Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Little Shop of Horrors
Directed by Frank Oz
Written by Howard Ashman based on his musical play and the film “The Little Shop of Horrors” by Roger Corman and Charles D. Griffith
1986/USA
The Geffen Company
Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Audrey II: [singing] Feed me, Seymour / Feed me all night long – That’s right, boy! – You can do it! Feed me, Seymour / Feed me all night long / Ha ha ha ha ha! / Cause if you feed me, Seymour / I can grow up big and strong.[/box]

Corman’s original was made in 2 1/2 days for a budget of $22,500.  Multiply the budget by 1,000, add color and music you get even more fun!

The film is framed by a “Greek Chorus” consisting of a 60’s style girl group that comments on the action.  The plot of the  has been considerably fleshed out to include an origin story and new relationships.  Seymour (Rick Moranis) discovers the plant at a Chinese herbalist’s shop after a total eclipse of the sun.  He names it Audrey II after his crush, Audrey, the clerk at Skid Row florist shop where we works.

In this version, Audrey is dating the sadistic dentist played here by a fantastic Steve Martin. Bill Murray takes over from Jack Nicholson as the masochistic patient and Vincent Gardenia plays Mushnik.  John Candy, James Belushi and Christopher Guest have cameos.  For me the highlight of the film is the voice of the great Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops as Audrey II.

Life has been rearing its ugly head recently and I needed some cheering up before immersing myself in further dark foreign films from 1960.  This did the trick!  I have seen the musical on stage and loved this on its theatrical release.  It was just as good yesterday. Frank Oz of Muppets fame did a brilliant job with the various growth stages of the Audrey II puppet and the songs are all quite catchy.  Warmly recommended.

Little Shop of Horrors was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Effects, Visual Effects and Best Music, Original Song (“Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ea5jKFGgUw

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