grade Movie Reviews

• Reviewed by HotToastyRag grade 10 / 10

  Such a cute, offbeat musical

  "Little shop, little shop of horrors! Little shop, little shop of terrors!" If you're not tapping your toe and singing along by now, you must not have ever seen this delightful musical. In Frank Oz's film adaptation starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, there's a slight change to the Broadway story, but even if you miss the dark twist from the stage, you'll still love this movie. How can you help it; it's so cute!If you're not familiar with the story or the musical, it's not your typical Broadway show. This is a far cry from Oklahoma! so be prepared for something a little offbeat when you rent it. Rick Moranis stars as a lowly worker in a flower shop in love with his coworker, Ellen. He thinks that because she's so beautiful, she'd never want anything to do with him, but they have more in common than he thinks. Besides a love of flowers and a shy demeanor, they both grew up in the wrong part of town and get treated badly by those around them. Rick gets verbally abused by his boss, Vincent Gardenia, and Ellen's boyfriend is physically abusive. They both have low self-esteem, and they sing out their woes in the touching ensemble song, "Downtown."Rick comes across a little Venus flytrap plant and takes it back to the shop. He learns the hard way, through the song "Grow for Me," that the plant refuses water only to drink blood, and it quickly grows and gets out of hand. The rest of the story takes a dark turn, but there's enough comic relief to classify it as a black comedy. Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks, and Tisha Campbell are the "Greek chorus" who sing directly to the camera and transition the scenes with songs. Steve Martin is Ellen's boyfriend, a sadistic dentist who likes causing people pain. He's totally hilarious, and playing the role as tongue-in-cheek lightens the story. It's just not possible to get through "The Dentist Song" without cracking up.The heart of the story depends on your point of view: if you're a guy, you'll probably focus on the lengths a man will go to for the love of his life; if you're a girl, you'll probably think it's a sweet romance. I'm in the latter camp, and every time I watch it, I somehow forget about all the oddities of the plot and just fall for Rick Moranis. What girl in the audience wouldn't want to be serenaded with "Suddenly Seymour"? To my fellow girly girls out there, you'll absolutely love Elaine's costumes. She gets to wear the most darling dresses and shoes! I always wanted to play Audrey onstage, if only to get to put on gorgeous costumes. I love this movie, and watching it always cheers me up. Give it a try when you're feeling down in the dumps and wonder if you'll ever get out of your rut.

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• Reviewed by truemythmedia grade 8 / 10

  FEED ME!

  I absolutely loved this movie, and I'm kind of upset I didn't go out of my way to see it sooner. This movie is a hysterical parody of 50s monster movies that boasts hysterical moments and cameos, unforgettably catchy songs, and wears its huge sentimental heart on its sleeve; I can't recommend this enough.

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• Reviewed by ryan-10075 grade 9 / 10

  "Am I dreaming this?" "No, and you ain't in Kansas, neither."

  First off I must say that I love this movie that was wonderfully directed by Frank Oz. Always have since the first time I saw it as a youngster. It is a remake of sorts to the 1960 Roger Corman film under the same title. But, this film is based on the play that was based on that film. This film is filled from beginning to end with great, super-catchy early 60s inspired songs that many of the main characters sing.The plot is about a nerdy florist Seymour Krelborn (played to perfection by Rick Moranis) who seems to stumble across a new plant that he has growing in the basement of Mushnik's (Vincent Gardenia) where he also works and lives. He has called the plant Audrey II due to his affection for his coworker Audrey (great performance by Ellen Greene). Once he finds out though that it takes blood to feed his new plant he must soon find ways to feed the plant that has given Mushnik's a ton of business.I must say that apart from the great songs, wonderful puppetry of the Audrey II plant is that the acting to me is top notch. No one gives a below par performance from Steve Martin as the super abusive, drug addicted dentist named Orin Scrivello (don't forget the DDS) who loves to inflict pain on people to Bill Murray who plays Arthur Denton who loves pain and wants Orin to give him a long, slow root canal. The whole time Murray is on screen I am laughing. Martin though in this film must play the worst human being he has ever played that I remember anyways. Martin sings "Dentist!" which might be the funniest song in the film. Audrey II is voiced by Levi Stubbs who sang with The Four Tops and really I think they made the perfect choice as he can really sing, but also really bring out the bad attitude that Audrey II has.Also starring John Candy, Jim Belushi, Tisha Campbell and Christopher Guest.So if you think you might like The Muppets Meet 60s B-Movie with 60s styled music with a blend of horror and sci-fi give it a try.

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