CREDIT: WARNER BROS.
Little Shop of Horrors has everything a great '80s movie needs: over-the-top special effects, a hilarious cast and all the fake blood one can possibly find.

Steve Martin’s name has been associated with bargain bin DVDs and family-friendly comics, producing a glut of uninspired, safe comedies that mom won’t find offensive.

It’s really just a consequence of age. Every controversial, ribald comedian has toned it down since pushing past 40 and having a family. Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray are just a few among the many who’ve been accused of playing it safe since their loud, profane debuts.

Regardless of current circumstance, Steve Martin is a comedian and filmmaker whose legacy should be far from ignored.

Initially getting his big breaks as a writer for The Smothers Brothers and as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Steve became an all-seats-sold out comedian with an unprecedented following.

He eventually made his long-desired transition into film by the late ‘70s with his first major starring film, The Jerk, still considered one of the best comedies of its era.

Some of Martin’s cinematic highlights include:

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)

Less of a whole movie and more of a cinematic collage, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid incorporates Martin into footage from various ‘50s era noire detective films to construct a nonsensical plot of its own.

¡Three Amigos! (1986)

¡Three Amigos! Is a sort-of retelling of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. It tells the story of three down-on-their-luck silent movie stars (Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short) who are mistaken by the inhabitants of a small Mexican village as the heroes who were to provide them salvation from a gang of bandits.

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

A musical remake of the low budget 1963 Jack Nicholson comedy- horror flick of the same name, Little Shop of Horrors stars Martin, Rick Moranis, Jim Belushi, Bill Murray and various other ‘80s powerhouse comedians. A giant singing, flesh-eating plant is just one of the many horrors in this surreal musical/ comedy.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

A departure from his usual comedic schticks, Martin stars alongside the late John Candy as two weary travelers trying to make it home from New York to Chicago, after the cancellation of their plane due to bad weather. PT&A is, unlike most of Martin’s previous works, genuinely sentimental but without being corny or forced.

L.A. Story (1991)

One of Martin’s oft-overlooked cinematic entries, L.A Story is hard to make head or tail of from the start, seemingly playing out like a straight, reality-stuck comedy, with occasional deviations into the fantastical. But this rom-com satire of Los Angeles culture is, despite being initially confusing, one of the best comedic dramas you’ll see.