Please Don't Eat My Mother

Rating:
Summary: Little Shop of Voyeurs, Full-Frontal Spoof
Review: A shy and timid man who lives with his mother (and resembles Mel Brooks) buys a plant he thinks talked to him. His loneliness is very apparent in the way he tries to turn the plant into a friend. Well, the plant is carnivorous and can talk with a woman's sexy voice.

Henry, our protagonist, now has two joys in life. One is being a voyeur (he is much too shy to actual talk to a girl) and the other is his new plant friend. Soon he discovers the plant likes bugs (and then frogs and dogs and cats but he draws the line at elephants). Eventually the plant wants to try a delicious woman, like in the pictures Henry has hanging in his room.

One day Henry's mother breaks into his room thinking to confront him with a woman and all she can find are Henry and the plant. But soon the plant eats her and discovers that woman are really tasty. When detective O'Columbus shows up, the plant discovers she does not like eating men, just women.

Eventually the plant experiences urges and Henry finds a male specimen. The male eats men while the female eats women. One woman is willing to end Henry's life of virginity but accidently gets eaten. Henry is broken and tries to kill himself while the plants get passionate with one another. Henry is to clumsy to succeed and changes his mind when he sees all of the little baby plants.

Some aspects of this movie are a direct spoof of Roger Corman's Little Shop of Horrors while others seem to have been spoofed by the musical remake.

But spoof aside, this is a fun and titillating film. Henry is excellent in his role and has facial expressions to rival the best silent-film star. The main plot is peppered with scenes of couples having sex with some graphic full-frontal shots although no pornography.

A funny and titillating film for fans of spoofs, comedies and sexpoitation.

Rating:
Summary: Little Shop of Voyeurs, Full-Frontal Spoof
Review: A shy and timid man who lives with his mother (and resembles Mel Brooks) buys a plant he thinks talked to him. His loneliness is very apparent in the way he tries to turn the plant into a friend. Well, the plant is carnivorous and can talk with a woman's sexy voice.

Henry, our protagonist, now has two joys in life. One is being a voyeur (he is much too shy to actual talk to a girl) and the other is his new plant friend. Soon he discovers the plant likes bugs (and then frogs and dogs and cats but he draws the line at elephants). Eventually the plant wants to try a delicious woman, like in the pictures Henry has hanging in his room.

One day Henry's mother breaks into his room thinking to confront him with a woman and all she can find are Henry and the plant. But soon the plant eats her and discovers that woman are really tasty. When detective O'Columbus shows up, the plant discovers she does not like eating men, just women.

Eventually the plant experiences urges and Henry finds a male specimen. The male eats men while the female eats women. One woman is willing to end Henry's life of virginity but accidently gets eaten. Henry is broken and tries to kill himself while the plants get passionate with one another. Henry is to clumsy to succeed and changes his mind when he sees all of the little baby plants.

Some aspects of this movie are a direct spoof of Roger Corman's Little Shop of Horrors while others seem to have been spoofed by the musical remake.

But spoof aside, this is a fun and titillating film. Henry is excellent in his role and has facial expressions to rival the best silent-film star. The main plot is peppered with scenes of couples having sex with some graphic full-frontal shots although no pornography.

A funny and titillating film for fans of spoofs, comedies and sexpoitation.

Rating:
Summary: "You're A Homo Sapien And I'm A Fibro-Vascular Bundle."
Review: I normally like Something Weird DVDs, but I will make an exception for "Please Don't Eat My Mother" (also known as "Glump", "The Hungry Pets", "Glump and the Hungry Pets", and "Gulp") which is more amusing in concept as a spoof of "Little Shop of Horrors" than in actual execution. Buck Kartalian plays a voyeuristic horticulturist who still lives with his extremely annoying Mother. Although I had heard of this film for years, and understood that it was a risque comedy spoof of "Little Shop of Horrors", I personally feels it crosses the line into "adult entertainment", which I really didn't like. In the bonus commentary track, Producer Harry Novak says that the film was released as a general adults-only release. Whatever. This is a semantic case of "a rose by any other name" if ever there was one. Let's put it this way: this film is definitely not for minors. In fact, the primary lesson this film teaches us is that voyeurism and carnivorous plants don't mix. Now you know.

I would be able to overlook some of the faults, but the problem here is that the film is tedious, long (97 minutes), and the script, Director, and cast all conspire to doom it to failure. Those of you who were interested in the pretty women, save your money: there is exactly one attractive woman in the film, and she is always hidden behind a tree. I gave the film two stars for the hair styles and the clothes, which made me laugh when nothing else in the film could.

Unlike most Something Weird DVDs, this one doesn't have a second feature, so I expected some great extras. I actually feel profoundly ripped off: all you get is a commentary track with Producer Harry Novak, a tour of Novak's film repository (Warning: This short is for diehard fans of Novak only!) which is clearly filler, and two short films which cross into the category of creepily sleazy. I was particularly unamused with the short titled "The Voyeur" starring Kartalian once again in an even less appealing role than as Henry Fudd in "Please Don't Eat My Mother".

Although I gave the film two stars (mostly for the hair), I don't recommend this movie.


Rating:
Summary: Tantillating
Review: In 1972, Harry Novak produced this softcore sex comedy, loosely based on Roger Corman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Novak's version is a far cry from the earlier picture. There's a talking, man-eating plant, and a nebbish who lives with his mom and feeds people to the hungry plant, but otherwise the pictures are quite dissimilar. Corman's film is silly/funny, Novak's is silly/sexy. The main character in PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER is a voyeur who unwittingly purchases a carnivorous plant; the anti-hero of LSOH is a nerdy horticulturist. Novak uses every opportunity to load his film with softcore sex, and the result is a watchable farce. Unfortunately, the humor falls flat (although Kartalian himself is funny-looking) and, at 97 minutes, the film seems interminable. It isn't half as funny or as clever as LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

The DVD is put together with great care and affection. The source print for PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER is incredibly fine, considering its age and the quality of the production. In a section called "Super Sleazy Extras" there are trailers for the film and several other Novak productions, a couple of short features (one called "The Voyeur," designed as a spin-off of the main feature), and a very amusing commentary track with Novak and Mike Vraney of Something Weird Video. Listening to Novak talk about his movies, his philosophy of film making, distribution and promotion, and the various people he's known over the years is a real pleasure.

For mindless, "tantillating" (Novak's word) entertainment, look no further than PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER.

Rating:
Summary: Tantillating
Review: In 1972, Harry Novak produced this softcore sex comedy, loosely based on Roger Corman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Novak's version is a far cry from the earlier picture. There's a talking, man-eating plant, and a nebbish who lives with his mom and feeds people to the hungry plant, but otherwise the pictures are quite dissimilar. Corman's film is silly/funny, Novak's is silly/sexy. The main character in PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER is a voyeur who unwittingly purchases a carnivorous plant; the anti-hero of LSOH is a nerdy horticulturist. Novak uses every opportunity to load his film with softcore sex, and the result is a watchable farce. Unfortunately, the humor falls flat (although Kartalian himself is funny-looking) and, at 97 minutes, the film seems interminable. It isn't half as funny or as clever as LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.

The DVD is put together with great care and affection. The source print for PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER is incredibly fine, considering its age and the quality of the production. In a section called "Super Sleazy Extras" there are trailers for the film and several other Novak productions, a couple of short features (one called "The Voyeur," designed as a spin-off of the main feature), and a very amusing commentary track with Novak and Mike Vraney of Something Weird Video. Listening to Novak talk about his movies, his philosophy of film making, distribution and promotion, and the various people he's known over the years is a real pleasure.

For mindless, "tantillating" (Novak's word) entertainment, look no further than PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER.

Rating:
Summary: Good stuff, but loses points for deception
Review: The rest of the reviews here already state most of the details (story, extras, etc.), so I won't rehash it yet again. I wanted to see this flick since I was about 12 or 13, so I am pleased to not only get the opportunity to see it, but to own it (and the extras, which really matter to me). But that is where it loses points, too. Apparently, the pressbook art that is displayed from the Extras menu is supposed to be accompanied by "Radio Rarities", or radio spots from the theatrical release. Instead, we hear the audio tracks for the trailers of PDEMM and The Hungry Pets (same film, alternate release title). Considering the meticulous detail on restoring these films, shorts, trailers, etc., I find it impossible to believe anyone involved believed these to be radio spots, so identifying them as such is simply a lie. Somewhere, real radio spots exist, though.

Also, I'm not crazy about Keep Cases, since they damage too easily, but that's just a quibble. Considering the fact that this Novac restoration did not include a second feature, as most of the Boxoffice International/SWV restorations have, I expected better extras. They could have included more trailers, for example. The SWV Raids Harry Novac's Film Vaults is an interesting piece of filler that will only appeal to hardcore fans. Thumbs up for using the original poster art on the cover, rather than the lame tripe used on most DVD covers that try to employ modern style art with photos of cast members.

Aside from those notations, I'm still happy with the purchase. A great period piece that belongs in every library of collectors of Novac, Meyer, and their ilk.

Rating:
Summary: The movie is OK...the extras get 5 stars!!!
Review: This a terrible movie but a terrific DVD! The movie is so bad you may want to skip it and move on to the extras. The trailer for "Street of a Thousand Pleasures" is worth the price of this DVD. Add to that the short flick, "The Voyeur" and you have a double feature (excluding the main attraction)...or should I call that the main distraction? "Please Don't Eat My Mother" is a low budget spin-off of the popular film and stage production "Little Shop of Horrors". But don't let that fool you. The only resemblance between the two is a flesh-eating plant. This one has plenty of real flesh...shapely girls from the early 70's, but "Something Weird Video" has many others far more creative, rewarding...and sexy. There's even another extra featuring porn star Rene Bond. It is shot in black and white and is called "Bound". It appears to be one of (if not) her first films. If you like the "Something Weird" legacy, add this to your collection. Its historical value of softcore beauty is best appreciated by the fact that all of the women are natural...no plastic endowments.

Rating:
Summary: Nudity and Nyuks!
Review: This little parody of Little Shop of Horrors is great light entertainment for those who enjoy nudity and laughs. The acting is appropriately comical and decent for this type of film. The women look very nice except for the ... girl towards the end of the picture ... Cute face though. I enjoyed the lead actor's facial expressions in reaction to the events going on. Those who require a lot of substance in their movies will be disappointed, but probably wouldn't consider watching this anyway. My only complaint is that some of the softcore sex scenes run a little long and start to get boring. Young adolescent boys would probably love this movie but it may be a little strong for some parents' tastes. Kick back with some buddies and enjoy because this kind of pure fun will not be found at any public venue in this day and age. That's too bad, but at least there are companies like SWV that will do these titles justice and re-release them with the respect they deserve so that others can relive these kind of movies or discover them for the first time.

Rating:
Summary: Nudity and Nyuks!
Review: This little parody of Little Shop of Horrors is great light entertainment for those who enjoy nudity and laughs. The acting is appropriately comical and decent for this type of film. The women look very nice except for the ... girl towards the end of the picture ... Cute face though. I enjoyed the lead actor's facial expressions in reaction to the events going on. Those who require a lot of substance in their movies will be disappointed, but probably wouldn't consider watching this anyway. My only complaint is that some of the softcore sex scenes run a little long and start to get boring. Young adolescent boys would probably love this movie but it may be a little strong for some parents' tastes. Kick back with some buddies and enjoy because this kind of pure fun will not be found at any public venue in this day and age. That's too bad, but at least there are companies like SWV that will do these titles justice and re-release them with the respect they deserve so that others can relive these kind of movies or discover them for the first time.