Purple Rain

Purple Rain (1984)

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed by: Albert Magnoli

Starring: The Purple One, Appolonia, Morris Day, and members of both The Revolution and The Time

From: Warner Bros.

I have watched this movie before, but the last viewing was long ago and unfortunately it was sad circumstances that prompted me seeing it last night. At least I got to see it on the big screen. Read all the details about it below in my Letterboxd review:

It did not take long after Prince passed away and entered the after world (a world of never-ending happiness, and you can always see the sun, day or night) for both AMC Theatres and Carmike Cinemas to play the movie in some of their locations for the upcoming week, two showings a day. I went to a location in Orlando to check it out; of course I had seen this before, but that was a long time ago and this was the perfect time to watch it again. The crowd there was larger than expected and I'll say more about them later; just know that it was among the best audience experience I have ever had.

I am sure everyone knows the plot of The Kid and his band The Revolution in Minneapolis and how he has to deal with a terrible life at home, a new girl, problems with his band, and a rivalry w/ Morris Day & The Time. I will say that it is easy to nitpick the plot or how it's told, but a big asset is that all of the songs on the soundtrack are great and all of the performances you see are incredible; Prince had boatloads of charisma whenever he appeared on screen, and when he performed he was pure sex. The crowd I saw this with, they loved the movie. They went wild for all of the performances and several times (especially during the risque Darling Nikki) I thought that some were about to throw their underwear at the screen! They laughed at the right moments and went “oooh!” during the harshest one-liners. It was a great experience, both the audience and seeing those artists on stage doing their thing. The opening 10 minutes of the movie where you see and hear both Let's Go Crazy and Jungle Love as the main characters get ready to hit the club and then they arrive there and interact with each other... it's an astounding 10 minutes. So is the final act concert.

As for the rest of the movie... I wish it wasn't so problematic. The Kid-to be honest-usually comes off as a real A-hole, and he's the protagonist. I understand it's made rather clear that his crappy family life at home (where dad usually yells and beats up his wife) is a big reason as to why he acts this way. It doesn't mean that it's enjoyable seeing this guy be a real ass and also act incredibly misogynistic towards both Appolonia and the two ladies in his band, Wendy & Lisa. If he really would have changed in the final act that would be something, but it can be argued that this does not fully happen and to me I question how much The Kid really does change. Then, there's the odd fact that even though Morris E. Day is ostensibly the heel, he actually comes across as a nicer guy... and he is something who not only had Jerome throw a woman into a dumpster but he said that horribly insensitive remark to Prince, although he immediately felt regretful about it. He doesn't act like a dick to his band like Prince does, he at least tries to help out Appolonia with her budding career, he does cool music also, is typically a funny A-hole, and even he and Jerome do their own wacky version of Abbott & Costello's Who's On First routine. It's odd, really.

Even with those issues, I can still give this a decent rating; the people I saw it with definitely helped in my enjoyment due to how invested in the picture they were. Anyhow, Prince was an incredibly talented musician... he was also incredibly eccentric, but throughout life I have learned that the most talented people are typically pretty odd compared to what is seen as “normal”. I know that since last Thursday his album sales have skyrocketed and whether digitally or on disc this movie has been one of the most purchased films on Amazon. A lot of people are clearly fans of his music, or at least his most famous albums. It was nice to see and hear him perform at his peak and as you have to sign up to the fail known as Tidal to most easily hear his streaming albums, it was nice to hear some great songs in that way, and it was nice to see again what is an amazing artifact of the 80's.