Under the Cherry Moon
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Movie Reviews of Under the Cherry Moon
Movie Review: Love With Conquer If You Just Believe
Summary: 5 Stars
Even in it's time this film was viewed as quite a bit beyond just a theatrical sophmore slump. I've heard it all too:an enormous,poorly acted vanity project from a talented musician whose ego is out of control. Well alright:this is not Spielburg,Kubrick,Hitchcock or anything like that. On the other hand it isn't exactly John Hughes either. What Prince offers here is an 80's style satire based in the romantic dramadies of the golden age of Hollywood,mixed with a lot of ideas from the "race movie" industry of that era. Shot in black & white and set in a beautiful photographed French Riviara this is basically a character sendup involving Prince as "bad boy" Christopher Tracy,a gigalo musician who along with his pal Tricky are in France trying to make good by wooeing wealthy heiress Mary Sharon,played by than newcomer Kirsten Scott Thomas only for her money. Therein lies the interesting part of the movie and one reason why a lot of people might not like it. With his proudly obnoxious and irresponsible behavior one thing you can count on from the Christopher Tracy character is that he's an itinerant gigalo and quite proud of it. The other characters surrounding him,in particular Mary Sharon herself may all be surrounding themselves with all the glittering material trappings of wealth but have a strong underbelly of decadence they pretend not to have. Most of the movie revolves around Tracy and Sharon developing into a genuine romantic coupling while her scheming father,from whom she is about to inherit a trust fund,is on the prowl to do away with Tracy mainly because he's beginning to shine a light on the sceming ways of everyone in Mary's world. What we have here is a self aware,culturally cunning Afro American man in the mid 1980's laying down the fact that,regardless of color or social status NO ONE in his emmediate cicle,including himself are any kind of great people and/or role models. In the end Mary figures this all out,only to have her father's men murder Tracy and at least her character ends up as more redemptive. But beyond the plot itself this movie has many witty and culturally aware moments. Unlike the somewhat ambiguous character in Purple Rain Prince's Tracy character here is very much the young black American with no assumed racial denial whatsoever. Especially witty in this respect is Tracy and Tricky fooling Mary Sharon with a napkin with the words "wrecka stow" written on it (see the movie and you'll see what I mean). Such little details as two homeless men giggling at Tracy and Sharon kissing as well as the presense of a copy of Miles Davis's You're Under Arrest album laying on a chair during a bit of Prince's dialog in the film are important to note as minor cinematic details. The general idea is that decadence aside,ambition aside that culturally and racially nobody has any monopoly on intelligence and insight and that if we all open our hearts and not think soley of ourselves our negative side won't have as much chance to overtake us. Musically the songs here are more elaborate and are more woven into the fabric of the film than they were in the more concert oriented performaces in Prince's feature film debut. Largely because of Prince's over the top cockiness (a major factor in this AND Purple Rain ) as well as the fact that this movie comprises mostly of unsympathetic characters it's often hard to see through to the witty,comedic satire in this film but it's there for those who are willing to see what Prince is trying to get at with this project.Movie Review: Simple test whether or not you'll like the film...
Summary: 5 Stars
This film, in my experience, is a very polarizing one. There are basically two sides...those who get Prince and his style, and those who do not. If you are someone who not only enjoys Prince's music, but also get his unique, wry sense of humor, you will almost definitely enjoy this film. If, however, you don't appreciate Prince's talents, or are one of those people who like his music, yet never understood why he was always so "weird" or "odd", this film will either annoy or bore you.
For those of you in the first group, be prepared to experience Prince's quirky sense of humor full blast. As director of the film, he gave this movie a full dose of himself, and Jerome complements him wonderfully. Neither of them are particularly amazing actors, but they bring a sense of fun and enjoyment that are hard to manufacture and extremely infectious. There are some truly classic moments that you'll want to quote all the time, but, unfortunately, no one else has seen the film so people won't get the reference (Wrecka Stow anyone?).
Also, there are several music videos on the DVD, which we all know are almost worth the cost of the DVD itself. "Kiss" is found on many music video compilations, but "Mountains", "Girls and Boys", and "Anotherloverholeinyahead" are unique to this DVD as far as I am aware.
Basically, it all boils down to this...for a true Prince fan, this will become an instant classic and must-have for your home video collection. For anyone else, this is a rental.
Movie Review: Stylistic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Considering the actors in this movie are well "not actors" or just in the beginning stages of their career, they do a pretty damn good job. I felt the same way about the movie, Purple Rain. I have followed and paid close attention to everything Prince has done in his career, and I have to say that there is no other artist like him and there never will be. People who lambash him for the times his music doesn't make the charts are idiots. The only competition that Prince has in the music industry, is himself.
Once again Prince comes up with something very original and stylistic that is unfortunately overlooked by most. This movie to me is in some ways better than Purple Rain. What I like the most of course is the background music/music score. Not just the tracks from the Parade album, but also the symphonic and piano pieces that you here only in this movie. It's all very brilliant, beautiful, soulful, and melodic. He is definitely a modern day genius. Mozart, Sammi Davis Jr, James Brown, Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and a touch of the Beatles and Frank Zappa...all rolled up into 1 short skinny eccentric mo'fo!
Movie Review: GENIUS
Summary: 5 Stars
Whether people like him or not, there's no doubting that this man is a musical genius! He started his career as a rock star aiming his music towards white teens but everyone of all races and ages was curious as to who this little man was. When he realized how much attention he could get from people just by being different, he figured why not try different things like movies. If you're from the '80's then you have at least seen 2 out of the three movies that were made and you owned at least one album. I loved him then and still do today, and I'm not alone, I've been to his recent sold out concerts. Don't hate because he's different, learn to embrace and appreciate the differences!
Movie Review: GREAT
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie at the age of 11 back in '86 so some of the jokes were over my head. But as an adult I love this movie. It is clever! It is sexy! It is cute! It is funny! And the music is all too....groovy! This movie gives a glimpse into Prince's personality that shines when he is on stage; grant it the only time we see Prince is if he is performing. Therefore I say give this movie a chance as to see what is inside this quiet man. I think anybody who likes to see funny, sexy, cute, and clever movies would enjoy this movie. If you are not a fan you may become one. Just bare in mind this movie was made in the 80's.