Rocky Horror Picture Show

Wow, did I have a massive toothache last night. I had a root canal, which I've never had before, and the dentist warned me that it would be tender. So, as comes natural for me, I forgot to take the pain killers, and one thing led to another, and I found myself up late on Saturday because I took the pain-killer he gave me too late, flipping channels with my husband.

Earlier in the evening we'd watched Glee, which is one of my favorite shows, and they highlighted music from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and this piqued my curiosity.

Guess what was on late Saturday night, the day/night before Halloween? Yeah. The real thing. So my husband and I, both being the curious types, stayed up to watch it. I knew Meat Loaf was in it for one song (I found out that even in his very early days, he was fat then, too)

Why did I watch it? At first, curiosity. It's a cult classic, and the music had to be good because they did a bunch of it on Glee. So I got as comfortable as I could, and watched it.

The acting in the beginning was humorously bad, as well as the setting of the old castle and creepy face. Then there was a very appealing and fun song and dance number early in, and of course I was curious about the main character and the entrance.

It went downhill from there very, very fast. I can now honestly say that this is probably the worst movie I have ever seen on so many different levels. It wasn't just bad, like a normal bad movie. The plot was sick and depraved from early on and it only got worse, even when I thought it couldn't get more sick or morose or depraved. It was sicker than sick. The only reason I watched it was so I would know how truly horrible it was. It looked like it was almost set up to be a comedy, but it wasn't funny. There was even a very gruesome part with a dead body that turned my stomach late in the movie.

I watch Bones and CSI, and even though the dead/decomosing bodies they show are bad and are enough to often turn my stomach, this was different, made so much worse by the mood and presentation of the dead body, and the plot section circulating around it.

Since there are fan clubs of people who dress up and sing and dance in celebration of this movie, I kept watching thinking it had to get better, or that some character had to come up with some small redeeming trait. Nope. There was none. The characters were depraved, lewd, and ending was tragic and it was awful. There was nothing good about this movie. I didn't even have a feeling that justice was served when the depraved main character died in the end, because the movie, plot, and characters were just so horrible. When it was over my husband and I stared at the lighted globe with the closing credits scrolling in total disbelief. It wasn't scary (ie the title has the word Horror). It was sick. Very sick. There is nothing fun or funny about this movie, entirely the opposite, worse becasue the depravity is treated lightly, the presentation belittles the serious depravity of the plot and characters, deceiving the viewer. No one would make a "fun" movie like this about Clifford Robert Olsen or Robert Picton or Jack the Ripper or Charles Manson, even if they made the character ficticious. There is nothing funny or redeeming or entertaining about the actions of such people.

If you haven't seen it and have any questions, email me. I'll tell you why you shouldn't watch it. I'll also tell you why your kids should definitely not watch it.

Pumpkins, and more

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada, which set me thinking to all sorts of things. Rather than give the usual list of things I'm thankful for, or a lecture on why we should be thankful for our blessings every day (which I am, by the way), I thought I'd do something different.

While the season has changed from summer to fall, I think the time around Thanksgiving is when we can definitely see that winter is coming. I know Americans have a later thanksgiving, and by then winter is definitely more upon us.

I wanted to blog about pumpkins.

On our dog walk today, my husband and dogs and I walked past the local pumpkin patch. What a business they have! Over the years they have changed their marketing. When my kids were little they were running a small day trip for preschoolers and primary students - a tour of a pumpkin patch, a hay ride, and a petting zoo, and at the end the children went into the field and got a pumpkin. Let me tell you, for the price of the admission, that was a pretty expensive pumpkin, for the size of what a 6 year old would take home. They had to pick it and carry it out of the field and to the parking area.

Now, they have a corn maze, a small store for honey and other "farm" products, crafts for sale, and more. They also don't only run it during school days, it is every day. Today is Thanksgiving Day, and the place was very busy.

Which brings me to my topic of pumpkins.

Here in Canada, this was Thanksgiving weekend, when so many families want pumpkin pie. The idea here would be that we gut the pumpkin, or whatever you call it when you scrape the innards out, and then it would have to sit for 3 weeks before you use the shell for Halloween, if you do that kind of thing. Actually, I've only used a real pumpkin once for pies, I've always used canned pumpkin. That aside, I can't imagine having a pumpking shell around for 3 weeks waiting for Haloween. Wouldn't it get kinda stinky and gross?

For Americans, do you do the Jack O Lantern thing with your pumpkins, and save the guts for your pies to use on your Thanksgiving, which is about four weeks after Halloween. So it's the other way around. Does it last until pie making time?

Or you can do what I have done for the last dozen years. Buy the pie at the supermarket, and hang a rubber spider by the door. All problems solved.