The Rocky Horror Picture Show Chronicle" John Wasserman, who had liked the stage play in London, found the film "lacking both charm and dramatic impact". "Newsweek" called the film "tasteless, plotless and pointless" in 1978. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 80% based on 41 reviews, with the critical consensus reading ""Rocky Horror Picture Show" brings its quirky characters in tight, but it's the narrative thrust that really drives audiences insane and keeps 'em doing the time warp again". A number of contemporary critics find it compelling and enjoyable because of its offbeat and bizarre qualities; the BBC summarised: "for
The Rocky Horror Picture Show was able to talk distributors into midnight screenings, starting in New York City on April Fools' Day of 1976. The cult following started shortly after the film began its midnight run at the Waverly Theater in New York City., then spread to other counties in NYC, and to Uniondale, L.I. "Rocky Horror" was not only found in the larger cities but throughout the United States where many attendees would get in free if they arrived in costume. The western division of the film's release included the U.A. Cinemas in Fresno and Merced, the Cinema J. in Sacramento, California, and the