Well folks, we've reached the final review of Monstrous Musicals. Today, we are taking a look at one of my all time favorite musicals and after some thought, I've decided to touch upon both cuts because I wanted the last review to end on a happy note. Join me as I look at film that was adapted from a stage play based on a Roger Corman film from the 1960's and try to show why, the musical film adaption of Little Shop of Horrors is one of my favorite films.
Trailer
Okay, first off trailer, Steve Martin's role is NOT a special guest appearance. Yes, that is true of John Candy (why is he on the DVD cover) and Bill Murray. Martin is our secondary antagonist in the film. He has a big role as Audrey's abusive lover. So, don't go calling Martin, a guest appearance, when for goodness' sake, he has his own villain song.
The Plot
We open the film on Skid Row as we see our two leads, Seymour and Audrey lamenting the fact that they cannot escape from the slums as we see them at Mushnik's Flower Shop and the shop is losing money. Audrey suggests that they should display an odd plant that Seymour owns. This is after Mushnik says that the store will have to close. He at first thinks that the strange plant will not attract any customers but then, we get our first customer and our first of a few cameos as a customer (Christopher Guest) comes in and says that he noticed the strange and mysterious plant and he makes a purchase.
Seymour soon explains that he bought the plant from a Chinese flower shop, when last week there was a total eclipse of the sun. The plant soon brings business to Mushnik's and it also brings fame to Seymour and makes him a local celebrity. Such as appearing on the radio show hosted by Weird Wade Wilknson (played by the late but hilarious John Candy).
The plant as we know it, Audrey II continues to grow after Seymour discovers that Audrey II feeds off blood. Later on, Seymour attempts to ask out his crush, Audrey but he is turned down as Audrey is dating the sadistic dentist, Orin Scrivello. However, Audrey wishes to escape her abusive relationship with the dentist and marry Seymour and leave Skid Row behind to go to greener pastures. After we see Audrey leave with the abusive dentist, we see Audrey II beg for more blood, at first Seymour refuses but after seeing Orin slap Audrey, he agrees to do it. He then goes to make an appointment with Orion taking a revolver with him to kill the sadistic dentist but there is no need as Orion does himself in with a type of gas. But this is after a great cameo by Bill Murray as a patient that loves pain and being tortured. And you can just see that this infuriates Orion.
Honestly, when Bill is on screen, he steals the scene and makes this scene a little less painful. Seymour later discovers that the police investigating Orin's disappearance and we get a great moment between Seymour and Audrey, when we learn that Audrey secretly hoped for something bad to happen to Orion because of his abusive nature. Seymour takes Orin's body back to Audrey II (who has been getting bigger and bigger) as we see him chop Orion's body in one of the darkest moments of the film. He is spotted by Mushnik, unbeknownst to Seymour. Seymour is later confronted by Mushink, and offers him an escape, if Seymour teaches him how to care for the plant but this is all for not, as Mushnik is backed up by Seymour and eaten by Audrey II. Seymour has gained widespread success but he does not want it Seymour plans to elope to Audrey and escape from Skid Row, leaving Audrey II to starve to death but as we shall soon see, things won't be that easy for Seymour. Later on, Seymour leaves to take care of some business and the plant tricks Audrey II by calling her and tries to eat Audrey. Seymour returns and saves her from being eaten after we learn that that Audrey II is actually an alien. Audrey II collapses on the store and Seymour electrocutes the plant killing it as our two leads are safely reunited and we see them at the end moving into their house, as we see little Audrey II's in their front yard. Meaning that isn't all over.
That's the theatrical ending and my preferred ending of the film. After some thought, I don't hate the Director's Cut as much but maybe I'm a sucker for happy endings. I'm just going to cop and paste the description of the Director's Cut here.
In the original ending, after Audrey is attacked by Audrey II (reprise of "Suppertime"), Seymour rescues Audrey, who is seriously injured. Confessing to Audrey he fed Mushnik and Orin to Audrey II, Audrey requests Seymour feed her to the plant and earn the success he deserves, before she dies in his arms (reprise of "Somewhere That's Green"). Seymour does so, but soon attempts to commit suicide, only to be stopped by a salesman, who offers to reproduce and sell Audrey II. Realizing Audrey II's intentions of world domination, Seymour is warned that his consent isn't necessary as plants are considered public domain, meaning Audrey II has to be destroyed. Returning to the shop, Seymour confronts and tries to kill the plant ("Mean Green Mother from Outer Space"), who tears down the shop, plucks Seymour out of the rubble, and eats him alive.
The three chorus girls appear in front of the American flag and tell how the Audrey II buds became a nationwide consumer craze, but soon, grew into an army of monstrous plants who take over the country ("Don't Feed the Plants").Giant Audrey II plants are shown destroying American cities, toppling buildings and eating people. The U.S. Army attempt to fight the Audrey II buds as the final shot shows the plants ascending the Statue of Liberty.
I think the issue I have with the ending is not Seymour dying because you could make the argument that he warrants a punishment for the crimes he committed but my two biggest issues with this ending are Audrey dying. Now, this is going to be tough to explain. If you recall last week, when I reviewed Dr. Horrible, I had no issue with Penny's death because I felt that one actually had more weight behind it and was more tragic then Audrey's death but perhaps my biggest issue is when the film shifts focus onto Audrey II attacking these people do NOT know. That's my big issue, all of the characters that we cared about are dead and now here are these innocent bystanders, we know nothing about dying and we have no reason to mourn their loss. The film with this ending goes from being a rather tragic film to your standard monster movie. And that does not work. This reminds me of something once said by Don Bluth.
We can scare our kids, so long as we attach a happy ending
Now clearly, this is not a children's film but the message I'm trying to relay is that you can still have your scares and end on a happy note. And yes, this film does get rather dark. Just go back and watch Suppertime but I truly feel that even though, there is not a shadow of a doubt that Seymour got away with murder, he and Audrey deserved a happy ending And honestly, Orin deserved to die. He brought nothing but cruelty to the world. And weeding out people like him is okay. Now this is just one person's take on it. Does this ending take away from the film? No, but it does lessen in my opinion because as I said it just goes to standard monster movie fare without any of the magic that made this film, so great.
Characters
Greek Chorus
Crystal, Ronette, & Chiffon played by Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, and Tisha Campbell-Martin
I honestly have to say that I cannot picture the film without these three. They serve commenting on the stuff that is going on around them and they really only ever interact with the main cast twice, first during the beginning o Skid Row with Mr. Mushnik, where we learn that they are dropouts and then at the beginning of Somewhere That's Green with Audrey. For the most part, they never overtake the story and blend in well to what's happening such as during as the "Dentist" number.
They are at best, background singers for our main cast.
Characters
This'll be broken down into Main, Supporting, and Villains. With that out of the way, let's begin.
Main Characters
Seymour played by Rick Moranis
Now, if you recall my favorite characters list, he came in at # 14. Seymour as I said in that article and up top is a murderer or at the very least, he attempted murder but the more, I think about it, Orin's death was his own fault and as for Mushnik. Well, there is some debate there. He is also someone that we are rooting for as he is sympathetic and was pressured into doing these heinous deeds by Audrey II. So, in that regard, it is easy to root for him. He didn't really want this, he was pressured into it. He is a bumbling buffoon, who just wants to be happy and get the girl. Something that Audrey II offers him as we see during the awesome, "Feed Me" number. Perhaps the best thing about Seymour is that as the film progresses, you can see the wear and tear that the events are taking on him.
Audrey played by Ellen Greene
Supporting Character
Mr. Mushnik played by Vincent Gardenia
Mushnik is perhaps my least favorite character in the film as he really doesn't have much of a personality other then being the greedy, grouchy store owner. That's about it, really. Vincent Gardenia plays him well enough but there is very little there to make him memorable.
Music
Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors)
What a great way to start the film. The narration and the wall text are great and we get our first taste of the Greek Chorus singing and they sell it well. This number is just so much fun and lets us know, exactly what kind of film, we are in for.
Skid Row (Downtown)
This is a great introduction to Skid Row as we see, that it's basically a hopeless dump. People dream of making it out of there but that is a hard dream to achieve. And oh, my God, Audrey's voice is just so fantastic. And Seymour as we hear has had a tragic life being an orphan and things never seeming to go his way. The big thing to take away from this number is that people want to get out of here.
Da-Doo
I have to agree with Paw from his review that it's funny that this song is just called Da-Doo. I always want to call it, Total Eclipse of The Sun for some unexplained reason. It's really not much of a song as it's more of Seymour just speaking his lyrics and not singing them.
Grow For Me
This is a cute little ditty, where we can easily see that Seymour is trying really to get Audrey II to grow and right now, nothing seems to be working but as we all know, Seymour is about to soon discover what this little plant needs to grow and I also have to say that I just really love how unassuming and not very menacing Audrey II looks, knowing what is coming.
Somewhere That's Green
I like this song as we get to delve into the wants of Audrey and what she pictures her escape from Skid Row to look like. In many way, this is a very good companion piece to Skid Row as this shows the optimistic dream that Audrey holds for her future in hopes that there is a better tomorrow. Are her dreams simple? Perhaps but that doesn't make them any less admirable.
Some Fun Now
Originally, I was going to list this song as my least favorite but honestly, this song has grown on me over time. Yeah, it's repetitive and not as deep as some of the other songs but darn it, this song is super catchy.
Dentist
I love this number, as it just goes to show how cruel Orin is as a dentist and it plays on the fear, people have of going to the dentist. As we picture them as people like Orin, when in reality that usually isn't the case. This song is just so much fun, so long as you don't have it come while at the dentist. I had that up to me, once and it made for the most uncomfortable experience.
Feed Me (Git It)
Now, this is a great number as we are introduced to Audrey II and see that that the plant is more then it seems. Audrey II is a tricky little being that is making offers that are too good for Seymour to resist. Seymour as you hear has reservations and this is where the idea to kill Orin is planted in Seymour's head. These two seriously work well off of each other in this number.
Suddenly Seymour
There's no two ways around it, this is my favorite number from the film. It is just such a sweet song as we finally get to see them come together and have their much deserved happiness. Showing that there is a ray of sunshine always shining. And this song further cements why these are one of my favorite on screen couples, they are just so cute together and they bring much needed happiness and understanding to each other's lives. I think that is why Audrey's death in the director's cut bugs me so much.
Suppertime
This is seriously one of the darkest numbers in the film. The mood and atmosphere just work in setting up the creepy mood and tone of what is going on. Here, I think it works having the Greek Chorus singing in the background as Mushnik confronts Seymour. Because we know that something bad is about to go down.
Suppertime (Reprise)
Here we have the reprise of Suppertime and is it just me or does Audrey II creepier, knowing that he can work the phone because he is going to try and eat Audrey.
Mean Green Mother From Outer Space
Now, this is how you do a villain song. It is just so much fun and so great. What can I say, I love villains that taunt and act superior then our heroes and Audrey II does that all throughout the film and how Audrey II is able to turn the gun so easily on Seymour is so great. This is seriously, one of the best villain songs ever.
Villains
Orin Scrivello, DDS played by Steve Martin
Orin isn't a good person as he is just cruel and takes pleasure in torturing his clients and he is very cruel to Audrey. He doesn't believe that women are equals but rather should be shown their place. And honestly, that makes his death all the more pleasurable because he is someone, you want to see die.
Audrey II performed by Levi Stubbs
What I find interesting is that this was Levi Stubbs' only film role. Stubbs was better known for being the lead vocalist of the Four Tops and Stubbs' voice adds to the creepiness factor as he just sounds so menacing. And his growth throughout the film as he gets bigger and suddenly takes up the store makes him an even bigger presence and bigger threat as well. But it is quite honestly the voice that truly sells him on being creepy.
Favorite/Least Favorite
Now, I already made my favorite very clear, it's Suddenly Seymour. Suddenly Seymour isn't just one of my favorite songs from this film, it's one of all time favorite songs period because of the emotion behind it and the happiness and understanding that these two bring to each other. I can honestly listen to that song on endless loop and have the biggest grin on my face. As for Least Favorite, I don't have one. Honestly, I like all of the songs in this film so much that I cannot pick one as a least favorite.
My Final Thoughts
I LOVE this film. Little Shop is one of my all time favorite musicals and I just love everything about it from the characters to the music. There is very little I don't like about this film. This is a musical, that if you haven't seen, you must. I command it. There are a few reasons I love this film and out of everything I've reviewed for Monstrous Musicals, I have the most personal connection with Little Shop. I mean, sure it doesn't hurt that the music was written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Who would go to work on the music for Disney greats such as Beauty and The Beast before Ashman's untimely death in '91. But also because this film takes me back to my sophomore year of high school, when I was in Drama II and one of our assignments was to read and direct a scene from a play. I had the lucky fortune of getting to read Little Shop of Horrors and directing the Feed Me (Git It) scene. That is a memory that still sticks with me to this very day and whenever I think of Little Shop, I think of the one time I got to direct something. So, while I may love every I reviewed (save The Addams Family), this one is special to me because it goes beyond just being a musical and becomes a memory. Well, now all of the reviews for the first Monstrous Musicals are completed but we still have one article left to go. Join me on Halloween as I close this event out.
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