Plum Crazy

A further conversation with my brother on the subject of The Producers brought to mind another film that was later made into a show that was later made into a film: The Little Shop of Horrors.

The original film was directed by none other than the king of the B-movie horror classics, Roger Corman, so already there is a reason to watch it. It is a rather darkly humorous tale about a lonely young clerk in a flower store, Seymour Krelboin, who develops a talking, blood-craving plant ("Feed me, Seymour!"). But the movie is worth watching just for the one scene in which a very young Jack Nicholson makes a cameo appearance as a masochistic dental patient who loves getting his teeth pulled without any novocaine.

Some years later, someone, I have no idea who, decided to turn this cult classic film into an off-Broadway musical. The teenage girls who acted as a sort of Greek chorus in the original film then added acting like a regular chorus to their repertoire as well. I had the pleasure of seeing it off-Broadway in the early 1980s and thoroughly enjoyed it. The stage version of it managed to maintain the dark humor of the original film while adding more energy. It was a fantastic combination.

So fantastic that Frank Oz (yes, of Muppet fame) decided to turn the musical version into a film. I don't know. I know a lot of people love this film, but I don't. It has a great cast - Rick Moranis as the hapless Seymour Krelboin, Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist, Bill Murray as his masochistic patient, and Ellen Greene, who made the part famous off-Broadway, as Audrey. But it lost a lot of the phenomenal energy it had on stage in the translation to the screen. Maybe if I hadn't seen it on stage, I would appreciate it more. Maybe if I hadn't seen Jack Nicholson as the masochistic patient, I would like Bill Murray's portrayal. Maybe, maybe, maybe. But I did see it on stage. I did see Jack Nicholson's performance. But don't just take my word for it. A lot of people really do like the film, so if you haven't seen it, judge for yourself.

Even better, Little Shop of Horrors is now back on Broadway (well, really for the first time, because it was technically off-Broadway originally). If you don't choke at spending the money and are anywhere near New York City, get tickets. I will be.