Under The Cherry Moon (DVD)

Under the Cherry Moon, which launched Prince's directing career, is the story of a young musician (Prince) and his friend who has traveled to Europe and is enjoying the wealth they earn by scamming rich women. When the musician falls in love with one of their marks (Kristin Scott Thomas: making her feature film debut), their friendship and new-found riches are jeopardized. The film features hits from Prince and the Revolution including "Kiss," "Mountains," and "Under the Cherry Moon."

Music videos: 'Boys And Girls', 'Mountains', 'Kiss' And 'Anotherloverholenyohead'

Widescreen

Dolby Digital 5.1

Languages - English

Subtitles - English

Region 2/PAL/Colour

Running Time 96 Minutes

When this film was released in 1986 Prince was slaughtered by the critics and any goodwill given due to the success of Purple Rain two years earlier dissolved.

I was a major Prince fan at the time of release and although he lost the way sometime ago I feel he is on his way back with last years Musicology. For this reason I was curious to see this film again.

When I first saw it on video years ago I was able to ignore the acting etc and concentrate on the music but watching it as an adult I can see it for the indulgent mess that it is. But this isn't a bad thing - as with most things looked at in hindsight nostalgia blurs ones critical faculties. Seen through rose-tinted specs one can appreciate a time when pop stars were allowed to make such big mistakes - nowadays everything is so manufactured that, with the exception of Mariah Careys Glitter, these mistakes aren't allowed to happen.

Back in the 80's Prince was unstoppable so after the massive success of Purple Rain he was allowed to write, direct and star in this "romantic comedy". They say his first mistake was to shoot in black & white - I'd say his first mistake was "discovering" Kristin Scott Thomas - she is so wooden as the object of affection of Princes con-man Christopher Tracy. They have no chemistry and she has no personality so the central conceit of the film, that this playboy conman would risk it all for her, is laughable.

The films saving grace is Jerome Benton as Tracys sidekick and the music itself that plays throughout the film. Musically Prince was at the height of his powers and the fact that some parts of the film play out like extended pop promos is no bad thing - songs like Kiss, Girls & Boys and Mountains make it worth sitting through.

They are many laughable moments that put this film in the league of "so bad its good" (like Showgirls) - Steven Berkoffs performance, the cringeworthy dialogue and the funniest death scene this side of South park.

i would recommend this to anyone with a passing interest in Prince - for all of its faults the films look is stylish, its enjoyable in its unintentional humour and the music is excellent. The DVD makes this more worthy as you can just jump to songs or scenes rather than watching the whole thing and the picture makes the monochrome even more impressive.