Allison Berg's documentary "Time Warp" captures a scrappy drag production of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in Wyoming, where a small-town queer theater collective battles municipal resistance to mount their show. The film screens at Outfest and presents the kind of heartfelt, character-driven storytelling that recalls Christopher Guest's mockumentary sensibility, though Berg plays it straight.
The documentary follows young LGBTQ performers as they navigate hostile local politics. A city council attempts to censor the production, creating real stakes for what could have been a light cultural curiosity. Instead, Berg uses the antagonism to explore how queer communities carve out space in conservative America. The performers' determination carries the narrative beyond novelty.
Berg's approach emphasizes earnestness over irony. These aren't subjects being mocked for audience amusement. They're young people engaging in the kind of campy, participatory theater that has defined "Rocky Horror" since 1973, now filtered through contemporary identity politics and genuine community resistance. The film respects both the art and the activists behind it.
The Wyoming setting proves crucial. Small-town queer culture operates differently than urban scenes. These performers lack the anonymity and community support networks available in coastal cities. Their production becomes an act of visibility and resistance simultaneously. Berg captures the tension between wanting to belong locally and refusing to shrink.
"Time Warp" works best when zeroing in on individual cast members, their families, and their motivations. These personal stories ground the larger conflict about artistic freedom and representation. The censorship battle provides structure, but the relationships between performers drive the emotional core.
Berg's documentary arrives in a publishing and cultural landscape increasingly concerned with LGBTQ rights and small-town America. It speaks to both without preaching. The film suggests that queer community building happens in unlikely places, often against considerable odds, and often looks like exactly what it sounds like: young people in drag performing a cult classic musical in a gym, terrifying no one but making themselves visible anyway.