LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986) THE THEATRICAL CUT: **** THE DIRECTOR’S CUT: ***

Roger Corman’s 1960 The Little Shop of Horrors is a classic in its own right.  It’s probably more famous for the legend surrounding the movie (it was shot in two days) than for what really wound up on screen.  I still have a big place in my heart for it, mostly because it shows what an unhinged maniac Jack Nicholson could be, even at an early age. 

Frank Oz’s 1986 adaptation of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s Off-Broadway remake is a pitch perfect movie.  When I saw it at a young age on the big screen, it made a huge impression on me.  The combination of off-the-wall humor, wild musical numbers, and the scary (but hilarious) man-eating plant Audrey II really got all my eight-year-old horror film fan synapses firing. 

The 1986 version follows the original fairly closely.  Seymour (Rick Moranis) is a lowly flower shop employee who pines for his co-worker Audrey (Ellen Greene).  When the shop is on the verge of closing, Seymour displays his new Venus Fly Trap, Audrey II in the window and people begin to flood the store to get a glimpse at the plant.  Business starts booming, but in order to keep business up, Seymour has to keep Audrey II healthy, which means feeding her fresh blood, and eventually humans. 

It all ended with good conquering evil and Seymour and Audrey running away together and living the life they always dreamed.  However, what Oz and company originally intended was much darker.  In the theatrical version, Seymour is forced to feed his true love Audrey to the plant and is soon eaten himself.  Audrey II’s buds open, revealing more and more man-eating plants that grow huge and eventually take over the world, culminating in a neat moment where Audrey II bursts through the screen. 

It just doesn’t work though.  I mean you spend ninety minutes rooting for Seymour and Audrey to get together only to have her begging to be fed to the plant.  It’s especially hard for Audrey because she’s been continually beaten and abused by her dentist boyfriend (Steve Martin).  When she sings “Somewhere That’s Green” she’s singing for a bright future and the audience really wants her to have that life with Seymour.  In the theatrical cut, it’s a triumphant moment when the couple finally get what they’ve always wanted.  In the director’s cut, Audrey is eaten by Audrey II and “Somewhere That’s Green” turns into a punchline for a bad pun. 

This director’s cut ending might’ve worked on the stage.  I just think it’s a big miscalculation for a movie.  I don’t think Oz and company realized the chemistry Moranis and Greene were going to have.  When they are on screen, they are dynamite together.  I mean, I’m all for a nihilistic ending, but honestly, they are so likeable that you don’t want them to die, let alone see the world engulfed in killer plants.  (If you were making a musical remake of Day of the Triffids, that would be a different story.)  It also doesn’t help that the scenes of the Audrey IIs destroying the city (while impressive looking) goes on too long and gets repetitive in a hurry.   

Luckily, most of the eighty minutes or so that precedes the ending is identical to the theatrical.  Rick Moranis has never been better.  He was rarely given a leading man role and it’s amazing how good he is.  He’s a great singer too as it turns out.  Greene (who originated the role on stage) is wonderful and gives the squeaky-voiced Audrey (who could’ve been a paper-thin character) so much dimension. 

The movie really belongs to the cavalcade of awesome supporting players.  Steve Martin has never been better as the sadistic dentist.  His musical number is one of the best things he’s ever done.  The scene with Bill Murray as his machoistic patient is a textbook example of comic timing.  John Candy is also great as the host of a radio show that showcases weird phenomenon. 

This was a big stepping stone for Oz.  It was the perfect vehicle for him to show what he could do without the support of Jim Henson and the Muppets.  Combining comedy, special effects, puppetry, and guest stars was certainly in his wheelhouse and he did a phenomenal job wrangling all those aspects and bringing them together to make a cohesive and enormously entertaining picture.  

The lyrics by Howard Ashman (who later went on to write the songs for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin) are catchy and funny.  It’s also neat that “Somewhere That’s Green” plays like a dry run for The Little Mermaid’s “Part of Your World”.  The music is great from top to bottom, with the exception of the director’s cut’s final number that plays when Audrey II attacks, which is nowhere near as catchy as the stuff in the theatrical cut. 

Maybe I’m just too attached to the theatrical cut.  I’ve seen it over a dozen times and know a lot of the songs by heart.  I usually hate it when test audiences’ reactions change movies on general principals, but the theatrical cut is a reminder that sometimes, the audience knows better than the filmmakers.