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Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors

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71%liked it

Critics

89%liked it

Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene
Dec 19, 1986
PG-13, 1 hr. 34 min.

Trailer

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Movie Info

Cast: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, Levi Stubbs, Tichina Arnold, Tisha Campbell, Michelle Weeks, James Belushi, John Candy
Director: Frank Oz
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hr. 34 min.
Genre: Horror, Musical & Performing Arts, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy
Theater Release: Dec 19, 1986
DVD Release: May 23, 2000
Synopsis: It started as a 1960 Roger Corman horror comedy, filmed in two days; it then inspired a lavish 1982 Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Finally in 1986, Little Shop of Horrors (1960) graduated into a multimillion-dollar, all-star film musical. Rick Moranis plays nebbishy Seymour Krelborn, who works in a rundown flower shop on Skid Row. While his boss (Vincent Gardenia) bemoans the lack of business, Seymour seeks a way of bringing the shop -- and himself -- fame and fortune. He purchases a strange plant from an even stranger oriental street vendor (Vincent Wong), naming the plant after his girlfriend Audrey (Ellen Greene, one of the few carry-overs from the Broadway version). Gradually, Seymour learns to his horror that "Audrey II" (given the voice of R&B performer Levi Stubbs) craves blood and flesh. With each of Audrey II's "FEEED MEEE"s, Seymour must scare up human food to satisfy the plant's appetite. One such victim is dentist Steve Martin, a leather-jacketed Elvis type (the dentist's ultra-masochistic patient played by Jack Nicholson in the 1960 original is here impersonated by Bill Murray). The lighthearted tone of the film darkens as Audrey II grows in monstrosity, but the unhappy ending of the Broadway version is avoided herein. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Critic Reviews

  • Pat Graham, Chicago Reader
    The best moments in this 1987 release belong to Dr. Steve Martin as a dentist with a professional yen for pain.
  • Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
    You can try not liking this adaptation of the Off-Broadway musical hit -- it has no polish and a pushy way with a gag -- but the movie sneaks up on you, about as subtly as Audrey II.
  • Variety Staff, Variety
    A fractured, funny production transported rather reluctantly from the stage to the screen.
  • Janet Maslin, New York Times
    A full-blown movie musical, and quite a winning one.
  • James Berardinelli, ReelViews
    I have seen a lot of musicals (probably more than most people under the age of 50), and few are as lively and fun as Little Shop of Horrors.
  • Paul Attanasio, Washington Post
    Screen writer and lyricist Howard Ashman has mastered the essence of '80s humor, recycling the old with a hip knowingness, all with a morbid, outrageous edge.
  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
    The movie doesn't labor its jokes or insist on its virtuoso special effects, but devotes its energies to seeming unforced and delightful.
  • Rita Kempley, Washington Post
    With its toe-tapping cadences, its class cast and its king-sized cabbage, it's destined to become a classic of camp comedy.
  • , Empire Magazine
    Some of the slower tunes tend to grind but the sort of musical/ retro irony is still amusing in places. Not if you don't like dentists though.
  • Joly Herman, Common Sense Media
    Comic book creepiness, jazzy tunes, and fab cast.
  • Get more reviews for Little Shop of Horrors at RottenTomatoes.com
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