GrahamS.

I was in high school, working at a movie theater that showed this film when it came out. The only reason It sticks in my mind (I didn’t rewatch it for this ep and have no desire to) is that there was an EXTREMELY HIGH level of filmgoers who walked out saying how dreadful it was.

What I vaguely remember from the article was that Hulu didn’t want the character to lose the appeal that made the show successful. But why not try something new? Kristen Bell is in her thirties so it seems like she should be able to talk/act like someone in her thirties.

I haven’t watched the new season, but I wonder how much was because of Hulu’s demands. Hulu has the equivalent of hard R-rated material in its programming, and the Veronica Mars team were prepared to fully embrace that and had written a pilot with a lot of foul language in it, but Hulu wanted the program to remain TV-14.

one day I’ll learn that I only need to hit the “submit” button once on my phone, but today is not that day.

Just FYI, there WAS a deal where you could get a combo package of Spotify and Hulu for $10 a month. That’s pretty cheap. Don’t know if they’re still offering. i actually like Hulu better than Netflix, personally. They have more interesting movies—Sorry to another You among others—exclusively, and they’re getting the entire FX library. (and already have exclusive rights to Atlanta and other FX shows). Plus, they have Originals like Ramy and Castle Rock, which I like a lot.

Just FYI, there WAS a deal where you could get a combo package of Spotify and Hulu for $10 a month. That’s pretty cheap. Don’t know if they’re still offering. i actually like Hulu better than Netflix, personally. They have more interesting movies—Sorry to another You among others—exclusively, and they’re getting the entire FX library. (and already have exclusive rights to Atlanta and other FX shows). Plus, they have Originals like Ramy and Castle Rock, which I like a lot.

Thanks!

I found this article—from NPR—on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a good one. I couldn’t copy the link but here’s the article, and there’s a 5 minute NPR story that goes with it. Worth checking out the actual website if you have the time. The NPR story is similar to—but also different than—this article. Here’s the article. MUSIC NEWS 'Purple Rain' Taught Me How To Be In A Band July 26, 201410:00 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition ERIC DEGGANS FacebookTwitterTumblrPinterestInstagram LISTEN· 5:285-Minute Listen "I never wanted to be your weekend lover": Prince and his Purple Rain costar Appolonia Kotero. Warner Bros./Getty Images Prince's semi-autobiographical film, Purple Rain, hit theaters 30 years ago this weekend, presenting the world with a bold new model for the contemporary pop artist. NPR television critic Eric Deggans remembers the moment vividly. Hear his conversation with special correspondent Michele Norris above, and read his personal essay on the movie below. Little compares to that magic moment when you sit down in a movie theater and watch a film that seems as if it's telling your story. That happened to me three decades ago. The film was Prince's pop-funk masterpiece, Purple Rain. The movie and its soundtrack were milestones for music and media: the christening of Prince as a pop star and the explosion of his uniquely multicultural, genre-bending, sex-drenched form of funky sonic genius. But for me, nothing before had so fully captured what it was like to perform in a band. I was a young drummer starting a band with classmates at Indiana University, which would eventually get a short stint as Motown recording artists, playing throughout the Midwest and even in Japan. Watching Purple Rain, before all that would happen, felt a bit like seeing an autobiography, set to the baddest music around. A band is essentially a marriage with three or four or eight or ten people. It requires you to spend outlandish amounts of time together, sweating to make the kind of art that might move a few hearts and allow you to earn a living besides. For all its flaws — from the stilted, amateurish acting to clumsy direction and clunky lines — Purple Rain nailed that feeling. As Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman begged Prince to let the band play one of their songs, I relived a thousand other band fights fueled by insecurity, fatigue and immaturity. Seeing them eventually work it out and blow the roof off of the First Avenue club felt like a special message: You can do this, too. Purple Rain was special to the world for many other reasons. At a time before YouTube, social media or the World Wide Web, few artists had the power to create multimedia experiences on multiple platforms to speak directly to fans. Prince, who cultivated a mystique by giving few interviews and revealing little about his life or work, let fans into a fictionalized version of his history on the big screen. And the film, juiced by career-making turns from slick lothario Morris Day and his band The Time, gave Prince-heads a super-sized vision of their idol, tooling around Minneapolis with a tricked-out motorcycle and fiercely ruffled shirts. Not many years before, the music world was seriously segregated. MTV had to be shamed into playing Michael Jackson videos and the "disco sucks" movement too often felt like a thinly veiled way of saying, "black and brown and gay people suck." THE RECORD My American Dream Sounds Like Prince But Prince offered a musical world that put genres in a blender. "Let's Go Crazy" married a bouncy '50s-style rock rhythm to a percolating, '80s pop funk beat. "Purple Rain" was a soulful ballad fired up by incendiary guitar solos. "When Doves Cry" was a percussive marvel held together by a spastic drum machine groove and soaring, Prince-ian vocals. Sitting in an Indiana theater packed with kids my age, I saw Purple Rain as a validation of the musical world I was already seeking out: a glorious, paisley-drenched descendant of Sly & the Family Stone by way of James Brownand Bill Haley's Comets. Film purists will insist the movie itself is pure shlock. The female lead, Patricia "Appolonia" Kotero, emotes like she learned her lines that morning. Only the masterful Clarence Williams III — the Mod Squad veteran who gives an emotional performance as Prince's abusive father — seemed to have any real acting chops at all. But when you're on the tip of a cultural revolution, little of that matters. And looking back over 30 years, it's obvious that Purple Rain became a generational manifesto, while providing the largest megaphone yet for one of the greatest geniuses in pop music.

The dumpster scene is insane, but I kinda feel like it’s in there to try to make Prince look good by comparison. At one point, he warns Appolonia “You don’t know what (Morris) is like!” BUT, despite the misogynistic scene where he had his buddy dump the woman in the dumpster, Morris treats Appolonia with a comparative amount of respect. he is a creep, but a charming, funny creep who helps her. Prince humiliates her, beats her, kinda forces her into a date-rapey type of situation (when he “saves” her from Morris on his bike) and seems to expect her to be grateful. Which she is, which is the other weird thing about this movie, because her character fluctuates between telling him to fuck off (which I liked) and then swooning for him because he played The Beautiful Ones and Purple Rain. Their relationship doesn’t really develop, she just gets misty eyed while watching him perform.

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!

Vanity at least had a film career. I don’t remember Appolonia in anything else.

I remember Jason commenting that Cherry Moon was not good but he loved Purple Rain at some point during the 100+ hours of podcasts.

How are the other two?

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.

All in all, there were parts that I really enjoyed, but it felt like it was two films in one—a fun one and a dark one about abuse—that didn’t mesh successfully for me.

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

When did they do Prelude to a Kiss? I was working at a movie theater when that came out and I remember that was awful.

I was going to recommend The Boys as well, even though I haven’t finished the season yet. Also Homecoming—from the creator of Mr. Robot and based on an excellent podcast—is supposed to be good. I’m looking forward to watching Purple Rain. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but I remember it being a good match of performer and material.

I know Batman & Robin was covered several years ago, but it’s streaming for free and HOLY SHIT! I have only watched the opening 20 minutes, but what an INSANE 20 minutes it was. I will incrementally watch more. what was genuinely impressive is that this is pre-CGI, so people are ACTUALLY WEARING these goofball costumes and doing these goofball stunts. For that factor alone, it is an HDTGM classic.

Why are you denying Paul McCartney your father’s underwear?? I’m mean, if he’s that desperate at two in the morning to get his geriatric ass outta bed and steal clothes, there must be a good reason. Why be a hater?

I would say Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.1. It took me a minute to think of—because I agree, soundtracks aren’t as big as they used to be—but I fucking love that soundtrack and it’s super-popular.

I’d say Velvet Buzzsaw but that Netflix movie BLOWS.

Why not Blue Velvet?

I think you might have heard that on Unspooled, but it wasn’t based on fact, it was Paul theorizing why he hadn’t been given a copy of the script to read through the WGA. It might have had fact behind it, but it felt like Paul was winging it.

Ok, I just tried watching this tonight and could not get into it. The constant narration felt like I was being given a lecture on who these people were and how amazing they were and blah blah blah. The characters barely spoke for themselves. The narration was only broken up for the musical numbers which felt like a 90s movie trying to be a hip 70s movie and feeling fake in that weirdly ironic 90s way. I don’t know who they got to do the music but I wish they had just gotten Pulp to do the entire thing. All of this to say, when a movie is THIS RELIANT on narration and songs that I do not like (and I like glam rock, just not THIS glam rock) I stop at the 40 minute mark. Perhaps the next 80 minutes are filled with brilliance, but I’m ok on missing out. I’m glad other people liked it. I could see how it could be fun to watch! For me, no, but for you!