Roger Corman famously directed Little Shop in just a few days, but it’s actually one of his more endearing (and enduring) movies. Basically it’s an ethnic comedy with some horror elements thrown in. It’s the story of Seymour (Jonathan Haze) and the ravenous flytrap he’s named Audrey Jr.; a tribute to the ditzy girl (Jackie Joseph) he works with at Mushnick’s Flower Shop. Audrey Jr. needs blood to grow (If he doesn’t get it, he bellows “Feed me!”), leading nebbish Seymour to scout the back alleys of NYC for likely meal-time candidates. The performances are what make this one a gem. Dick Miller’s small role as a flower-eating loon is especially great. Jack Nicholson makes his debut as a masochistic dentist patient. There’s one moment of well-done gore worth watching for. There are a couple of cops that serve as a framing device and a pretty decent Dragnet parody. Little Shop was re-imagined as an off-Broadway musical that was eventually adapted as major motion picture by Frank Oz.
** ½
Tags: audrey II, audrey jr., dick miller, feed me, jonathan haze, little shop, Roger Corman
No comments:
Post a Comment