Details
Movie Description
In this dark but goofy and thoroughly fun musical, shy Seymour and bubbly Audrey don't recognize the romance blooming between them, but they do recognize the money-making potential of Seymour's weird plant, discovered after a total eclipse of the sun. Soon money pours in and Seymour becomes a minor celebrity, but behind the glamour and fame lies a secret Seymour can't reveal: this strange and unusual plant's favorite food is blood. As the plant grows taller and taller, its demands for food grow as well, and Seymour starts to suspect that the plant might have an agenda for world domination.
Synopsis
Based on the Roger Corman cult classic, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS slams together twisted humor, a singing plant, a sadistic dentist, and sweet and oblivious love between two skid-row denizens into a rollicking musical well worth watching again and again. Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene portray perfectly clumsy Seymour and bubbly but easily dominated Audrey as they search for a way off skid row. A strange and unusual plant Seymour found after an eclipse might be their ticket out, but the plant Seymour calls Audrey II also desires a strange and unusual food: blood. Audrey's abusive boyfriend, Orin, a dentist who enjoys inflicting pain (played to the hilt by Steve Martin), is the first to go, but who will be next? And will Audrey II's hunger ever end?
Moranis and Greene sing with verve and passion, making each song a joy, and the cartoonish sets recall a stage musical even as Frank Oz wields the camera skillfully to make the most of the movie format. Fans of musicals shouldn't miss this movie, and nonfans will soon be converts.
Film Notes
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was originally a 1960 movie directed by Roger Corman, and became an off-Broadway stage musical before Oz's film version.
The movie originally ended with Seymour and Audrey being eaten by the plant, but preview audience's negative reaction encouraged Oz to shoot a new ending.
Levi Stubbs, who did Audrey II's voice, is a member of the Four Tops.
Industry Reviews
"...A full-blown movie musical, and quite a winning one....It's not hard to understand this good-natured material's durability..."
New York Times - p.C5 - Janet Maslin
"...[The] tech credits are excellent....[The] camerawork suggests a world like no other....On film the numbers are impressive set pieces, imaginatively staged with wonderful sets..."
Variety - Jagr.
"...Grandly loony, full-bodied and explosively funny. It's a movie that connects with its audience in a big way....The actors and lines are on target, the music has a swing and bite, the camera seems exuberant..."
Los Angeles Times - p.C1 - Michael Wilmington
"[T]he movie is one of the better movie musicals produced in our largely post-movie-musical era."
Premiere - Andy Webster (12/01/2004)
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