Other Titles • Little Shop of Horrors • Der Kleine Horrorladen (1987)
Synopses for Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
1.
The off-Broadway comedy-horror-musical hit that ran for years makes a successful transfer to film with a bevy of big-name cameos and two perfectly cast leads. Rick Moranis is the nebbish Seymour, who pines for flower-girl Audrey (Ellen Greene) while living in the basement of florist Mr. Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia). Things start turning around for Seymour, though, after he buys a little plant during a solar eclipse, christens it Audrey II, and discovers that it likes to drink blood. Soon enough, though, Seymour finds out that Audrey II, now grown to epic proportions, is in actuality a "mean green mother from outer space" that is hell-bent on world domination. Based on the 1960 Roger Corman cheapie that featured a young Jack Nicholson, Little Shop boasts a hilarious, amazing score by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who would go on to revitalize Disney's animation arm with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Greene, the lone holdover from the original cast, is a ravishing, goofy Audrey, whose awkward demeanor belies a voice that could knock Ethel Merman off her feet. She's ably matched by Moranis, whose lack of a singing voice is perfectly in sync with Seymour's nerdiness. And Levi Stubbs Jr. of the Four Tops provides the lowdown, nasty-minded voice of Audrey II; his rendition of the Oscar-nominated "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" is a showstopper. As for those celebrity cameos, Steve Martin's sadistic dentist is a masterful creation, as is Bill Murray's masochistic patient; John Candy, James Belushi, and Christopher Guest also pop up. And there was never a lovelier and funkier Greek chorus than the three Motown-fueled girls (Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, and Tisha Campbell) who appear throughout the film. --Mark Englehart
2.
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.
3.
Business blooms at Mushnik's Flower Shop when an exotic potted plant called Audrey II arrives. It turns out to be a carnivorous "mean, green mother from outer space," filling that little shop with lotsa horrors.
Little Shop Of Horrors first flowered in a low-budget 1960 Roger Corman movie, resprouted as a smash 1980 off-Broadway musical and now comes full circle in this 1986 movie musical adaptation of the stage hit with a score by multiple Academy Award winners Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.
An all-star cast of comedy pros spreads tentacles of pleasure. And this DVD is packed with new and never-before-seen extras.
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