Title: The Little Shop of HorrorsWhat the hell??: Hopeless nebbish Seymour Krelboin has one last shot to keep his job at Gravis Mushnik's Skid Row flower shop. He must impress his boss with the plant he has grown using seeds he purchased from a mysterious Japanese man on Central Avenue. The plant, named Audrey Jr. after Seymour's love interest and fellow shop employee, at first fails to illicit any positive reaction, being seemingly half-dead, but Seymour is given one week to nurse it back to health so it will be ready for the string of admirers a flower-eating weirdo promises Mushnik will flock to his store to see such a plant. Seymour, who fancies himself an amateur horticulturist, at his wits end and being berated by the plant ("feed me--I'm hungry!"), accidentally cuts himself one evening and finds Audrey Jr. requires human blood to bloom. Audrey Jr. soon begins to thrive as various Skid Row citizens (a railroad cop, an unstable dentist, a prostitute) disappear. Mushnik, aware of the fact that Seymour is committing the crimes and feeding corpses to his plant, keeps his mouth shut because of all the new revenue, while Audrey Fulquard, Seymour's dim-bulb lady-love, falls deeper in love with her nerdy paramour. In the end, a guilt-ridden Seymour, whose crimes have been uncovered by some truly hideous sunset blooms, feeds himself to Audrey Jr. taking her apart from the inside.
What's to like: The characters that populate the world of Little Shop are amazing. From by-the-book detectives Joe Fink and Frank Stoolie to Jack Nicholson's masochistic Wilber Force, the never-ending cavalcade of wacky characters enriches this darkly comic tale of murder and deception. The screenplay is full of delightful wordplay delivered with expertise by every actor involved.
What's to not like: Hmmmmm...it could've used some Broadway-style musical numbers. Someone should get on that.
The truth: The Little Shop of Horrors is clever and goofy--it is so goofy, in fact, that it contains a banana peel gag, one of the hallmarks of true goofdom. It makes you miss the horror-comedies, or rather, quality horror comedies (think Evil Dead as opposed to the Scary Movie series) of yore. Definitely worth viewing--a guaranteed good time for all involved. In fact, while I was watching it I decided that when I have a child and he/she is old enough, this will be his/her first horror film...you know, if it's OK with the wife.
Next time: Please Don't Eat My Mother
Next time: Please Don't Eat My Mother