 A comedy, a love story and a cult classic starring a giant singing plant from outer space - what else could it be but Little Shop Of Horrors? The 1986 film has a surprisingly complex history; it began as a short story, then became a low-budget film, before turning into an Off-Broadway play, when finally Frank Oz and his team created this quirky, dark screen version. Many fans do not know that this adaptation originally had a far more sinister ending, which everyone can now see in the Director's Cut of the film included in this special edition package. 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 horrors. See what lengths Seymour will go to just to keep the pushy plant happy in this outrageous musical black comedy. 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 Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Storyline: Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy orphan working at Mushnik's, a flower shop in urban Skid Row. He harbors a crush on fellow co-worker Audrey Fulquard, and is berated by Mr. Mushnik daily. One day as Seymour is seeking a new mysterious plant, he finds a very mysterious unidentified plant which he calls Audrey II. The plant seems to have a craving for blood and soon begins to sing for his supper. Soon enough, Seymour feeds Audrey's sadistic dentist boyfriend to the plant and later, Mushnik for witnessing the death of Audrey's ex. Will Audrey II take over the world or will Seymour and Audrey defeat it? Written by HannahMontaniwitz Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Michael Reuben on October 9, 2012 -- In the beginning, there was a 1960 cult classic that Roger Corman shot in two days, just to see if he could. It featured an early performance by Jack Nicholson and was otherwise ideal material for Mystery Science Theater 3000. Producer David Geffen thought it was the worst idea for a musical he'd ever heard. But Geffen hadn't reckoned on the late Howard Ashman, whose sweetly sardonic outlook on life made Little Shop of Horrors the perfect vehicle to poke fun at a boatload of conventions, including the American Fifties, B movies, Horatio Alger stories, storybook romance, even musical comedy itself. But Ashman was no cynic, as he would later prove in his work for Disney. At the heart of Little Shop, he saw a moving romance between its nebbish hero, Seymour, and its lovably dim heroine, Audrey. In every version of Little Shop, no matter what the ending, their love affair never fails to touch the heart of the audience. Ashman's partner-in-crime was Alan Menken, a talented pianist and composer, who got his start accompanying singers in New York City clubs and writing jingles and songs for cabaret performers. In the early days, Menken wrote his own lyrics, and he still sometimes performs songs from those years. But Menken's true gifts were musical, and his work for numerous performers had developed a skill for melodic pastiche that would serve him well in creating Little Shop's score. In Ashman, Menken recognized both a superior lyricist and a gifted bookwriter, the latter being an essential but underappreciated contributor to a musical who tells the story and establishes the structure into which the songs fit. Little Shop of Horrors, the second collaboration between Ashman and Menken, opened off-Broadway on July 27, 1982, at the Orpheum Theatre on lower Second Avenue, which was seedy territory then—Rent country. Nobody cared about the location. Everyone came to see it. (I even took my mother.) Critics raved, the show won almost every award that can be given to an off-Broadway musical, and the Orpheum had a tenant for the next five years. The movie followed. Leaving aside the tricky issue of the ending that was changed after test screenings (which this Director's Cut Blu-ray allows viewers to evaluate for themselves), director Frank Oz's screen adaptation of Little Shop is one of the most faithful stage-to-screen translations I know. It certainly helped that Ashman wrote the screenplay, but it was also essential that Oz "got" what had made the show work at the Orpheum Theatre, an intimate 350-seat venue where nothing felt too much larger than life. The importance of proper scale became apparent when the show made its Broadway debut in the fall of 2003 in a theater almost four times the size of the Orpheum. Seymour's and Audrey's love story was dwarfed by the giant sets, while the massive plant known as "Audrey II" dominated the stage and, in the finale, extended out over the audience in a move that reversed The Phantom of the Opera's famous chandelier crash. Like the stage musical, the film of Little Shop is narrated in song by a honey-voiced girl group trio, Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon (Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks and Tisha Campbell-Martin). Mystical beings who comment on the action like a Greek chorus, they walk between the raindrops, always looking fabulous, except when they're disguised as street urchins living on Skid Row, where the story takes place. In a number ("Downtown") joined by the neighborhood's residents, they describe the despair that pervades Skid Row's streets ("where the food is slop!"), while at the same time letting the viewer know that this world is one where people sing their passions. This is a musical. Mushnik's Skid Row Florist is the rundown "shop" of the title. The proprietor, Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia), is quickly going broke. The cashier, a sweet bubblehead with a helium voice named Audrey (Ellen Green, who created the part off-Broadway), dreams of a peaceful life in suburbia ("Somewhere That's Green"), while dating a "semi-sadist" dentist (Steve Martin) who prefers working on his patients without Novocaine ("Dentist!"). And then there's Seymour Krelborn (Rick Moranis), the stockroom boy and general slave, whom Mushnik found as an orphan, took in like a stray dog and now routinely kicks (figuratively speaking). Aside from his hopeless crush on Audrey, Seymour is unremarkable. Then, one day after an unscheduled total eclipse, Seymour finds a strange and unusual plant ("Da-doo"), which he brings back to the shop and christens "Audrey II". He quickly discovers that Audrey II thrives on only one nutrient: human blood ("Grow For Me"). With the new plant in the window drawing interest, Mushnik's establishment suddenly thrives. Everything's great ("Some Fun Now"), until the evening when Audrey II speaks to Seymour (in the voice of Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops) and commands him to fetch a lot more blood if he wants all their good fortune to continue ("Feed Me"). Fortunately, as the cagey plant points out, a deserving victim is right nearby in the person of Audrey's abusive boyfriend, Orin Scrivello, D.D.S. Seymour succumbs to the plant's temptations, although he doesn't exactly become a murderer. The song that explains it all, "(Now) It's Just the Gas", was cut from the film, but the circumstances are clearly laid out. For a brief moment, Seymour and Audrey glimpse their future together ("Suddenly Seymour"), but the devil's bargain has to be paid ("Suppertime"). Too late does Seymour realize that Audrey II's appetite is boundless and its plans far more expansive than just Skid Row ("Mean Green Mother From Outer Space"). And with that we come to the disputed subject of the film's ending, which is the principal new feature of this Director's Cut Blu-ray. Skip down to the technical sections if you are new to Little Shop of Horrors and don't want your viewing experience tainted by too much information. Ashman wrote, and Oz filmed, a version of Little Shop that remained faithful to the stage musical, in which Audrey II proved victorious, but in a style that was entirely tongue-in-cheek. Yes, the plant swallowed down first Audrey and then Seymour, but watching two actors disappear into a large prop on stage doesn't have the same gut-punch impact as watching a huge and cleverly animated puppet chomp down (in close-up and with sound effects) on a film's romantic leads. And on stage, after Audrey and Seymour disappeared, they came back for a finale and curtain call, whereas Oz's film took off in a whole new direction. It suddenly became a 1950s monster movie, in which dozens of Audrey IIs went on a rampage tearing apart cities all over America (in exceptional model work, which can now be appreciated on this Blu-ray). Just as producer Geffen had warned, the preview audience hated it. Oz and Ashman had to write and film a happy ending, in which Audrey II is defeated, Seymour and Audrey survive and only a hint of darkness remains in the form of a tiny Audrey II peaking out of the garden outside their new suburban paradise. Was the world not "ready" for Oz's and Ashman's darker ending? I loved the original stage version, but I don't think "darkness" was the film's problem. Musicals have a rhythm; acts, especially closing acts, build to a finale. The very energetic and upbeat song "Mean Green Mother From Outer Space" was written for the movie and wasn't part of the stage show. It's a great song, but it's a rousing, toe-tapping, applause-grabbing number—and when it's done, it's time to bring the story to a close. The equivalent song on stage was "Don't Feed the Plants", which sent people out of the theater on a high (after seeing Seymour and Audrey take a bow) but feels like an afterthought in the Director's Cut of the film, because the film itself is starting over again, having left Skid Row and moved elsewhere. The lesson I take from the Director's Cut is not "don't kill your romantic leads" (although that's certainly a big risk). The lesson I take is: "don't risk major turns in the story after a song that acts as a big closing number". But let's all thank Warner and Frank Oz for finally showing us the original ending. David Geffen was right to object to the black-and-white version released on DVD in 1998. It barely resembled the real thing, which looks terrific. Regardless of which ending one prefers, certain elements of Oz's film have become the version of Little Shop of Horrors, even for diehard theater fans like me, who enjoy seeing such protean works reimagined and explored anew. It will be a long time, if ever, before anyone manages to top Steve Martin's portrayal of the sadistic Orin Scrivello, or even drown out Martin's rendition of the song "Dentist". Ellen Greene's Audrey will be always be the definitive version, especially for anyone who saw her do it live (the lady didn't need the help of studio technicians to belt out those big notes). And Bill Murray's memorable dental patient, who wasn't even in the stage version but was added back from the Roger Corman movie, gives Oz's film the unique electric charge that has filmmakers still chasing after the notoriously reclusive Murray to appear in their films even today. Murray's loopy Arthur Denton is just another reminder that on Skid Row you never know what you're messin' with. Highly recommended. Cast Notes: Rick Moranis (Seymour Krelborn), Ellen Greene (Audrey), Vincent Gardenia (Mushnik), Steve Martin (Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.), Tichina Arnold (Crystal), Michelle Weeks (Ronette), Tisha Campbell (Chiffon), Levi Stubbs (The Voice of Audrey II), James Belushi (Patrick Martin), John Candy (Wink Wilkinson), Christopher Guest (The First Customer), Bill Murray (Arthur Denton), Stan Jones [II] (Narrator), Bertice Reading ('Downtown Old Woman), Ed Wiley ('Downtown' Bum #1). User Comment: Devyalento Latchford Deschanel from London, England, 22 April 2002 • Failing florist Mr. Mushnik is down on his luck on Skid Row. He isn't selling a single stem, his employee's are either turning up at closing time or breaking everything. But young Seymour Krelborn has discovered a plant. A very unusual plant indeed. Sort of like a Venus fly trap, only with a personality. He names it Audrey II, after his helium-voiced, pneumatic colleague Audrey, who Seymour harbours a serious crush on. Yet Audrey is in a relationship with sadistic dentist Orin, who likes nothing more than torturing her and his patients. Audrey II picks up business like never before, and the money rolls in. But Audrey II doesn't need water to grow. No, he needs something with a kick. He needs blood. Seymour reluctantly complies, and soon enough, Audrey II is a gargantuan, talking plant with a taste for human flesh, and nothing will stop him from getting it. But he also has some hidden plans up his thorny sleeve. Little Shop Of Horrors is a fabulous musical, proving that the spark and he magic is still there in the genre. It's quality all the way. What did surprise me most about it was how dark the whole affair was. Orin is beating up Audrey on a regular basis, Audrey II wants Seymour to go on a killing spree so he can get some lunch, Orin delights in ripping the back teeth out of his patients like there's no tomorrow. What's even more surprising is the contrast between these and the quite brilliant songs in the film (Classic numbers include "Suddenly Seymour", "Somewhere That's Green" and the show-stopping title theme). This rather strange mix works excellently, resulting in an irresistible film. The cast are all a revelation in their roles, blending the right mix of camp behaviour and pathos to great effect. Rick Moranis is very good as down-trodden Seymour, whilst Ellen Greene is amazing as Audrey, squeaky and ditzy one minute, then belting out a song with uncompromising power. Vincent Gardenia is suitably slimy as Mr. Mushnik and Steve Martin is brilliant as evil dentist Orin. His big musical number is comedy genius. Also, Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks and Tisha Campbell are gloriously glitzy as the narrative chorus. But the real star is Audrey II, with Levi Stubbs providing an excellent vocal performance. The plant seems so real, right down to his evil grin. The one problem with the film is the seemingly unnecessary cameo's that pop up every now and again. Sometimes they work (Bill Murray), sometimes they don't (James Belushi, John Candy). It's the only tiny problem in an otherwise fantastic film. I guarantee that Little Shop Of Horrors will stay with you for a long time after you've seen it. It really is a brilliant film. Addictive doesn't even begin to describe. Summary: Fabulous. IMDb Rating (11/29/12): 6.7/10 from 31,325 users IMDb Rating (01/15/10): 6.6/10 from 20,277 users IMDb Rating (06/01/01): 6.3/10 from 4,029 users
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