Dammit, Janet!
Encyclopedia
"Dammit Janet" is a song/musical number in the original 1973 British musical stage production, The Rocky Horror Show
as well as its 1975 film
counterpart The Rocky Horror Picture Show
, book, music and lyrics by Richard O'Brien
, musical arrangements by Richard Hartley
.
The number provides well known audiences participation moments and has entered the pop culture lexicon through the often quoted phrase, "Dammit, Janet!"
" characters themselves. Brad and Janet are portrayed as sexually uptight. The song is performed in this deliberate awkwardness, setting up the characters as naive and innocent. The scene is reminiscent of the opening scene to "Night of the Living Dead". Several comparisons to the latter film with Rocky Horror have been made by authors such as Roberta E. Pearson and Philip Simpson in their book, "Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory", as well as J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum in the book, "Midnight Movies". Costumes for the two characters in this scene are nearly identical to those of the two main characters from the film "What's Up Doc".
The song is an awkward musical marriage proposal by Brad to Janet, after both have attended the wedding of two high school friends, just before setting off to visit their high school science teacher. The music for the song exaggerates the Rock-N-Roll tendency to repeat simple chord progressions.
A notable aspect of the film production for this number is the cemetery next to the church with a billboard in the distance for comical effect. It depicts a large heart with an arrow through it with the words, "Denton, the Home of Happiness". Brad and Janet stand on opposite sides of the screen with the cemetery in the background and the billboard far in the back, but directly between each character as the song begins.
Beginning in an awkward and uncertain proclamation by Brad that he "Has Something to say". Janet awaits, clutching the bridal bouquet she just caught. In musical rhythm he tells Janet that he really loves "The Skillful Way" she beat the other girls to the bride's bouquet.
He professes his love with metaphors of deep rivers and the future all accompanied by the church staff dressed exactly as characters from the classic painting "American Gothic
" by Grant Wood
. The back up throughout the stage play was a cast of "Chorus" singers credited as "Phantoms".
The scene in the movie begins to change. As the number progresses, we follow the couple into the church while the caretaker and staff begin to prepare for a funeral. They spin the white flower arrangements around to show that they are black on the other side, and a casket is carried in and place in front of them just as they kiss.
Along with the characters of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the phrase "Dammit, Janet!" has entered the pop culture lexicon. The phrase has become so ingrained in society that thirty years after first singing the song for the film, American actor Barry Bostwick
told an interviewer "For as long as I live, people will be coming up to me and asking me to say, "Dammit, Janet. I love you."
entitled Damn It Janet. Four years later, Australian musical artists Pants & Corset released an Audio CD
entitled, Dammit Janet. Also in 2000, 20th Century Fox
licensed a greeting card featuring the signature lip logo of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on the cover and a picture in the inside of Brad holding Janet and saying, Dammit, Janet! Pull yourself together. It's only a birthday card! Happy Birthday, you . . . you monster!
"Dammit Janet" was also the name of an episode of Family Guy; in which Stewie falls in love with a girl in his preschool class named Janet.
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
as well as its 1975 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
counterpart The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
, book, music and lyrics by Richard O'Brien
Richard O'Brien
Richard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...
, musical arrangements by Richard Hartley
Richard Hartley
Richard Hartley is a British composer.His work is extensive and varied, including musical arrangement for theatre and many scores for television and film. In the 1970s he began a long association with Richard O'Brien. Hartley was originally part of the four-piece band for the Rocky Horror Show. ...
.
The number provides well known audiences participation moments and has entered the pop culture lexicon through the often quoted phrase, "Dammit, Janet!"
Overview
The first scene of both the stage production and film open to a wedding scene with the two main characters, Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, in attendance. In the motion picture, a repressive Gothic setting, backs up the young couple in their chorus with the "American GothicAmerican Gothic
American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood's inspiration came from a cottage designed in the Gothic Revival style with a distinctive upper window and a decision to paint the house along with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that...
" characters themselves. Brad and Janet are portrayed as sexually uptight. The song is performed in this deliberate awkwardness, setting up the characters as naive and innocent. The scene is reminiscent of the opening scene to "Night of the Living Dead". Several comparisons to the latter film with Rocky Horror have been made by authors such as Roberta E. Pearson and Philip Simpson in their book, "Critical Dictionary of Film and Television Theory", as well as J. Hoberman and Jonathan Rosenbaum in the book, "Midnight Movies". Costumes for the two characters in this scene are nearly identical to those of the two main characters from the film "What's Up Doc".
The song is an awkward musical marriage proposal by Brad to Janet, after both have attended the wedding of two high school friends, just before setting off to visit their high school science teacher. The music for the song exaggerates the Rock-N-Roll tendency to repeat simple chord progressions.
Musical Number
Dammit Janet is the second number in the stage production following the prologue, and is performed as a duet. Act One, Scene 1 opens directly to Brad and Janet as they are waving goodbye to newly wedded friends, Ralph and Betty Hapschatt. For the film the exterior location used was an American style small town church. The original film script refers to it as the Denton Catholic Church, but as seen in the final film, it is the Denton Episcopal Church.A notable aspect of the film production for this number is the cemetery next to the church with a billboard in the distance for comical effect. It depicts a large heart with an arrow through it with the words, "Denton, the Home of Happiness". Brad and Janet stand on opposite sides of the screen with the cemetery in the background and the billboard far in the back, but directly between each character as the song begins.
Beginning in an awkward and uncertain proclamation by Brad that he "Has Something to say". Janet awaits, clutching the bridal bouquet she just caught. In musical rhythm he tells Janet that he really loves "The Skillful Way" she beat the other girls to the bride's bouquet.
He professes his love with metaphors of deep rivers and the future all accompanied by the church staff dressed exactly as characters from the classic painting "American Gothic
American Gothic
American Gothic is a painting by Grant Wood, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Wood's inspiration came from a cottage designed in the Gothic Revival style with a distinctive upper window and a decision to paint the house along with "the kind of people I fancied should live in that...
" by Grant Wood
Grant Wood
Grant DeVolson Wood was an American painter, born four miles east of Anamosa, Iowa. He is best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest, particularly the painting American Gothic, an iconic image of the 20th century.- Life and career :His family moved to Cedar Rapids after his...
. The back up throughout the stage play was a cast of "Chorus" singers credited as "Phantoms".
The scene in the movie begins to change. As the number progresses, we follow the couple into the church while the caretaker and staff begin to prepare for a funeral. They spin the white flower arrangements around to show that they are black on the other side, and a casket is carried in and place in front of them just as they kiss.
Reception
The song is considered to be one of the top "heartfelt" movie moments. Further, the words "Damn it, Janet" are seen as an immortal part of cinematic history.Along with the characters of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the phrase "Dammit, Janet!" has entered the pop culture lexicon. The phrase has become so ingrained in society that thirty years after first singing the song for the film, American actor Barry Bostwick
Barry Bostwick
Barry Knapp Bostwick is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Brad Majors in the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, replacing Peter Scolari as Mr. Tyler in the sitcom What I Like About You, and playing mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom Spin City...
told an interviewer "For as long as I live, people will be coming up to me and asking me to say, "Dammit, Janet. I love you."
In Pop Culture
In 1996, the Scottish-rooted band, Choke, released an extended play recordExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
entitled Damn It Janet. Four years later, Australian musical artists Pants & Corset released an Audio CD
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
entitled, Dammit Janet. Also in 2000, 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
licensed a greeting card featuring the signature lip logo of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on the cover and a picture in the inside of Brad holding Janet and saying, Dammit, Janet! Pull yourself together. It's only a birthday card! Happy Birthday, you . . . you monster!
"Dammit Janet" was also the name of an episode of Family Guy; in which Stewie falls in love with a girl in his preschool class named Janet.