Review of Little Shop of Horrors (1986) by Justin A — 11 Oct 2014

I enjoy LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS way too much! Although Ellen Greene's Audrey is insufferable and downright awful (which is why this film gets four stars and not five), the rest of the cast is fantastic. Rick Moranis is perfectly suited to play the nerdy, awkward Seymour, Steve Martin is hilarious as the dentist, and Bill Murray is surprisingly funny as Martin's masochistic patient. Levi Stubbs as Audrey II (the talking plant) is great too, making the character more menacing and delightful. Biggest props to the backup singers, who provide lots of energy whenever they are on screen. The technicalities are also wonderful, with a great puppet for Audrey II. I love the film's use of practical effects on the plant, as they don't instantly date the film and look horrendous by today's standards (unlike the running Zul effects in GHOSTBUSTERS). The songs, written by recurring Disney songwriter Alan Menkin, are fantastic. I love the majority of these songs, from the opening number to Steve Martin's villain anthem to "Just a Mean, Green Monster". They are catchy, bouncy, and unforgettable. Only a few of the songs are "okay", mainly because those are the ones featuring Greene. The story is quite ludicrous for the most part (I believe as I am talking about a film with a gigantic talking killer flower, this should come as no surprise), and LITTLE SHOP certainly does not have the character development and complexity of, say, LES MIS. If you're looking for a film with great writing, go elsewhere.

All in all, I wholly recommend LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS to anyone who wants to see a fun musical with a (mostly) perfect cast and insane puppeteering that doesn't take itself too seriously!