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It's really sad that a movie like this is ignored in favor of Top Gun (Tom Cruise is overrated!). But anyway, let me explain what I truly feel about Little Shop of Horrors.
Generally, I, like the rest of the world, show disdain at remakes. However, this movie is one of the few good remakes out there. The original Roger Corman movie was good, even though it's hard to hear in some places due to being made in 1960. Then, in the early 80's, two men named Howard Ashman and Alan Menken had an idea: turn this obscure darkly comic B-movie into a successful musical that is not only a dark comedy, but also a romance. And then Warner Bros. and Geffen Records had an idea: adapt the successful musical into a movie, and during the holidays in 1986, it was released and did fairly well both financially and critically, but personally, I think it should have done so much more.
Having Frank Oz direct the movie was a good choice. The only way it could possibly get better is if Tim Burton was the director instead, but either way, Oz works just as well, and the movie still feels a bit Burton-esque. Reprising her role as female lead Audrey is Ellen Greene, who was practically tailor-made for this role. Everyone else was played by actors that are both veteran and more recent at the time. Rick Moranis' portrayal of Seymour Krelborn is among the best acting that he's ever done, his singing was actually pretty good, and I'm wondering why this movie didn't earn him a Best Actor nomination. Steve Martin's portrayal of crazy dentist Orin Scrivello D.D.S. is crazy-awesome, and Levi Stubbs stole the show as Audrey II, as did the plant's other actor from the stage musical. Heck, nearly every character comes off as likable in one form or another, even Audrey II and Orin. I don't know what helps that, the writing, the casting, the performances, or perhaps it's most likely all of the above. The romance between Seymour and Audrey is genuine and sweet, and as the movie goes on, the romance seems stronger, more believable, and adds more sympathy to these already sympathetic characters.
And now we have come to the most controversial part of this: how it ended. I've seen the original ending when the teenagers at my mom's old high school did, and I was moved. By the time of the movie's DVD release, that ending turns up, and then the Blu-Ray came out and restored it, but sadly, I don't have a Blu-Ray player. The ending they ultimately went with, while not technically canon with the story, isn't really a bad ending since with or without it, the movie still doesn't talk down to its audience. Although it's obvious that there may be a bit of sugarcoating.
Bottom line, to me, this is the perfect movie to me rather than The Godfather. I'm sorry if you don't really feel the same way, but these are my most honest and heartfelt thoughts.
My rating: 10/10
