Musical Mondays Week 86 Purple Rain

[Cameron H. 23786]

We have been cleansed!

We watched:

[Cameron H. 23786]

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.

[EvRobert 1684]

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

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

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.

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

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

[GrahamS. 803]

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

[GrahamS. 803]

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. 

[EvRobert 1684]

1 hour ago, Cameron H. said:

 

I'm blanking here, who is the Milo Ventmillia looking guy playing acoustic next to Tom Petty

[Cameron H. 23786]

Just now, EvRobert said:

I'm blanking here, who is the Milo Ventmillia looking guy playing acoustic next to Tom Petty

LOL--Dhani Harrison!

[grudlian. 4725]

2 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

 

My favorite part of this is Prince throwing the guitar in the air and it just disappears into the ether.

[EvRobert 1684]

41 minutes ago, GrahamS. said:

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

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

[EvRobert 1684]

45 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

LOL--Dhani Harrison!

Makes sense. Still looks like Milo

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

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.)

 

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

4 minutes ago, AlmostAGhost said:

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.)

 

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.)

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

9 minutes ago, Cinco DeNio said:

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.)

Ooh ya, I forgot that was a sequel. I haven't seen it either. I'll try to watch it sometime too. 

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

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/

 

[WatchOutForSnakes 807]

1 hour ago, GrahamS. said:

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

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. 

[WatchOutForSnakes 807]

7 minutes ago, AlmostAGhost said:

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/

 

You win! 

[GrahamS. 803]

2 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

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.)

 

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.

 

 

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

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

[Cinco DeNio 5290]

I'm now the proud (?) owner of all 3 movies on HD streaming.

[GrahamS. 803]

38 minutes ago, Cinco DeNio said:

I'm now the proud (?) owner of all 3 movies on HD streaming.

How are the other two?

[GrahamS. 803]

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

[GrahamS. 803]

57 minutes ago, Cinco DeNio said:

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

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