Movie Review: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Stars: 2 out of 5
Pros: Good acting; fun songs with clever lines

Cons: Too dark; Orin

The Bottom Line:

Too dark for my tastes

Despite being musical

Wish I had liked it

Plant 9 From Outer Space

I'd heard lots of things about the musical Little Shop of Horrors. I knew it had a cult following and was supposed to be a comedy. Well, I didn't find the comedy and the cult can have it as far as I am concerned.

Things are not going well at Mr. Mushnik's (Vincent Gardenia) flower shop. He has had no customers for the longest time. In fact, he can hardly afford to keep paying his two employees, plant nerd Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis) and cashier Audrey (Ellen Greene). Seymour, meanwhile, has a crush on Audrey, but she is currently dating a sadistic dentist named Orin (Steve Martin).

Everything changes after an unexpected eclipse of the sun. Seymour finds an unusual plant. Naming it Audrey II (voiced by Levi Stubbs but played by a series of puppets), he places it in the shop window. Almost immediately, it starts to draw in customers.

However, Seymour discovers a serious problem. It requires human blood to live. And the more he feeds it, the more it starts to grow. What will happen when the blood from a cut finger no longer satisfies Audrey II?

This film certainly had its moments. More then half the film is music, and there are some very clever lines and puns in the lyrics. The Motown feel to the songs was fun. While a musical, there aren't any big show stopping productions numbers. Of course, how many could you really have in a film that is just over an hour and a half?

The acting is also equally good. Rick Moranis is perfect as the nerdy Seymour. Some will find Ellen Greene's voice and New York accent grating, but I got used to them quickly. But the standout is Steve Martin as Orin. Even though the character is pure evil, Steve shines in the part. And his black hair (yes, you read that right) and accents are a funny send up of Elvis.

BTW, did I mention that even though this film was made in the 80's, it's set in the 50's? The constant references to that decade were fun. I had to laugh as Audrey sang of wanting to spend an evening watching things on a giant "12 inch TV" while I watched her on my 42" TV. My, how times have changed.

So, this is sounding like a positive review, right? Sorry, it's not supposed to at all. See, the problem with the movie is the tone. It's trying to be a dark comedy. But it isn't. While there were some great one liners, I found the overall tone way too dark. This felt like more of a horror film then a dark comedy to me.

Plus there's Orin. As much as I loved Steve Martin's performance, every scene he was in made me wince. If you don't have a fear of dentists, this is enough to give you one.

Now don't misunderstand this next part. I don't mine my heroes flawed, but I do feel like I need someone to root for. Here, I never found that person. Seymour and Audrey were too weak, and they are supposed to be our heroes. Since I really didn't care what happened to them, I never got pulled into the film.

As much as I love musicals, this I will not be adding Little Shop of Horrors to my collection. Do yourself a favor and hurry on by before Audrey II gets you.