Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

Director:

Frank Oz

Writers:

Charles B. Griffith (1960 screenplay)
Howard Ashman (musical)

Release Date:

19 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Horror | Musical

Tagline:

Don't feed the plants.

Plot:

A nerdish florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.

Plot Keywords:

Monster Plant | Campy | Unrequited Love | Orphan | Monster

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 10 nominations

Cast

Rick Moranis	...	Seymour Krelborn
Ellen Greene	...	Audrey
Vincent Gardenia	...	Mr. Mushnik
Steve Martin	...	Orin Scrivello, DDS
Tichina Arnold	...	Crystal
Michelle Weeks	...	Ronette
Tisha Campbell-Martin	...	Chiffon (as Tisha Campbell)
Levi Stubbs	...	Audrey II (voice)
James Belushi	...	Patrick Martin
John Candy	...	Wink Wilkinson
Christopher Guest	...	Customer #1
Bill Murray	...	Arthur Denton
Stan Jones	...	Narrator (voice) (as Stanley Jones)
Bertice Reading	...	'Downtown' Old Woman
Ed Wiley	...	'Downtown' Bum #1

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Geffen Company, The

Trivia:

Bill Murray ad-libbed his lines.

Goofs:

Continuity: Audrey II fires the six-shooter at least eight times.

Quotes:

Audrey II: [singing] If you wanna be profound, if you really gotta justify, take a breath and look around, a lot of folks deserve to die!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005)

Soundtrack:

Somewhere That's Green (reprise)

An off-beat delight

No, not the black & white Roger Corman jewel featuring Jack Nicholson, though I suppose I'd watch that one again too. I'm talking about the 1986 color musical with Rick Moranis and Audrey II by way of Frank Oz. Like I tell my friends about "Babe," I love a film with a Greek chorus. In this one, the chorus consists of three Motownish women singers, Crystal, Chiffon and Ronette. I'll watch this film again, just to hear them sing one line: "TO – TAL – E – CLIPSE – OF – THE – SUN!" This is an all-singing, all-dancing science fiction black comedy that features human misery, a sadistic dentist, a masochistic patient, casual murder, girlfriend abuse, and a blood-sucking alien house plant monster. It's hilarious from beginning to end. And the music is outstanding.