Amazon.com video review:
The off-Broadway comedy-horror-musical hit that ran for years makes a
successful transfer to film with a bevy of big-name cameos and two
perfectly cast leads. Rick Moranis is the nebbish Seymour, who pines for
flower-girl Audrey (Ellen Greene) while living in the basement of florist
Mr. Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia). Things start turning around for Seymour,
though, after he buys a little plant during a solar eclipse, christens it
Audrey II, and discovers that it likes to drink blood. Soon enough, though,
Seymour finds out that Audrey II, now grown to epic proportions, is in
actuality a "mean green mother from outer space" that is hell-bent on world
domination. Based on the 1960 Roger Corman cheapie that featured a young
Jack Nicholson, Little Shop boasts a hilarious, amazing score by
Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who would go on to revitalize Disney's
animation arm with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the
Beast. Greene, the lone holdover from the original cast, is a
ravishing, goofy Audrey, whose awkward demeanor belies a voice that could
knock Ethel Merman off her feet. She's ably matched by Moranis, whose lack
of a singing voice is perfectly in sync with Seymour's nerdiness. And Levi
Stubbs Jr. of the Four Tops provides the lowdown, nasty-minded voice of
Audrey II; his rendition of the Oscar-nominated "Mean Green Mother from
Outer Space" is a showstopper. As for those celebrity cameos, Steve
Martin's sadistic dentist is a masterful creation, as is Bill Murray's
masochistic patient; John Candy, James Belushi, and Christopher Guest also
pop up. And there was never a lovelier and funkier Greek chorus than the
three Motown-fueled girls (Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, and Tisha
Campbell) who appear throughout the film. --Mark Englehart
