I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

"Hi, I'm Burson Fouch." "Gravis Mushnik." "Oh, that's a good one."'The Little Shop of Horrors' might be the best looking movie ever filmed in two days and one night. That said, it is also funniest movie Roger Corman ever directed. Some of the camp and slapstick might seem mostly outdated now, but you cannot go without appreciating the genius banter and wordplay the dialogue and narrations are filled with (My name is Fink, sergeant Joe Fink, I'm the fink.). And these witty remarks never grow tiresome. The acting is mostly delightfully hammy and sometimes over the top (Jack Nicholson's sadomasochistic Wilbur Force), but without becoming irritating unlike some modern comedic 'geniouses' (ehem, Adam Sandler, ehem). Add wonderfully serious performance by Dick Miller as a balance and you have nice ensemble of oddballs. 'The Little Shop of Horrors' although inferior in many aspects to the musical with similar title, is aged rather well (not counting the special effects), compared to other horror comedies from that era. Not horrifying anymore, but remains darkly humorous thanks to smartly written screenplay filled with fantastic puns.

RELEASED IN 1960 and directed by Roger Corman, "Little Shop of Horrors" stars Jonathan Haze as Seymour, a klutzy worker at a Los Angeles Skid Row florist shop. On the verge of getting fired by the owner (Mel Welles), the young man brings his weird hybrid plant to the store to spur business. Unbeknownst to Seymour, it requires flesh & blood to grow and live. Jackie Joseph plays the other worker at the shop and Seymour's potential girlfriend. A very young Jack Nicholson appears as a patient at a dentist office for about 8 minutes. Back when this was released I'm sure the black humor was almost scandalous (e.g. Seymour feeding body parts to the ravenous plant), but Corman got away with it because it's such an inane comedy. A lot of the humor didn't work for me and I personally don't like black & white. But there are enough amusing elements to make it worth checking out and Jackie possesses a winsome sweetness that's a pleasure to behold. Filmed in late December, 1959, the late 50s/early 60s ambiance is a highlight. THE FILM RUNS 1 hour & 12 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles. WRITER: Charles B. Griffith. ADDITIONAL CAST: Toby Michaels and Karyn Kupcinet are on hand as high school girls in need of flowers for a float. GRADE: C

In a struggling skid row florists, clumsy shop assistant Seymour Krelboyne (Jonathan Haze) manages to draw in the customers by showcasing a most unusual plant, Audrey Junior (named after his pretty co-worker Audrey, played by Jackie Joseph), unaware that successfully nurturing the plant requires a constant supply of human flesh and blood.Even though it's far from perfect, having been thrown together in a mere two days on a minuscule budget, I cannot help but have great affection for Roger Corman's dark comedy horror The Little Shop of Horrors: without it, I wouldn't have one of my favourite 'alternative' musicals, Frank Oz's superb 1986 remake (of which the Director's Cut is a 10/10 movie, IMHO).Although Corman's film doesn't come close to Oz's version in terms of cast (Jack Nicholson is the only 'recognisable' actor—Dick Miller doesn't count), production values, or special effects, it more than delivers in terms of sheer invention and boasts a quirky nature that makes it fun from start to finish. If like me, you're a huge fan of the musical, check out the original to see where it all began—you won't be disappointed.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

"The Little Shop of Horrors" is a low budget (almost no budget) film that doesn't fit the fright and terror of the horror genre. It's in a league of somewhat scary flicks that are funny as well. The silly premise here is festooned with farce, parody, puns, sight gags, and horrendously humorous lines. The movie pokes light-hearted fun at all sorts of subjects with impunity. The script subtly and not so-subtly switches between subjects that it knocks. One moment it jabs at an ethnic neighborhood, and the next it pans a phobia of dentists. The cast is mostly unknown outside the industry at the time and a cult following today. One exception is a 23-year-old Jack Nicholson in just his fourth movie. This is a decade ahead of his A-film roles and 15 years ahead of his Oscar performance in "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest." Here he plays Wilbur Force with hilarious aplomb. Nicholson's scene in the dentist's office is one of the funniest of the film, combining dialogue and sight gag. In the waiting room, he's reading an article by a doctor in a magazine: "There were other complications. The man had cancer, tuberculosis, leprosy and a touch of the grippe. I decided to operate." One of my favorite scenes is when Seymour, played by Jonathan Haze, goes home to check on his hypochondriac mother. He walks in the door and we hear the radio from his mother's bedroom. "This is radio KSIK. You've been listening to music for old invalids. Our next selection is entitled, 'Sick Room Serenade.'" Seymour is the source of most of the buffoonery in the film. Many sight gags happen throughout the film, and some go by rather quickly. I caught one in a street scene as the camera was panning toward Mushnick's flower shop. A billboard above the street shops advertised in large letters, "Skidrow Seminary." A sign in the flower shop reads, "We don't letting you spend so much."The names of many characters are wonderful jabs at Hollywood and humanity. Detective Sergeant Joe Fink parodies Joe Friday of the long- running TV police drama, "Dragnet" (1951-1959). But in this film, Joe Fink says "I'm a fink," and his partner is Detective Frank Stoolie. Finks and stoolies were the same thing in the underworld of that day, and the terms still are used today. Mrs. Siddie Shiva is a pun for a Jewish funeral rite. Then there's Hortense Fishtwanger of the Society of Silent Flower Observers of Southern California – the SSFOSC. And, there is Gravis Mushnick, for which I offer one possible generic parody – a producer or lover of serious mushy romance stories. By a wild stretch of the imagination, I can see a clever similarity of this movie with the 1940 big-name film, "The Shop Around the Corner." Who knows what director Roger Corman and writer Charles Griffith had in mind at the time? Or any time?All of this is fun, of course. What makes this movie a true treasure and delight to watch – and listen to, is the witty script. Two characters stand out for their riotously laughable lines and hilarious malapropisms. Jackie Joseph is a hoot as demure Audrey Fulquard. And Mel Welles is over the top hilarious as the bombastic Gravis Mushnick. This is a great piece of comedy film, well worth having in any film library. I encourage viewers to read the IMDb Trivia and Quotes sections. Here are some of my favorite funny lines and malapropisms. The latter are wrong words (or no words) that sound like words that should be used, so that the dialogue is nonsensical and usually very humorous. Gracie Allen was a master of malapropism on the George Burns and Gracie Allen TV show (1950-1958). Mrs. Shiva: "I thought possibly because I give you all my funeral business, that maybe you should possibly give to me a little cut rate." Mushnick: "Look at me, Mrs. Shiva. What am I – a philatelist? To my throat I would be giving a cut."Mushnick, to Seymour: "You're fired!" Audrey, to Mushnick: "Why don't you give him a chance to resurrect himself?"Winifred Krelboyne, reading a medicine bottle label: "If you get hit by a truck, call your physician."Mushnick: "I don't like my house cluttered up with rotten vegetables."Seymour to his mom, Winifred: "Look Ma, I've gotta go. Can I bring you anything?" Winifred: "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Bring me the Evening News. They're running a self-diagnosis contest. The winner gets to go to the Mayo Clinic."Seymour: "I gave it (the plant) a name." Mushnick: "What name?" Seymour: "Aw, gee …" Mushnick: "What, you gave it a dirty name that you can't even mention it?"Burson Fouch: "I'll see you tomorrow. I'm crazy about kosher flowers."Audrey to Seymour: "I think you're a fine figurative of a man."Seymour: "Look, Audrey. Isn't he beautiful? Isn't he delicious? Isn't he got a $2 raise? What happened to your fingers?" Seymour: "Bee stings." Mushnick: "All four fingers?" Seymour, holding up both hands: "All 10 fingers."Seymour: "Look at that. It's almost a foot long." Audrey: "Isn't it a spiracle?" Mushnick: "It grows, like a cold sore from the lip."Girl in the flower shop: "Doesn't it have a scientific name?" Mushnick: "Yes, of course. But who could denounce it?"Audrey, to Mushnick: "Try to eat something. It'll calm your agrimation."Seymour: "Ain't that something'?" Audrey: "It's monstrosinous."Seymour: "You kiss good, Audrey." Audrey, "I guess I just have a good kisser."Mushnick: "It's a finger of speech."Mushnick: "Are you hungry?" Audrey: "Sure am. I could eat a hearse."Audrey: "There's a lady from some kind of a comitance outside."Seymour, to his dentist: "It's this tooth, over here." Dr. Farb: "Seymour, who's the dentist here, you or me?"