Film A good film, but neither ending quite pans out.
I really like the idea of the film they were going for: a campy B-horror story that warns about the problems with making a Deal with the Devil. But in the end, or rather, in either end, there are problems. But first, the good things.
This film is of course an adaptation of a stage show, and it shows in all the right ways. The direction of the film and especially its musical numbers highlight the strengths of a play but also does things only film can do. But what it does is exactly what the play would do if it could, so it's right on the money.
The characters are good. Rick Moranis' Seymour is sympathetic, and therein is one of the problems, but he does create a likable character, even if that may be to the story's detriment. Ellen Greene reprises the role she originated as Audrey, and her powerhouse singing voice works surprisingly well with her shrill Brooklyn speaking voice. Man-Eating Plant Audrey II is a dynamic, enticing villain, whose modern tone and aggressive behavior are threatening and fun. Also, amazing puppetry creates the plant, and it has to be seen.
The musical numbers are insanely catchy, incredibly clever, and beautifully performed. The composing team of Menken and Ashman is perfect as usual. "Skid Row" and "Somewhere That's Green" are particular standouts.
The plot is where issues come up. The story on which this is based is meant to be a Faustian Greek tragedy, telling of the downfall of a man who took the wrong path to success. There's an actual Greek chorus and a tragic ending...but the tone and performances don't quite work. The film can't seem to decide whether it wants to be silly or powerful, and on top of that, our victims are too likable for a distant cautionary story. Seymour never seems to be tempted toward evil, rather, he's bullied into it and doesn't enjoy its rewards, and Audrey's dreams feel more precious now that we have a fantasy sequence to see them. The results of the bad ending seem brutally unnecessary to show onscreen. And if this wasn't a bouncy musical half the time, it would be well-wrought tragedy, but it just seems wrong when the rest is fairly light. There's not enough cynicism throughout to keep this a real black comedy, it just feels dark and funny separately.
But the Focus Group Ending doesn't quite work either, because it's also not light enough throughout to make it work. The tonal balance is such that neither happy or bad endings quite fit, and it's a real shame, because the intent is there.
I think this film is an enjoyable experience and a great adaptation for the first three quarters, but the endings don't quite fit.
Film watch for the... ending?
i watched the director's cut first.
for me, i just got too many Unfortunate Implications from the main portion of the film, and i found the main character difficult to like when it seemed like they were intentionally trying to make him likable. the combination of traits that encourages Through the Eyes of Madness theories.
so, a Dogged Nice Guy, whom the universe revolves around, has a crush who secretly wants to be his tradwife but has a bad boyfriend and thinks she doesn't deserve a "nice guy" because she was a sex worker. class issues briefly come up, but they're not touched upon in much detail. he rescues her by killing her boyfriend, and everything is instantly resolved and they intend to marry on the spot. (i could just barely sit through Suddenly Seymour.)
although, of course, seymour didn't really kill orin, he just pointed a gun at him and then orin happened to overdose, so seymour is innocent. he's also innocent when his adoptive father dies to the thing that encouraged him to kill orin, which conveniently happens when he forces seymour to leave town without audrey after having committed a murder-but-not-really-because-he's-innocent. then he's innocently dragged into celebrity and stardom against his will, because it wouldn't be very innocent of him to indulge in greed the way the plot so far implied he would. then audrey dies in a very sad way that is sweet and sad and she tells seymour to take care of her even when she's dead. awwww. and then he holds her hand as she's eaten by audrey ii. awww. awwwwww. AWWWWWWW.
the movie then snaps to its senses (or, apparently, gets closer to the musical) and audrey ii FUCKING EATS HIM after destroying the shop and directly No Selling several bullets, and then audrey ii's offspring takes over the world, with a badass Villain Song and an ending song properly decrying the greed that seymour bought into until it killed audrey. probably the most cathartic 20 minutes i've ever experienced. audrey ii is honestly the liveliest character in the movie and the puppets are fucking amazing.
sadly i can see why this ending got changed, given how anyone who unironically enjoyed the first 80 minutes was given a 20-minute sequence at the end subverting the entire movie before it, and nobody who'd agree with the ending would sit through the actual movie unless they're told "no trust me it's good" or audrey ii's presence is good enough to justify watching.