Rating: 
Summary: Flowers bloom for SKID ROW!
Review: Little Shop Of Horrors is a fantastic movie. With the musical/lyrical duo Alan Menken & Howard Ashman taking control there's hardly much to worry about! A fantasic performance by Rick Moranis (much better than Honey I shrunk the Kids!) he also has a surprisingly good voice! With the highlight songs being "Feed Me", "Mean Green Mother" and "Dentist" the musical version of the classic dark comedy will get you itching for it to finish so you can watch it all over again! One of the funniest parts of the film has to be seeing Steve Martin so young! It's worth buying just for that! If you know the story I recomend it; if you don't I still recomend it! So....what are you waiting for!
Rating: 
Summary: Movie musical magic!
Review: In 1982, Broadway released a play called "Little Shop of Horrors," that had audiences applauding for more. In 1984, Roger Corman legend decided to take the worst idea ever of making "Little Shop of Horrors" into a movie in less than two days! Becoming the best known movie as the worse film in recent history. A couple years later, in 1986, "Little Shop of Horrors" become a movie musical phenomenon. Turning this worse idea into one of the greatest things that could possibly happen in cinema history. A movie musical that could surely having you getting up on your feet and dancing to the music. (I know that is what I did when I just *had* to go out and by the soundtrack from the motion picture!) The new impoved camera angles and music makes you really feel something for the characters and makes you want to watch it over and over again. I haven't been able to stop watching since I first ordered from Amazon.com! I know I've watched it more than ten times at least, I can't really remember now, I lost count after the fourth time viewing the DVD, and have gotten most of the songs memorized. My personal favorite song is the new one that was included in the film that wasn't in the original Broadway show called, "Mean Green Mother From Outerspace." It just has a really feel good hard rock beat to it. Loved it, loved it, loved it! Also, other stand out songs that I should mention is: "Little Shop of Horrors," "Skid Row (Downtown)," "Dentist!," "Suddenly Seymour," and "Suppertime." Wonderfully sung songs that would have getting up off your feet and singing along with the music. So, having this worst idea in cinema history, is now the greatest thing t o happen in cinema history. The most remarkable scene that is remembered mostly is the Steve Martin character, the dentist. He does a hilarious appearence as the demented dentist, really putting feeling into his character so that when his death scene comes up, you don't really need to feel sorry for the character. Which I was glad that the bastard died in the first place, because he was just getting on my nervers. Yet, Steve delievers that perfectly to the audience. Also, the backup singers did a tremdous job in the film, I might would like to point out. Without them, we would just have a story about a singing plant, a daring hero, a sweet girl, and a demented dentist. But these gals really can sing and light up the picture, even in a dark moment in the picture. So, regardless if this a musical, "Little Shop of Horrors" is a great film everyone should see over and over again.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Great Film it Could Have Been
Review: Little Shop of Horrors is the definitive modern musical comedy. The music, as written by Alan Menkin, is melodic and beautiful, with some of the best lyrics in recent memory. The pacing is quick, with sharp directing by Frank Oz and great comedic performances by Steve Martin, Ellen Greene, and Rick Moranis (and the very over-rated Bill Murray, in a painfully extended cameo as a masochistic dental patient). The film knows that it isn't art, or thought-provoking, which is what keeps it from being truly campy. But what prevents it from being great is the extremely controversial, oft-discussed original ending.
In the play, Audrey and Seymour are eaten by Audrey II, and the Greek Chorus sings a cautionary song to the audience. In the movie, Audrey survives, Seymour electrocutes Audrey II, and they all live happily ever after. It wasn't always so, however. Oz had filmed the play's ending, but in test screenings, the audience was angry and appalled, so Oz opted to reshoot the film for the ending as it is.
In 1998. a Special Edition DVD was released with a VERY rough cut of the original ending, but it was pulled from the shelves by the producer after only two days. A second release DVD came out in 2000, sans original ending. The first issue DVD has become a collector's item of the highest degree, often selling at online auction sites for upwards of $100.
Well, I own that first issue DVD, and having seen what the film could have been, I can't rate it higher than 3 stars. In that ending, Audrey's death is handled with dramatic emotion now absent from the film, never playing for laughs. There is a breathtaking Death March (Now available on the New Broadway Cast Album) as Seymour carries her body to Audrey II. Seymour undergoes a psychological spiral within minutes, before being devoured by the plant. And during the finale, "Don't Feed the Plants," many enormous Audrey II's are shown wrecking havoc on a devastated New York City, blowing up cinemas, eating trains, and crushing the very symbol of our country, the Statue of Liberty (sort of). Had this ending been used, the film would have been a memorable masterpiece, but as is, it is merely a forgetable (if enjoyable) musical flop.
It's a shame Frank Oz surrendered his vision to please the people. I can only imagine what the ending would have been like in full technicolor on the big screen.
Let's hope for a 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition DVD in 2006 with a re-edited film containing the original ending, as promised by the producer when he had the disks puled from the shelves.
Little Shop of Horrors is a fun film, if not for younger audiences. If you have 90 minutes to spare and are a fan of musical theatre, check out this modern classic-that-should-have-been, about a singing plant, a daring hero, a sweet girl, and a demented dentist.
Rating:
Summary: a surprisingly good musical!
Review: A film by Frank Oz"Little Shop of Horrors" is the sort of movie that I did not expect to like when I started watching it. I remember seeing bits and pieces of the movie when I was a child, and to be honest, the talking plant kind of freaked me out. So, while the talking plant is still a little freaky, I was surprised that I actually liked the movie as much as I did. "Little Shop of Horrors" is a comedy/musical based on a stage play that was based on an older horror movie of the same title. It's also a good movie. Seymour (Rick Moranis) is a timid, mousy man working at florist's shop for Mr Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia). He is afraid to speak up or really express his feelings for his co-worker, Audrey (Ellen Greene). We see in a flashback how Seymour acquires a peculiar plant which he calls Audrey II (voiced by Levi Stubbs from the Four Tops) and puts it in the front window of the store. Immediately business picks up and this plant becomes a huge attraction. Seymour takes care of the plant, feeding it with his own blood (from his fingers), it is the only thing the plant will eat. When it grows it begins to speak and the first thing it says is "feed me, Seymour". Audrey II wants to eat...the plant wants flesh and blood. Seymour doesn't want to kill anyone to feed Audrey II, but the plant is insistent. It isn't until Seymour sees how Audrey's boyfriend Orin Scrivello (Steve Martin), a dentist, treats her that he begins to think that he can feed Audrey II. As the movie continues, Audrey II gains more and more media attention and Seymour is invited on talk shows and is on the cover of magazines but he is still dealing with the fact that Audrey II needs to keep feeding. This is a strange premise for a movie, and it is, in fact, a strange movie. The songs are quite good and well sung (I'm partial to "Suddenly Seymour"), and this is a fun movie. It is different than perhaps every other musical out there, but if you want a good movie about a talking plant that eats people, this is your film. If you just want a good musical, this is still your film. It has a strange subject, but give it a chance. It'll grow on you. Pun intended.
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest and darkest comedy/musicals of all time!
Review: There's never been a movie like "The Little Shop of Horrors" before, and there probably never will be. The film it resembles the most is undoubtedly "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," but I find it cleverer, funnier, and more enjoyable than that movie, if still as sick in its own twisted little way. The movie stars Rick Moranis in the role he was born to play: that of a geeky and timid New York City kid named Seymour, who works at a crummy florist shop way downtown along with Audrey (Ellen Greene), a blonde gal who sounds as if she's sucked in too much helium. Seymour is too shy to confess his love for Audrey, and his only way of dropping a hint is when he finds a mysterious plant at another flower shop and names it Audrey II. "I hope you don't mind," he tells her, and then he drops it by the front window of the store in hopes of drawing customers. It does. The first customer (Christopher Guest) enters with a cheerfully stupid grin and buys $50 worth of roses. "Do you have change for a hundred?" he asks. They don't. "Oh, well, then I guess I'll just have to buy one hundred dollars' worth!" Business starts to boom, and the plant starts to bloom, turning into a ferocious man-eater that demands a sacrifice of human blood from Seymour to crave its hunger. After a few weeks, Seymour is bone dry, unable to slice any more fingers open and feed his gargantuan plant. "Feed me, Seymour!" the talking plant bellows. Audrey has a new boyfriend who has been beating her up. He's a dentist, played by Steve Martin, and as he puts it, "I have a natural talent for causing people pain!" He likes to cause people intense pain, walking through his dentist's office and purposely knocking orderlies in the face with door handles and pulling teeth without applying sedatives. "Wait! I'm not numb!" a customer shouts during an introductory song. "Eh, shut up, open wide, here I come!" his dentist yells, starting to drill away. Steve Martin has played a dentist since, in the undoubtedly lesser but unjustly bashed "Novocaine" (2001). His outing as a pain-driven dentist in "The Little Shop of Horrors" is ten times better, and Martin is truly the highlight of the entire film, from the point when he is introduced riding his motorcycle to the job with a leather jacket (only to strip it off and reveal a white dentist's coat as he enters his office), to the part where Seymour enters his office with a gun in hopes of killing him and feeding him to his plant. Martin doesn't get what's going on, because he's wearing a comedically oversized laughing gas mask he invented that's making him chuckle like a moron. "What are you gonna do? Shoot me? Ha!" The laughing gas kills him before Seymour musters up the emotional strength to. Seymour drags the dentist's dead body home, chops him up and feeds him to Audrey II, but this is only the start of his worries, because soon the media frenzy centered around the wonderfully odd plant starts to drive him to insanity, as he desperately tries to juggle between keeping a clean conscience and keeping away the media. Then Audrey II reveals its true intentions - to take over the world with its offspring - and Seymour decides that it's time to stop Audrey II before it gets too far. "The Little Shop of Horrors" is such a wonderfully offbeat comedy it's almost impossible to dislike. It's one of my favorite comedies, the type of odd little film that doesn't promise to be very much at all but provides a lot. Frank Oz directed the film (based on Roger Corman's classic), and it was filmed on a visibly low budget, but that's okay, because it's supposed to be that way. It's part of the fun. All the stages are obviously just that, with poorly painted backgrounds of New York City and the skyline. You can literally see the cracks in the wall where the different stages meet with each other. And it's great! It makes the movie, and the movie knows it isn't anything special. At one point, Audrey has a dream sequence of living in a nice little Brady Bunch home, and we see Seymour cutting the lawn with a lawnmower. It's so cheesy and fake that it barely meets the quality standards of a children's television show - but, once again, it helps makes the movie. The movie has tons of cameos, too, including James Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Guest, Bill Murray, et al. And if the guest stars, dark humor, and delightful direction don't interest you, perhaps the songs will - because many of them are quite good. The highlight is "Suddenly Seymour," in which Seymour and Audrey have a duet, and Audrey's voice suddenly turns from meek to booming, overpowering Seymour's lyrics and pounding the stage. This is the definition of a cult film. Everything about it just strikes you as a cult film. But whereas "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is a cult film for - in my opinion - sick people, "The Little Shop of Horrors" is a cult film for people who love comedy. It's all in good nature, with cheery little musical numbers every once and a while that are as funny as the songs in "The Blues Brothers," if not more so. But what makes the film particularly different from the rest is its deliciously dark humor - especially for a mainstream comedy like this. From the plant's adamant bloodlust to the shadowy image of Steve Martin slapping Audrey around behind a backlit stage prop, this is one of the funniest, darkest, and yet also cheerfully lightweight comedies ever.
Rating:
Summary: I hate using the word "kooky", but I guess it applies here.
Review: This really is a fun movie. How could anyone not love it? First of all, all the songs are so wonderful. Most musicals have at least one really dull musical number. But every single one in Little Shop has a cheerful energy to it. Then there is the really cool looking Audrey II. I must say, this puppet comes across with more personality than most actors. Then, of course, there is the hilarious performance by Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist. There's something about the way he plays this role that just kills me. The scene during the musical number at the dentists' office where Martin has the little boys tooth in a clamp, and he looks up at the camera with this wierd look on his face is the single funniest thing I've ever seen. And, finally, the one thing that is usually over looked is the main cast itself. Rick Moranis is charming in the role of the nerdy hero. He goes through the whole movie with this confused look on his face that just fits perfectly. And Ellen Greene as Audrey is the most adorable thing I've ever seen. And finally, the late Vincent Gardenia is wonderful as the harsh father figure to Seymour. In conclusion, this is a very enjoyable movie.
Rating:
Summary: Oz & Corman-Fabulous Musical With TONS OF SURPRISE CAMEOS!
Review: Frank Oz's masterpiece of Roger Corman's B- Schlock Horror movie of the same name. Originally produced off broadway, it had a very successful run. So... What is Hollywood to do but make it into a blockbuster with big name stars and cameos. Ellen Greene as the plucky Audrey, who also played the part on stage, Steve Martin as the sado-masochistic Dr. Orin Scrivello, DDS, Rick Moranis as the milquetoast Seymour, Vincent Gardenia as the crusty Mr. Mushnik & the voice of Levi Stubbs as the people-eating, mean green mother from outer-space, Audrey II. Bill Murray has a hilarious cameo as Arthur Denton, the pain loving dental patient. He screams CANDY BAAAAR whilst the dentist inflicts pain upon him! John Candy cameo as the radio announcer, Wink Wilkinson, Jim Belushi as Patrick Martin, Christopher Guest as the first flower shop customer. Great musical numbers from all, especially Ellen Greene who has one of the best set of pipes EVER! Great family movie with only mildly irreverent language. Happy Watching!
Rating:
Summary: Feed Me!
Review: By far, probably the second of the most funniest movies I've ever seen. Sure it has a little dark comedy in it, but it gets the job done. The actors are perfect for the job of the lame Florists, and the crazy dentist. No one could of done better. Being a fan of the stage play, I hade to see this once it came out. In fact, one of my friends starred as Audrey in the play just a couple years ago. Dorkish Seymour, Squeaky voiced Audrey, and bossy Mr. Mushnik (Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia) aren't exactly in the most ideal place for working in a flower shop. Skid Row is not the best place on earth to live, and the occupants of the run down town all on it's own will tell that in their own way. Being a plant fanatic, Seymour finds a strange flytrap looking plant seconds after an unexpected total eclipse. It seems to be attracting customers, but there's one problem, what does it eat. After an extensive search for food, Seymour is the only one who knows that the only way to feed this thing is if you open a vein. The plant soon starts to grow. And it grows, and grows, and grows. Not only does it grow, it can talk. Surely a talking plant only comes around once in a lifetime, but how is Seymour going to keep feeding it? Audreys boyfriend, an adict dentist (Steve Martin) may just look good on a silver platter for a flesh eating plant. I saw this when I was only a kid, and Steve Martin freaked me out. This is not for children. It may devastate them. Definetely for adults. A classic. Levy Stubbs was incredible as Audrey II. If they would've chosen someone else to do it, they would've failed. Instant 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: So much fun to watch
Review: I never saw the stage version, but this film is really fun to watch. If you are not into musicals, then you may not enjoy it. I happen to love musicals, so when they would break out into song you can't help but sing along. The rendition of Suddenly Seymour is so funny. Steve Martin as the crazy dentist was just cast perfectly. I really LOVE this crazy movie.
Rating:
Summary: "I am your dentist...now spit!!!"
Review: Great musical movie!! Rick Moranis and Steve Martin are at their absolute best. Ellen Greene is good, too, and that fat guy who plays Mushnik. Overall, a very good movie!!!!!
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