It’s hard to describe let alone quantify the cultural impact of a little B-movie titled THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW in 1975. Until that point, Western culture was still trying to wrestle its way out of the stiff, stodgy doldrums of the fifties and sixties, and new movements in civil rights and women’s rights were were rocking deeply embedded foundations on both sides of the Atlantic.

But the last remaining social barrier – sexuality – was still mired in old-fashioned ideas. Then TRHPS erupted like a technicolor volcano that dressed like a whore and played insanely-catchy rock music, and sexual identity would never be the same.

The film’s lasting influence comes almost entirely from Tim Curry’s jaw-dropping performance as Dr. Frank-n-Furter, a self-proclaimed “sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania.” Curry, decked out in drag queen makeup he invented for the part and his malevolent sneer, was brash, playful, and the instant epitome of sexual charisma.

I consider his first appearance onscreen to be one of the greatest entrances in movie history:

The film was made on a shoestring budget with nothing more than Curry, some brilliant songs by writer Richard O’Brien, and lots of risqué innuendo, but it has continued to transfix and influence generations for the 50 years since it was released.

Now a long-deserved official documentary will be arriving in theaters on October 3, 2025. And you can bet your hot patootie I’ll be there Opening Night, toast and rice at the ready!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) premiered 49 years ago and kicked open the solid doors of societal oppression against the burgeoning gay rights movement. It was a low-budget blast of camp, drag queen, muscle worship, and Dom/sub dynamics all wrapped up in a glam-tastic technicolor swirl.

There are two primary reasons why the film became such a landmark in the gay rights movement. First of all, the film really rocks. It has some of the best pop/rock songs ever put into a musical film, and it helped to make the film more accessible to mainstream audiences.

But the second required a bit of casting magic. Tim Curry absolutely transformed into the over-the-top main character Dr. Frank-n-Furter, an alien from Transsexual Transylvania. Curry honed and shaped the character on the stage before taking the complete creation to the big screen. There were were left spellbound by every lip curl and scrunch of his nose, his Mick Jagger-like lips constantly quivering and twisting with barely-contained lust.

Straight people might have once had an idea of what a “faggot” might be like, but they suddenly found themselves in a darkened theater with a brazenly proud and voracious faggot practically sucking their dicks through the screen. And wouldn’t you know it – people loved it!

So many faggots came to realize that their need to serve Men is something universal in faggots, that their desire is natural to them. In the film, Frank is so desperate to serve an Alpha that he makes one himself (the titular Rocky). What faggot can’t relate to that?

I’m so glad Tim Curry came along to create that character and throw himself so totally into the role. His look, style, and attitude are forever etched into popular culture, and especially into the hearts of the generations of faggots he inspired.

Now if I could only learn to dance in high heels!!