A half-dozen flicks - Three double features - no. 2: A Rick Moranis Twofer! Little Shop of Horrors and Ghostbusters

Rick Moranis may be the apotheosis of the nebbish. There are others, of course. Jerry Lewis comes to mind, and Woody Allen; but Moranis brought a singular humanity to his roles and expanded upon the absurdity of the situations he found himself in.

While not as frenetic or as dopey as Lewis and not nearly as self-aware of his nebbishness as Allen, Moranis maintains a sure sense of agency and embrace of the ridiculous before him. Perhaps Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is what comes to mind mostly for many, but his turn as Seymour in Little Shop... and as Louis Tully in Ghostbusters shows more subdued and nuanced aspects of his characters. He would later lean into full gonzo Moranis in Spaceballs, but it's these two turns that have kept my attention over decades.

There is a genuine sweetness to Seymour that hides a rather steely never as the film progresses. Frank Oz sguided a musical masterpiece of murder, mayhem, and true love. Howard Ashman and Charles B. Griffith's script and let's face it, those musical numbers (get Miles Goodman's score), is exquisite, building on and fleshing out (so to speak) Roger Corman's 1961 opus. 

While the film showcases Moranis, it would be ludicrous to not recognize the utter perfection brought to the table by Ellen Greene as Audrey, Vincent Gardenia as Seymour and Audrey's boss Mr. Mushnik, Steve Martin as Audrey's biker-dentist boyfriend, the second scariest gas huffer of the 80s after Dennis Hopper's Frank Booth. And of course, the biggest, baddest plant from outer space - Audrey 2 - voiced by Levi Stubbs. Seriously, this is perfection. Oh, and Bill Murray, brilliant as Martin's masochist patient. 

Among all this talent, it's Moranis who holds the focus and provides the narrative glue. 

The fact that his singing voice isn't significantly different from his speaking voice only adds to the humor and poignance, particularly with Greene. But it's Seymour's journey from ineffectual, aimless, and lovelorn mook to an efficient agent of death for his amanuensis for the other, more interstellar Audrey 2 that invests the film and his relationship with human Audrey with real stakes and a hero's choice. 

Make no mistake, this is a dark film, but one where you don't realize just how dark until it's over. Corman's original emphasized the horror element more and presented and even more dismal sense of a street of broken dreams with his Skid Row, but Oz's takes those elements and renders them operatic, opulent, and oneiric.

The even darker alternative ending is available on YouTube and you may, if you're given to less-than-happy endings, find it more satisfying.

Moranis getting the girl is also a triumph of really solid, organic storytelling. Audrey really does love Seymour for who he is and it's in this that his redemption is found. Again, Moranis pulls this off with aplomb, never show-boating or presenting some over-the-top "aha" moment. His is a performance replete with highlights, but never showy; he maintains his character's consistency and the arc of Seymour's narrative never feels silly or forced.

To be sure, in Ghostbusters, his role is very much supporting and very much a study in contrasts as he first appears as the hapless neighbor with a crush on Sigourney Weaver's Dana. It's far more pure comedy and the recurring gag of Louis locking himself out of his apartment after talking to her doesn't wear thin. 

"There is no Dana! There is only ZUUL!"

But when Dana is possessed by the demon Zuul the Gatekeeper and Louis by the spirit of the Keymaster, this just heaps up more gold. And - Moranis gets the girl again! Well, kind of.

To be sure, this is Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis's film, but without Moranis as a counterpoint, it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

"Do you want some coffee, Mr. Tulley?"

"Do I?"

"Yes, have some."

"Yes, have some."

- conversation between the possessed Louis and Janine (Annie Potts), the Ghostbuster's administrative assistant and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis)

Neither of these films really requires me going into heavy detail. I've got my favorite scenes like everyone, but when Louis as the Keymaster blathers about the coming of Gozer kills, there's a strong vote for one of the best passages in the script, up there with, well, too many others (seriously, this freaking movie is endlessly quotable.)

I will, in fact, leave off with it here. 

"Gozer the Traveller: he will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuidronaii, the Traveller came to a large and moving Torb. Then, during the Third Reconciliation of Meketrex supplicants, they chose a new form for him - that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of a Slor that day, I can tell you!" 

Rick Moranis - Louis Keymaster