More of an adaptation of the musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman than a remake of the 1960 Roger Corman original (though a bunch of elements from that one are carried over) this pretty delightful musical/comedy stars Rick Moranis as Seymour, a geeky loser who works in a flower shop and has a crush on co-worker Ellen Greene.

One day he buys a strange plant from a local store only for it to turn out to be an alien being that has a taste for blood. Once "Audrey II" (as it is dubbed) gets a little of the red stuff it's soon growing to massive proportions; singing and dancing and harrassing Seymour to "feed me!" (which leads to "you know what").

With lots of well-shot musical numbers and some catchy tunes (though admittedly, and expectedly, some of the songs are so-so) this is a morbidly funny little musical with a cast that has fun and a plant that has one heck of a personallity (voiced and sung by Levi Stubbs of the legendary Four Tops group).

Throw in a whole slew of celebrity cameos, great plant effects (I love the part where it tries to bite a woman's behind) and the duo of Steve Martin (who gets the best song as a sadistic dentist) and Bill Murray (as the hilarious pain loving dental paitent that was played by Jack Nicholson in the original) stealing the show in their small roles.

Director Frank Oz has created an off-beat and fun little movie. Recommended.

Directed By: Frank Oz.
Written By: Howard Ashman.

Starring: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardena, Steve Martin.