agree... they are all summarily handed stripped straight jackets, which they happily don and file out of the studio.Betty uses a hairpin to pick the lock on hers, Brad, Janet and the Judge's holding cell, and the shunned and defeated foursome resolves to leave Denton behind, but with their hopes and ideals intact despite the loss of everything ('Anyhow Anyhow'). With the help of Oscar Drill and the Bits, they hotwire a car that was meant to be a prize on "Faith Factory" and they all drive away off the deserted soundstage, out of the studio and the town itself, as Farley and the Dentonvale staff celebrate having just committed the entire town of Denton to the terminal ward in Dentonvale ('Denton, U.S.A. Reprise').

Tags: comedy, boring, allegory, cult, insanity, psychedelic, satire, brainwashing

Review:
When Janet wakes up and realizes she wants her real life back, another cute chick is pimped up and easily accepted."Shock Treatment" is a very smart movie that works on the intellectual level RHPS did not.
"Shock Treatment", if you give it a chance, will make you think about the media's grip on society, make you take a second look at the "stars" adorning the covers of magazines such as Entertainemt Weekly, give you a whole new take on the audiences lining up for RHPS every Halloween (unlike the 80's when we went every month or weekend), and, having been made in 1981 (!) add no surprise to the fact that Richard O'Brien is a prescient futurist who made a killing in the stock market.Heck, I haven't even talked about the fact that "Shock Treatment"s use of primary colors, editing, and music video style sequences, predates the birth of MTV by at least a year.
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.
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.
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".
(funny, when you think about Rocky Horror, which was originally a huge flop as well, but was re-released after finding cult status).I have just watched Shock Treatment twice in a row and I'm proud to say I love it just as much as Rocky Horror.
But be warned, Shock Treatment has completely different subject matter (which means no revealing cross-dressing, references to old horror films and no Tim Curry), but some familiar characters and some very familiar actors appear in a film that looks at the brain-washing nature of television.It wasn't the sequel I expected, but after seeing it twice, I realize it is the perfect sequel to a perfect film like Rocky Horror.But the emotion I was filled most with after watching this film wasn't happiness, it was frustration.
Nice to see Ruby Wax in a lead role - she actually has a pretty big part as Betty, And the Rocky Horror actors - Richard O' Brien, Pat Quinn, Charles Gray and Nell Campbell are all great too (although it would have been nice to see a bit more of Nell) Keep a look out too for a pre-'Young Ones' Rik Mayall, playing Nell's love interest, interestingly enough.
Ah, "Shock Treatment"-- a witty, campy, colorful movie bursting with cheeky innuendo and amazing songs (one line from "Duel Duet": "You're a dead-end, deadbeat, nowhere mister with a kisser like a Mississippi alligator's sister").First of all, you have to approach "Shock Treatment" as a sequel to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." While it doesn't contain the same level of raunchy cheese (or the aliens, or the transvestites, or the sex gags...
This is because Brad is the only person in the town of Denton who doesn't jump for joy watching the town's mind-numbing TV station, which is ruled by a greedy corporate sleaze master with an old connection to Brad and Janet.So eventually, a phony TV host (Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna) and his quack-psych-doctor cohorts (Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn, who played Riff Raff and Magenta in RHPS) take Brad a hostage in their psychiatric facility/soap opera set so that station sponsor Farley Flavors can turn Janet into the next big DTV star.A few cast members return in different roles (Charles Gray, Nell Campbell, and some of the Transylvanians, for example), with Jeremy Newson coming back as Ralph Hapschatt.
Sure Brad and Janet, the wholesome couple who ran afoul of the Transylvanians in the first film reappear, but from that point on 'Shock Treatment' spins dementedly off on a trajectory all its own.Jessica Harper takes over the role of Janet, Cliff de Young is Brad (and Farley Flavor, sinister tv station owner) and both actors are fine.
Barry Humphries is slyly hilarious in the role of Bert Schnick, gameshow compere.The central concept of 'Shock Treatment' is that Denton, USA, the wholesome American town alluded to as the benchmark of normality in 'Rocky Horror', is in the thrall of tv culture.
Rushing to brad's help comes Betty Hapschatt, recently sacked morning show hostess (and Rocky Horror newlywed), played deliciously by the ever-abrasive Ruby Wax.Richard O'Brien shrinks from a more incisive scrutiny of the dumbing-down of America by it's television obsession.
And if you liked this movie, and love Richard O'Brien songs, you must know that have been other adventure of this beloved characters.
Dressing up of fun, "Shock Treatment" is not so unworried as "Rocky Horror" because is a satirical movie about T.V, in a twisted and funny way.This time we are in Denton, the perfect place...
Something evil is happen in Denton.For much "Shock Treatment" going to be absurd, underrated, boring and totally lost, a movie that have nothing to do with "Rocky Horror",but is absolutely the opposite.
Where we doesn't matter the others, and we only care the "how fabulous i am".Besides "Shock Treatment" offers a lot of fun, dance and sticky songs, just like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" do.
I love "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and believe me, that crazy movie is definitely one of my favorites, but what "Shock Treatmnet" do is incredible.
Besides of a great cast: Jessica Harper (Beautiful, strong and awesome voice from the actress who join too Brian De Palma "Phantom of the Paradise" and Dario Argento's "Suspiria") as Janet, Cliff De Young, Richard O'Brien (Of Course), Pat Queen, Nell Campbell (I love her voice!), Barry Humphries and Rik Mayall.
The music is totally awesome, and as i say above, totally important(All the score is good, you can find songs like "Farleys Song", Little Black Dress", "Anyhow, Anyhow", the beautiful Cradle Song "Lullaby", "In My Own Way", "Me of Me","Look What i Did to My ID" and of Course "Shock Treatment").
This film may not be anything like Rocky Horror, but as its own movie it is a Fabulous film, the music is fun and catchy, and the concept is phenomenal.
Particular highlights include the sombre "Lullaby" (a wonderful sequence which was undoubtedly an influence on music videos in the decades to come) and Harper's brilliant rendition of "Looking For Trade"."Shock Treatment" was a definite miscalculation, too ambitious to appeal to the "Rocky" crowd and not campy or funny enough to attract any cults of its own (audiences dressing up in hospital gear?
The Brad and Janet of "Shock Treatment" are not the wonders of "Rocky Horror." But give it a chance, this is one that grows in its impact with repeated viewings.
A great cast, too, with Jessica Harper rocking up a storm, Patricia Quinn finally getting some real dialogue (and delivering it marvelously), Cliff de Young in a dual role (he's a bit weak, but may have been directed that way), Ruby Wax, Rick Mayall pre-"Young Ones," at least one RHPS bit player upped to a major role (Jeremy Newson as Ralph Hapschatt), and Barry Humphries as "blind" Bert Schnick, before he went into permanent drag as Dame Edna.This is due out on DVD next month, and I'm ready to spring for it.
In this satirical spin-off of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," Brad and Janet (this time around played by Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper), find themselves as contestants on a reality game show in their perfect suburban hometown/TV station of Denton (which is owned by a fast food corporation!) Brad and Janet are now married, and the game show host (played rather deliciously by Dame Edna) quickly convinces the impressionable Janet that the catatonic and emotionally unavailable Brad isn't living up to her standards.
appropriated during an opportunity I had to screen that film.)In "Shock Treatment", the presence of Barry Humphries (a fellow Australian, perhaps better-known to most as, er, "the advisor", to Dame Edna Everage) and the admittedly somewhat bizarre reprise of O'Brien himself (and Little Nell), so seamlessly worked into the plot as new and wildly different incarnations, was fun and rewarding for several reasons.
However, if you think of this movie not as a sequel to RHPS, but as a film standing on its own, an objective viewing will reveal that it is a razor-sharp satire on the effect of television and the media  on John Q.
Combine these surfaces of the characters with much more complexity, a Byzantine television studio (get the symbolism?), a pseudo-blind game show host, a Christof-like sponsor, an audience so eager for the newest installment they sleep in the studio (!), some other wacky but importantly encompassing characters representative of the social order and common social ills (greed, lust, fear, jealousy, ambition), not to mention some great 'fluffy' tunes (try not to sing along to 'Denton') and other impressively and appropriately cynical ones ('You're Lookin' at an Ace' and my favorite, 'Look What I Did to my Id'), and you have a satirical wonder that dissects universal issues of which a lust for fame (Janet), a need for acceptance (Janet's parents), a desire that destroys (Farley), a need to be yourself (Brad), greed (Cosmo and Nation), and a devil-may-care-attitude toward using others (Schnick) are just a few to name.
Only Jessica Harper, Star of Phantom of the Paradise and Suspiria seems to falter as if unsure of the mediocre material.The best thing is the movie are the songs which are quite good and cry out for a better venue.Seeing this film again for the first time in probably 20 years was both a pleasure (there was a reason the songs have stuck in my head, they are good) and displeasure (the story just doesn't work).
Thinking back to when I saw this on a bootleg video copy in the early 1980's (hey it was the only way to see it for the longest time) I wasn't so wrong in thinking I had missed something, I had, I missed taking the time out to see a better movie.Rocky Horror fans should see it once just to say they have, everyone else should probably avoid it unless you want to hear some really good songs stuck in a really poor movie..
And it was really odd to see Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, Charles Gray and Nell Campbell return to the movie but in different roles than in "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
The roles of Brad and Janet were now played by someone else entirely, which just was a slap to the face.It should be said that the cast was good, and I was surprised to see Rik Mayall here.There were a few good songs here and there, but they are not classics like the tunes from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"."Shock Treatment" was adequate enough if you haven't seen "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", but since most of us have, then "Shock Treatment" turned out to be a mediocre experience..
To understand what I'm comparing what to, I suggest finding a copy of "The Brad & Janet Show"."Shock Treatment", as I said, is still a fun movie to watch and what's great about it is you don't even need to watch Rocky Horror to understand it.
Now, me being a fan of the stage shows of "Rocky Horror" from the 1973 London Cast, the 1974 Roxy Cast, to the 1977 Norwegian Cast, I obviously don't care if new actors are playing Brad and Janet; there's enough of the usual gang of weirdos for you to still enjoy.
The further adventures of Brad and Janet Majors are detailed in this follow-up, rather than true sequel, to the cult phenomenon "The Rocky Horror Picture Show".
The idea of the film's satire may be a brilliant one but sadly it leaves most viewers "Bitchin' in the kitchen" in the end.Overall Best Songs: "Duel Duet", "Lullaby", "Shock Treatment", Great lyrics: "Look What I Did To My Id", "Looking For Trade".
If you're a big fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show I think its definitely worth seeing what Richard O'Brien has come up with just as long as you don't have high expectations, we have to be honest...
I believe that if you give it an open mind ,(Like "Rocky Horror")I guarantee that you'll love the songs and this movie equally as well.
There are only three zany, somewhat insane roles in the entire film (Cosmo, Nation, and Bert), and they are all played by 'Rocky Horror' veterans.If you are a RHPS fan, and it's on late-night cable T.V., watch it.
Shock Treatment is easily as good as Rocky Horror but with a stronger plot and more thought provoking story.
Brad and Janet were acted by other actors, no Tim Curry, Richard O'Brien and the rest of the Rocky cast in diferent roles, and most important not a single reference to the happenings of the original movie by the characters.
Being that The Rocky Horror Picture Show is my favorite film of all time, I couldn't help but compare Shock Treatment to its predecessor.
Some true "Rocky Horror" fans might not like this, but if you wanna have one of the best 93 minutes of watching a movie rent/buy "Shock Treatment" today!.
I see that many of the commenters describe Shock Treatment as an anti-TV manifesto, but I would say that it has a bigger theme, anti-conformity.I know that Richard O'Brien has "dissed" the movie; I saw him do it on a Rocky Horror tribute show, but I wouldn't put too much emphasis on that.
Or, if you've seen Rocky Horror, but didn't much care for it, you may like Shock Treatment better.
If you've seen Rocky Horror hundreds of times at the midnight movies, you quite likely won't like Shock Treatment.
I think that Shock Treatment was a funny movie with a lot of greatjokes, and the soundtrack is awsome, But Nothing Will Ever Be Better Than The Rocky Horror Picture Show !!!!
While I'm a fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, I find Shock Treatment to be the better film.
I saw "Shock Treatment" as a result of watching the "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
I saw "Shock Treatment" as a result of watching the "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
Shock Treatment was savagely under-rated on its release and holds the unfortunate record of being the only movie ever to play for less than a week at my home cinema, being pulled after only three days due to me being the only person who actually went to see it in that time.This is monumentally sadly as it seems to be a much more socially relevant film now than at its release.In these days of Reality TV, Docu-soaps, docu-dramas, etc, a movie like Shock Treatment, now 20 years old, shows itself to be way ahead of it#s time and even acts as a warning as to what might go wrong with the TV obsessed nation we are currently living in.Nominally a Rocky Horror sequel, it follows the story of Brad and Janet, post Frank N Furter as they have settled into domesticity in Small Town America.
And by using many of the same actors from ROCKY HORROR but in different roles, SHOCK TREATMENT can't really be considered a proper sequel to the original cult classic.The opening song, "Denton, U.S.A.," is a humdinger; energetic, witty and fun, it sets the tone for an buoyant good time.
"Shock Treatment" was recommended to me by a friend from work who has an odd fetish with "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," this films supposed prequel.
This is the most god-awful boring movie I've ever witnessed!!!I love Rocky Horror, but I went into watching Shock Treatment NOT going to compare it as a sequel.
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).
Shock Treatment came no where near the greatness of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
There is a roumur floating around that Richard O'Brien(writer of the two movies) is planning on a new musical called Rocky Horror: A Second Coming, that would completely delete the plot of the existing Shock Treatment, because it would be a direct sequel to the RH play and movie.
More importantly, the film was not as fun or amusing as 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show,' a movie with better songs, lines and characters.
Poor Follow Up. Shock Treatment (1981) * 1/2 (out of 4) Needless sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show has Brad and Janet (now played by Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper) appearing on a game show where they become hostages for various wild antics.
Richard O'Brien is currently and supposedly writing the actual sequel to Rocky Horror Show the original musical from which both movies spawned from.
So untill then check out this movie about Brad and Janet's life after Rocky Horror Picture Show..
Don't expect this to be like Rocky Horror because it's a different type of film (though some RHPS characters do show up).
It's definitely worth it for any die-hard RHPS fans, and some people who simply enjoy RHPS (or musicals like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Little Shop of Horrors, etc.) may find Shock Treatment to be a very entertaining movie..