MovieChat Forums > Little Shop of Horrors (1986) Discussion > Which Version Am I Rating??

Which Version Am I Rating??

posted 10 years ago by hoochiemoochie
2 replies | jump to latest

Just watched the movie all the way through for only the second time in my life and halfway through the ending I realized I was watching the "bad" ending. I had heard about it but I had never seen it. When Audrey dies I thought that she came back but once Seymour was killed I knew I had to be watching the "bad" ending.

As a person who believes that in the end good will ultimately defeat evil I have never liked the idea of the "bad" version. It would be one thing if just Seymour and Audrey had been killed, but to have the plants take over the world is just ridiculous. All it would take would be some fire and those plants would be toast in seconds.

So, while I appreciate Frank Oz trying something different, a movie like this doesn't need or require an ending like he originally wanted. It's a comedy/musical so it has no business having a depressing ending where everyone ends up dead. That's just stupid.

Thus, if I have to rate the theatrical version I would give it a 7.5, but the "bad" version gets a 6.

=Last time I taught, I was like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society...by which I mean I got fired=

[–] dimakorou 10 years ago

to have the plants take over the world is just ridiculous. All it would take would be some fire and those plants would be toast in seconds.

How do you know that? Audrey's skin was bulletproof when it was shot, it could be inflammable too. They were there to take over the planet, after all; such things they would have thought of before the invasion.

I appreciate Frank Oz trying something different, a movie like this doesn't need or require an ending like he originally wanted.

This ending is the original ending of the play, not Frank's desire. Plus, Frank was the director, not the screenwriter.

It's a comedy/musical so it has no business having a depressing ending where everyone ends up dead.

Creative writing has no rules and restrictions.

As a person who believes that in the end good will ultimately defeat evil

The plants would never get so big if thousands of humans hadn't fed them. As the lyrics say, they were exploiting humanity's greed. Plus, the plants were alien colonists. They are as evil as humans are when they are expanding their countries (wars), cities (destroying ecosystems) or/and their financial position in zero-sum economies.

Which Version Am I Rating??

I would say the theatrical ending (good ending). The director's cut was released just a few years ago because they didn't want such a great (and expensive) ending un-screened.

[–] garrettchandlerd 10 years ago

The end of the Broadway musical matches the director's cut "good ending"

Audrey and Seymour living and no lesson being learned from this Faustian tale is actually the bad ending or as I like to refer to "the copout" ending