{"id":7031,"date":"2024-10-25T12:01:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T16:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=7031"},"modified":"2024-10-25T12:01:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T16:01:06","slug":"purple-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/10\/25\/purple-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"Purple Rain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Purple Rain <\/strong>(1984)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Musical-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 111 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (language, domestic violence, nudity, sexual content, explicit lyrics, thematic elements)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Albert Magnoli\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Albert Magnoli and William Blinn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: \u00a0Michel Colombier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: July 27, 1984 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Jerome Benton, Olga Karlatos, Clarence Williams III, Billy Sparks, Jill Jones, The Revolution (Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Brown Mark, Matt “Doctor” Fink, Bobby Z.), The Time (Jesse Johnson, Paul Peterson, Gerald E. Hubbard Jr., Mark Cardenas, Garry “Jellybean” Johnson).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $70.3M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: *** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0On stage, Prince is an electrifying performer. His songs and movements are highly sexually charged. I\u2019ve never been to one of his concerts. Judging by what\u2019s on display in the musical drama Purple Rain<\/strong>, the man puts on a hell of a show.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Prince plays a Minneapolis nightclub singer simply known as \u201cThe Kid\u201d who, on a good day, is merely arrogant and vain. He performs at the First Avenue Club with his band The Revolution. Like many artists, Kid\u2019s a control freak. He wants to be the sole creative genius behind the music. He won\u2019t even listen to a song written by bandmates Wendy and Lisa. The club owner (Sparks) has had it with the singer\u2019s self-indulgent performances. The audience doesn\u2019t like it either.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Kid\u2019s main rival is Morris Day (as himself), a conceited womanizer who never goes anywhere without his sidekick Jerome (Benton). He\u2019s fiercely competitive with Kid. Their long-standing rivalry is about to come to a head over the new talent in town, a gorgeous young singer named Apollonia (Kotero) looking for her first big break.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Kid\u2019s home life is nothing short of a nightmare. He still lives in his parents\u2019 basement where he listens as his bitter father (Williams, The Mod Squad) regularly beats the hell out of his way too patient and understanding mother (Karlatos, Zombie). Apollonia initially finds herself attracted to the mysterious Kid, but he has way too many personal demons to think of anybody but himself. She then hooks up with Day who makes her the frontwoman for his new band, Apollonia 6. Needless to say, Kid doesn\u2019t react to the news well.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The main dramatic conflict of Purple Rain <\/strong>concerns Kid\u2019s efforts to not end up like his father, angry and self-destructive over his failed music career. He hates his dad for the way he treats his mother, but he expresses anger towards Apollonia is a similar manner for her perceived betrayal. It\u2019s a vicious cycle that he\u2019d like to stop. The psychology in Purple Rain <\/strong>is markedly but unsurprisingly superficial. It doesn\u2019t take a psych major to recognize Kid\u2019s demons are holding him back professionally and preventing him from gaining the fame his extraordinary talent deserves. His rocky relationship with his dad is interesting even if it lacks any real depth.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Of course, if the makers did bother to explore the movie\u2019s deep psychological themes, Purple Rain <\/strong>probably would have been a drag for Prince\u2019s fans that came for the music. On that front, it blows the roof right off the theater. It\u2019s easily one of the very best soundtracks of the 80s. It yielded several hits including \u201cWhen Doves Cry\u201d, \u201cLet\u2019s Go Crazy\u201d and the title song. When the Purple One performs, the movie takes on a life of its own. He\u2019s the most thrilling performer since Elvis, especially when he\u2019s doing overtly sexual numbers like \u201cDarling Nikki\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The musical numbers, the heart and soul of Purple Rain<\/strong>, are all great, even the ones NOT by Prince. Morris Day and the Time\u2019s \u201cJungle Love\u201d is a fun number injected with humor centered on Day\u2019s vanity. About midway through the song, Jerome steps on stage with a mirror so Day can check his hair. They are the movie\u2019s true comic relief (for the most part anyway). They also personify the misogynistic tone that runs throughout the movie. Day often refers to women as \u201cbitches\u201d. He\u2019s so full of himself; he can\u2019t even be bothered to tell an ex-lover to get lost. Instead, he has Jerome pick her up and deposit her in a nearby trash dumpster. In the movie\u2019s most famous scene, Kid tricks Apollonia into jumping into a cold lake before riding off on his purple motorcycle leaving her cold, naked and stranded. It\u2019s a paradox when you consider most of Prince\u2019s fans are female.<\/p>\n

\u00a0ANYWAY, the great music and lively numbers eclipse the drama which is rather formulaic with its misunderstood artist as rising star, troubled father-son relationship and two guys fighting over the same girl plotlines. It\u2019s okay because it\u2019s merely framework for what is essentially an extended music video.\u00a0 The dramatic scenes are merely a bridge between musical numbers. Albert Magnoli, the guy behind the 1986 stinker American Anthem, directs Purple Rain <\/strong>with great style and flair. It may even be overstylized. The flashy cinematography and editing are a good fit. Aesthetically, it\u2019s a sight to behold.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Prince delivers the best performance of his brief acting career in Purple Rain<\/strong>. Granted, it\u2019s not much of a leap since he is in effect playing himself. Sullen, petulant and narcissistic, Kid has an affinity for purple, lace and leather. He often looks like he stepped right out of a Renaissance painting. He\u2019s an odd but appealing presence. But let\u2019s get real. The acting is a non-issue because most of the cast with the exception of Williams and Karlatos are playing versions of themselves, some of them exaggerated for comic effect. Williams is great as Kid\u2019s father even if his character is fairly one-dimensional.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The power of Purple Rain<\/strong> lies in the music. Some of it is intense. When Kid performs the title song at the end, it serves as an emotional catharsis for both him and the audience. The music also gives the movie its momentum. It drives the action in a way the drama can\u2019t. This is what ultimately helps Purple Rain<\/strong> avoid the same fate as failed musical dramas like Hard to Hold. I\u2019ll take Prince over Rick Springfield any day.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purple Rain (1984)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Warner Bros.\/Musical-Drama\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 111 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (language, domestic violence, nudity, sexual content, explicit lyrics, thematic elements)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Albert Magnoli\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Albert Magnoli and William Blinn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: \u00a0Michel Colombier\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Donald E. Thorin\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: July 27, 1984 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Jerome Benton, Olga Karlatos, Clarence Williams III, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dramas","category-musical"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Purple-Rain-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7031"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7390,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7031\/revisions\/7390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}