I feel like playing Jeopardy with this next movie.  I’ll list off the cast…then I guess I’ll sorta have to be the one to answer in the form of a question…screw that.  I’ll list off the cast, break it down, and write about it like I always do:

Rick Moranis

Steve Martin

Jim Belushi (Not Jon)

John Candy

Christopher Guest (if you don’t know who he is watch, “Best in Show” and “This is Spinal Tap”)

Bill Murray

to name a few.

Now, to be fair, the majority of these people are bit, side characters that have one or two scenes, except for Rick Moranis who is the lead.  He is mainly supported by Ellen Greene as Audrey and Vincent Gardenia as Mushnik.

Moranis plays Seymour as another “loveable loser” that I tend to be drawn to in a lot of films (“Lucas” Philipe Gaston in “Ladyhawke” etc.).

I need to describe my family in order to give this post the relevance that it deserves.  I come from a long line of “blue collar” workers.  My father was an electrician.  My uncle that took us to “Return of the Jedi” was a carpenter.  My dad’s dad was an electrician.  My dad’s brother was an electrician.  My brother and cousin are electricians. My other cousin is a painter.  I’m a social worker (go figure).  My point in bringing this up for this movie is that in general, a lot of these guys that are in this line of work tend to not enjoy musicals.  I watched this movie with my dad, my uncle, my cousins, and my brother (my aunt, my mom and my sister were there too) and nobody could look away, nobody could stop laughing, and everybody couldn’t stop talking about their favorite line/scenes after it was over.

“Little Shop of Horrors” is that kind of weird, masterpiece musical that never comes to mind when you are talking about the “greatest musicals” of all time (probably because the subject matter is so absurd), but it definitely should be listed among the best ever put on film.  I absolutely adore this movie from the casting, to the singing, to the acting, to the puppeteering, to the special effects….underrated.

To have a musical entertain that broad of an audience just in my living room is quite extraordinary. It is one thing to do it with a Space Opera saga, or a comedy like “Ghostbusters.”  A musical generally is for people that like musicals and I do not think my dad and uncle like musicals (safe bet).  They loved this and I heard them quote it or reference it on many occasions after we watched it.

Steve Martin and Bill Murray do what they always do–deliver.  They share a scene together that almost steals the show.

I say almost because just about every scene that Seymour shares with Audrey II just about steals the show.  Ellen Greene gives a great comedic and musical performance as the damsel in distress/Seymour crush.  Her comedic timing with her lines and her deadpan delivery is perfect for the role and Moranis and Greene light up the screen together.

I know that I have avoided talking about the plot.  That is intentional as always.  I want to encourage people to see this.  I hope that the majority of you that will, for the first time, have not been spoiled by the details.

Watching this with no warning is a joy.

***

Please join my email list.