Sunday, November 3, 2013

Review of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS



SEYMOUR KRELBERN, quintessential nebbich, sings of how he was ‘an orphan, a child of the streets’, when he was taken in by Mr. MUSHNIK, owner of a flower shop in the slums – skid row.  Mushnik fed, clothed him, and in general exploited him. Now a young man, Seymour is in love with his coworker, Audrey, but, while she thinks he’s sweet, she already has a boyfriend, a sadistic dentist, ORIN. The dream of both Seymour’s Audrey is someday to escape from skid row. That seems unlikely. Business is poor and everyone in the shop is depressed.

Seymour’s hobby is strange plants. One day, he buys an unidentifiable plant with a bulbous head that mysteriously appears right after an unexpected solar eclipse. Suddenly people flock to Mushnik’s shop to buy flowers, money pours in, and Seymour even gets requests for interviews from radio stations and newspapers. But there is a catch. The plant—named Audrey 2—won’t grow with plant food. The only substance that will keep it healthy, as Seymour discovers when he cuts his finger, is human blood.

The shop does well, and so does Seymour, in spite of sore fingers. The plant grows rapidly, but has the disconcerting habit of falling over on its side when it wants more food. Seymour tells it he doesn’t have enough, and to his astonishment, the plant says, “Feed me,” and sings about how it is responsible for all the good things that have been happening.

 “What do you want me to do? Kill somebody?” Seymour asks.  At this point, the dentist roars up on his motorcycle and beats up Seymour’s beloved Audrey.

“A lot of folks deserve to die,” sings the plant, and Seymour agrees. He ends up feeding both Orin and Mushnik to the plant, but when the plant, who, it turns out, is an alien, “a mean, green mother from outer space, tries to eat Audrey, Seymour rescues her.  Then the plant tries to eat him…

This film is a musical comedy, not any kind of horror flick, and it is well done. From the opening shot, which looks like a view of distant stars and nebulae (but isn’t) to the end (no spoilers), it is engaging and fun. The three chorus girls, dressed in elaborate finery in the midst of skid row shabbiness, are delightful. The music is delightful, and the plot, crazy though it is, does draw you in.

This movie is delightful entertainment. As a workout film, it will get your pulse up to a run.   I give it ++++.

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