Long-lost and presumed dead, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel rises from the grave at the Byrd
The Byrd was decked out in neon lights for the packed Richmond premiere of Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, an eighties-steeped “rock ’n’ roll teen horror musical” that, until recently, was thought to not even exist.
Nick Bonadies
Spectrum editor
“How many people here remember the eighties?” Style Magazine editor Jason Roop called out to the ecstatic audience at Byrd Theatre in Carytown last Monday night. “Now, how many people remember the eighties fondly?”
Needless to say, one question enjoyed a more enthusiastic response.
The Byrd was decked out in neon lights for the packed Richmond premiere of Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, an eighties-steeped “rock ’n’ roll teen horror musical” that, until recently, was thought to not even exist. After its infamously botched and cheapjack filming in downtown Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel in 1982, the film was assumed abandoned and lost forever.
Decades later, however, while researching for an article in Style Weekly, freelance writer Dale Brumfield stumbled upon a VHS tape buried in an architect’s archive room in California – marked “Rock and Roll Hotel,’ 83 mins., 1986.”
After running an exclusive cover story on the resurrected movie called “The Best Worst Movie You’ve Never Seen,” Style Weekly collaborated with the Byrd Theatre Foundation to present a special one-night showing whose proceeds would fund the theatre’s restoration and upkeep.
The Byrd has held premieres for some of the cinematic masterpieces of or generation, said Todd Schall-Vess, Byrd Manager, addressing Monday’s crowd. “This,” he said, referring to Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, “is not one of them.”
Make no mistake, Rock n Roll Hotel is a strikingly terrible movie. A unique breed of godawful. A grand buffet of facepalm-worthy continuity errors, cheesy editing tricks, overlong scenes of actors clearly forgetting their lines – and a plot, or lack thereof, like a tragically misguided attempt at a Rocky Horror Picture Show for the 1980’s.
If discovered by the greater public, this piece of Richmond underground history could achieve infamy on equal footing with John Waters’s Pink Flamingos or Ed Wood’s Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Why, then, the huge turnout on Monday? A healthy “camp” sensibility, perhaps, and the local interest of a film made right here in Richmond – but that’s only part of the reason Richmonders flocked to the Byrd to suffer together Monday night. According to Byrd Foundation president Bill Barrett, ticket sales for Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel had raised over $10,000 to restore and preserve “Richmond’s Premiere Movie Palace.”
“You have proved (to corporate backers) that this community values the Byrd Theatre,” said Barrett in a pre-movie speech.
The Byrd, which suffered financial troubles this year, undertook an array of fundraising efforts over the summer to avoid raising their well-loved $1.99 ticket prices. Besides Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel with Style Weekly, efforts have included a well-received run of “Give Richmond the Byrd” t-shirts.
“(The Byrd) is … one of our cultural assets,” said Style Weekly Arts & Culture Editor Don Harrison, in a mini-documentary shown before the movie. “We all need to do what we need to do to make sure it survives and thrives.”
As for Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel itself, the experience of a movie whose characters use “fantabulacious” without irony is multifaceted, to say the least. Audience utterances of “oh my God, no” and “seriously?” were as common as outbursts of “what?!“. The crowd laughed incredulously, often fell to groaning, and occasionally sat stoically mesmerized in what might be called utter disbelief.
To Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel’s credit, the rock ‘n’ roll itself actually drew genuine cheers from the Byrd’s audience: if you’re one given to remember the eighties fondly, the songs are pretty catchy.
The original VHS has been donated to the Valentine Richmond History Center as a “cultural treasure.” All hope is not lost for cinema masochists who missed Monday’s show: Style Weekly, according to editor Jason Roop, is exploring the idea of future showings.
Best known to moviegoers as Carytown’s $1.99-ticket “movie palace” of the past 82 years, the Byrd is no stranger to midnight movies and cult classics. On October 9th, look for a one-night screening of 1984’s Toxic Avenger, which features a mop boy-turned-superhero after falling into a vat of toxic waste.
Check out www.byrdtheatre.com for more information and upcoming showtimes. Style Weekly’s cover story from August 17, Yes, Virginia, There Is a Rock ‘n’ Roll Hotel, can be accessed on their website, www.styleweekly.com.
