Cult Flops - Little Shop of Horrors

Warner Bros, 1986
Starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, and Steve Martin
Directed by Frank Oz
Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman

Our next scare-fest comes to us from off-Broadway. This goofy comedy was not without its filming problems, including a totally re-shot ending. How does the original version look now? Let's head to Skid Row, where a black girl-group chorus is introducing us to the concept and the residents of the street, and find out...

The Story: Seymour Krelbourn (Moranis) works in a low-rent flower shop on Skid Row that's about to go under. Desperate to save his job and that of his crush Audrey (Greene), he brings out an "exotic" fly trap-like plant he's been nurturing and puts it in the window. He named the plant Audrey II (voice of Levi Stubbs) after the woman he loves. Turns out Audrey has no interest in flies. He wants blood, the fresher, the better. He thinks he's found a perfect candidate in Audrey I's obnoxious laughing gas-sniffing dentist boyfriend Orin (Martin). Pretty soon, Audrey II's popularity is spreading, even as the police investigate Orin's disappearance. Now Seymour has to stop Audrey II from gobbling everything in sight, before the fiendish flytrap can execute its plan for world domination!

The Song and Dance: I've never been the biggest horror fan, and this was still one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. Hilarious performances all around, especially from Moranis as the nebbish florist who just wants to impress his girl and Martin as the sadistic dentist we've all had nightmares about. The cameos that pop up add to the fun, including Bill Murray as a pain-loving patient and John Candy as a radio talk show host.

Even to this day, the Audrey II puppet still looks awesome. You really believe this is a talking plant out to eat its way across the planet. I'm not surprised the movie got an Oscar nomination for Visual Effects.

Favorite Number: Seymour gets two great solos, "Da Doo" as he explains how he aquired Audrey II, and "Grow for Me" when he's trying to figure out what to feed it to make it get bigger. The human Audrey explains what she really wants - a typical home with her true love - in "Somewhere That's Green" and gets an impassioned duet with said crush towards the end, "Suddenly Seymour." The girl group chorus opens the film in vigorous fashion with the dynamic title song and join Orin as he explains how much he loves his job in "Dentist!"

The movie's coolest number was written for the film. Audrey II reveals that he's a "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space" in the finale as he tells Seymour how he and his sprouts plan on conquering the Earth. The puppeteering work on those tiny sprouts and the action-packed final routine is beautifully done.

Trivia: The original off-Broadway show debuted in 1982 and was a huge hit, running five years. While the London version didn't run quite that long, it still did fairly well in a larger theater, running three years. A Broadway version in 2003 didn't do quite as well, running a year. Greene was Audrey in the original run, as well as in a critically acclaimed Encore! concert in 2015.

The original ending had Audrey II eating Seymour and Audrey I and running amok in New York, eventually ending up on top of the Statue of Liberty. There was also a longer "Meek Shall Inherit" montage, with an elaborate dream sequence for Seymour. Both were cut after negative test screenings and thought lost until 2012, when work in progress reels were found and restored for DVD.

A disappointment in the theater, the movie was a top-seller when it came out on video. A short-lived cartoon based on this film and the original 1960 Roger Corman movie debuted in 1991.

What I Don't Like: Although I don't really have problems the current ending, many people find it too be too sentimental, going against the grain of the mostly satirical and relatively dark film. I can't help but wonder what would have happened if they'd stuck to Oz's original vision and stuck to the scarier finale.

Several songs from the original show were cut, including the one that went along with that darker ending, "Don't Feed the Plants."

The Big Finale: I loved this movie as a child, and it's every bit as enjoyable today. If you're looking for something that's scary and yet very funny, with a terrific cast and still-impressive special effects, you'll want to head downtown and check this one out.

Home Media: The original theatrical version that I reviewed and the "director's cut" with the original ending are widely available in all formats.

DVD
DVD - The Director's Cut
Blu-Ray - The Director's Cut
Amazon Prime