PLOT:
A young man with a talent for music has begun a career with much promise. He meets an aspiring singer, Apollonia, and finds that talent alone isn’t all that he needs. A complicated tale of his repeating his father’s self destructive behavior, losing Apollonia to another singer (Morris Day), and his coming to grips with his own connection to other people ensues.
REVIEW:
What did I like?
My name is Prince. Everyone knows that Prince is one of the greatest talents to ever put on the color purple, but who knew the man could have been a movie star? Well, let me not say that. His performance was competent enough that he was believable, almost as if this material was personal.
Music. Let’s face it, though. Unless you’re into the eye candy that is Apollonia or Prince, depending on your preference, chances are you aren’t watching this film for the story, but rather the music. I don’t blame you at all. These are some of Prince’s best known charts and, 36 yrs later, they are still some of the best pop/rock songs to ever be composed. Should you have to take a bathroom break and leave the movie playing, no worries, you’ll catch them again in the closing credits. That said, make sure to catch the performance of “Darling Nikki” and of course the titular track “Purple Rain”. The emotion in these songs is off the chart!
Rivalry. While it may not have been this way in real life, I believe Morris Day and Prince were actually childhood friends at one time, the rivalry between Prince and the Revolution and Morris Day and the Time was an element this film needed. Here we have one band that is down to earth, working their butts off, coming from humble beginning to the brink of stardom. On the other hand, there is the band that has all the backing and money in the world, with a lead singer dressed in furs and covered in hot women all the time. Opposites attract, but more often than not, they make for the perfect adversaries. Think back to the cartoons and/or video games you grew up with or, more recently, the MCU or the Harry Potter franchises. In the latter’s case, you have a boy with dark hair, no parents, glasses, and not much money (save for the fortune his parents left him). On the other hand, there;s Malfoy, who was all but made of money, had blonde hair, a bad attitude, and was insufferably entitled. The perfect antagonist for Harry. Morris is the same to Prince’s The Kid.
What didn’t I like?
Acting classes.With the exception of The Kid’s (Prince) dad, the cast is made up of Prince’s entourage and friends. Wait, I think the mother may have also been an actress of some kind, as well. At any rate, these are not trained actors and it shows. There was one scene in particular that I picked up on where Morris is talking to someone and you can see his eyes darting over to read the cue cards. Don’t get me started on how stale the performances are. It was almost as if they were just doing a table read for the first time with no direction in some places. Surely they could have been given some direction?
Abuse. Both of the Kid’s parents are abusive, but the film focuses more on the abuse his dad gives him mom and, to a lesser extent, him. The thing about that, though, is that is doesn’t really go anywhere. That is to say, there don’t seem to be any repercussions for the father. The police are never called, until he shoots himself. The mother is still there by his side in the end. Nothing ever seems to happen to the guy. I get if she’s in love with him till death do they part and all that jazz, but what he did is abuse and it seems to not be a secret in town, either. This isn’t a major part of the plot, so that could be why it was almost merely glanced over, but it just seems as if there should have been more to this part of the film.
Performance time. At 10 minutes shy of an even 2 hr runtime, it is interesting to note that more than a chunk of this film is performances.Much like watching today’s awards shows, the focus seems to be on the performances, rather than the film. The difference between those things and the film is that this if good music and you barely notice that they take up so much of the runtime because of how enjoyable they are to watch and listen to. However, it does still feel like filler, especially when out of nowhere we’re back in the club watching them perform when in the previous scene the band was having strife, the Kid was watching his dad beat on his mom, Morris was trying to steal the beautiful Apollonia away, etc.
Final verdict:
It was 4 years ago on Tuesday that Prince passed away. I swear everyday since then, I have heard one of his songs, usually “Purple Rain” or “When Doves Cry”, maybe “1999”. Everytime the subject of Prince comes up, it makes me realize that while I loved his music, I had never seen his movies. So this brings me to Purple Rain. What did I ultimately think of it? As far as movies featuring mainly musicians, models, and other non actors, it is really good, but if you didn’t know that this who those people were, you would wonder how this got made. The heavy lifting is done by Prince’s acting and especially his music. Given that this is his project, that’s fine, though. Personally, I think a few of the performances could have been dialed back for some character development, but that’s just me. Do I recommend this? Yes, especially if you’re a fan of Prince and his music
4 out of 5 stars
Mystery Man's Musings 