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We have been cleansed! We watched:

Does Apollonia own outfits that aren't cape and lingerie related or is this her main "look" for evening? I'm not saying I don't now also want a scarf cape to take from night to day ( very 80's doing day to night looks) I'm just saying perhaps give pants a chance. On the topic of pants and Apollonia looks I would have killed the Kid if I had to get back in an all leather outfit after being bullied into jumping in lake. I can't even get my leggings on comfortably if I'm running late and forget to let my lotion dry after a shower! Imagine the hell of getting into leather pants soaking wet!

Thank you! Literally every performance looks like the crowd is eating it up because it's Prince but they keep going on about how he hasn't been bringing in the crowds FROM THE START OF THE MOVIE. Like right after the first night at the club which was jam packed and in love with his song the club owner ( Another person I'm fascinated by and would rather have a movie about) and Morris are talking about how he's failing like his father before him and no one is coming to see him play. You can have Prince give an amazing performance and have a small amount of people or have the crowd not respond but you can't show us the audience loving Prince and then tell us he's bad. It's contradictory storytelling.

I need a movie just on Jerome. A man who will throw a woman into a dumpster and whose is a cartoonish modern Jeeves is a man I need to know more about

Thank you!! I was ready to write a scathing rant on his incredible bitch baby antics! Just because you're talented doesn't mean you can treat people like shit.

I think this connection rings true. i thought purple rain and Star were great conclusions to the movie. I still don’t think he earned Appolonia’s affections, but “it’s a movie.” what I found weird about the Darling Nikki and The Beautiful Ones performances is that he seemed to make them up on the spot as a reaction to Appolonia...and his band knew exactly what to do spontaneously. I don’t require reality to interfere with musicals—which this film kind of is—but I do like to know the ground rules so I can accept it. Ok, I’m done nitpicking now!

Yea, that's exactly what happens

Okay, I’ve finished. Here’s my take: one of the complaints the club owner levels against him was his songs were too personal. He wants commercial music about flapping birds and shit to get people dancing. Knowing that’s what was wanted, The Kid plays “Purple Rain” anyway because he’s like “Fuck it. I’m going out on my terms and I’ll play the *most* personal song.” The catch is, it wasn’t written exclusively by him. He achieves a kind of synthesis where he can write cathartic music for himself while reaching out to others. At the same time, he’s also relinquishing his absolute control over everything and humbling himself. The result is an epic song that is both commercial and personal. The people couldn’t relate to his songs about some woman named Nikki masturbating with a magazine in a hotel lobby, but they could relate to a song about loss. “Purple Rain” allows the audience to finally connect with him, and through that connection, it opens the doors for them to appreciate his other songs. (Uh...maybe? I’m not super confident in this answer.)

I didn't rewatch this but my main recollection is that all the criticisms brought up here are accurate. But Prince, for as bad as an actor he is, is so charismatic that he's kind of watchable even when he isn't performing. But the performances and songs are so good that this is still worth checking out.

Totally, but it seemed like, to me, his MOST artistic song was the "Purple Rain" performance at the end. So then... does the audience and the club owner finally catch up to his genius?

I might be wrong, but it’s not so much as he’s slipping as the audience is falling behind. After he storms off, the club owner tells him “no one gets your songs but you.” The Kid is an Artist while Morris Day is commercial.

I LIKE several Prince songs ("When Doves Cry" is definitely an all-time banger and I enjoy many other songs on the soundtrack), but I'm definitely not an out-and-out fan of The Purple One, so this one was difficult for me to get behind. Prince certainly has charisma as a performer, but he is NOT an actor. So seeing this guy, you know, hit his girlfriend and be a total primadonna prick to his bandmates, then have the film ask me to have sympathy for HIM? Not happening. Thankfully, the movie has a higher musical-performance-to-story-ratio than Rocky IV has montages, so that actually helps. Also, Prince is freqently told "you're losing it, kid" and Morris and the club owner talk about how "the kid doesn't have it anymore" right after Prince... performs a Prince song. But... it just seems like as intense and well-orchestrated a performance as any of the ones the audience sees as amazing. Are we supposed to be behind Prince in these moments, that his talent is unrecognized? If so, why do people all of the sudden think he's losing it during the middle of the film? If he really IS losing it, if his performance quality dips, how is that manifested? There is that one song that seems to be directed at Apollonia, which is pretty dickish, and he sort of storms off, which is also dickish, but it's not like the song is objectively bad or anything. Or am I wrong? If his performance quality WAS dipping, it would have been nice if he actually did incorporate some of the songs or song ideas his bandmates offered to try and improve the band, instead of shrugging them off like a petulant toddler told to share his action figures.

Supposedly Vanity was supposed to be in this. She left and Apollonia stepped in. Vanity 6 became Apollonia 6. Would Vanity have been better?

One film that constantly came to my mind while watching Purple Rain was 8 Mile. Structurally, the two films are SO similar. It’s an interesting contrast: Eminem’s pop icon role is playing the fucking asshole, and Prince is the king of cool, but on film, Eminem is sympathetic while Prince is a petulant dick. 8 Mile isn’t flawless, but Curtis Hanson is a much better director in terms of film craft than Albert Magnoli (apologies if I got his name wrong). I know women who do not like Eminem’s music (understatement), but like 8 Mile. Like I said before, I am a Prince fan. Growing up, I remember when MTV first started and there would be ten minute long videos of Prince performing in concert, ripping his shirt off, going bananas. As a kid—who probably shouldn’t have been watching it—it was jaw-dropping to watch. If I had to pick between Prince and MJ, I’d pick Prince (especially post HBO docs etc.). i guess my main issue with this film ( and I apologize if I’m being an ass by knocking it) is that I don’t feel it does Prince justice. Somewhere around the hour mark, I started wishing this film was more focused on the Morris Day character, which is not what I want from a film about Prince/The Kid/whatever. Finally, despite The Kid’s badmouthing Morris all through the film, I thought Morris treated Appolonia a shitload better than The Kid did. Just my opinion.

The treatment of women in the film is really quite shocking. Though I did appreciate that he at least seemed to come around somewhat when he credited the women with writing Purple Rain. The acting is terrible, but I agree that Morris Day was a real delight. Oh, that dancing!!!! It is all so very much of its time. I could watch this movie on a loop though just to watch him perform. Side note: last summer I went on a tour of Paisley Park and got to see a bunch of his memorabilia from the movie, including his motorcycle, and a suitcase piano he used to DANCE on! He was a tiny, tiny human! Creativity just seemed to ooze out of him, and I'm so glad he got to perform and produce as much as he did. He was working on a jazz album when he died. I'd have loved to hear the finished product (side, side note: he use to play in the mixing booth and mix while he was recording the band). I just love him to pieces. If you find yourselves in the Minneapolis area, I highly recommend the VIP tour. It's 1,000% worth the admission price.

Here's a favorite Prince moment James Brown is closing a show. Calls Michael Jackson on stage, who comes up and kills it. Then JB calls Prince up there, who gets carried to the stage piggyback by a Hodor-sized roadie, and then BLOWS EVERYONE AWAY https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/rembert-explains-the-80s-james-brown-prince-michael-jacksonat-the-beverly-theater-in-1983/

I was just reading on Wikipedia that Graffiti Bridge was supposed to be a sequel to Purple Rain. However the synopsis doesn't sound like it's much about his character development (I guess I've got another movie to watch this week.)

I took Prince's behavior in this movie as less 'asshole' and more 'petulant child' (I know... not big difference, I guess) But since his character is named The Kid and still lives at home, I think that immaturity was intentional. (It is an odd choice, though, for sure, to have the biggest rock star at the time do this. It does date the film a bit and as you guys touch on, it is a little problematic at times. Would have been nice to see him grow out of it by the end of the movie too.)

yeah I generally agree with you on this point. Great musical performances but Prince comes across as an asshole

I actually suggested this as an HDTGM film, not because I think it’s bad (I’d give it a C+, for reasons I’ll get into) but because it’s insanely 80s (which I’m sure June would enjoy) and also intensely problematic. Here’s what I said: This will be a controversial choice. I just watched this. Here are the things that are good about this movie.  1. Prince’s opening and closing performances. 2. Morris Day (who’s also fucking awesome). Acting-wise, he’s the best thing in this film. Pretty much every scene he’s in is funny. And his music numbers are entertaining. otherwise, holy shit,Prince is a fucking asshole in this film. And I’m a Prince fan. I’m legitimately surprised that he allowed himself to look THIS bad. Perhaps he thought he was giving off a tortured artist vibe—and the film is semi-autobiographical—but he treats Appolonia (and pretty much all the women around him) like shit. Why her character is romantically drawn to him is a totally underdeveloped mystery, since he abuses her fairly routinely. Also: I will go out on a limb and say Computer Blue is a terrible song. So is Appolonia’s song. Dont get me wrong, the soundtrack to this movie largely kicks ass and some of the musical sequences are great (and besides Morris Day, they’re the main reason to watch the film). But man, there’s some dark stuff here that’s given a superficial 80s music-video style treatment, and it’s pretty fucking jarring. i know people—especially Jason—would object, but I would be interested in hearing Jason, June and Paul take an honest look at this film. I know this film has an iconic reputation, but goddamn is it problematic

I watched most of Under the Cherry Moon last night. I think I have a half-hour left to go.

I liked it generally. There were a couple points I really enjoyed. I thought they were throwaway comments earlier and then they were referenced and used later. Unfortunately I can't remember them right now darn it.

You're not wrong about Prince being an incredible musician and magnetic personality. I know it's not related to the film but it seems every year at the super bowl someone posts his Super Bowl performance, which is amazing

I’m going to honest, I ran out of time last night and wasn’t able to finish. I hope to later today. So far, I’m really enjoying it. Prince was an absolutely phenomenal musician and didn’t get near enough accolades for his guitar playing.