Under the Cherry Moon (1986)

This movie has issued a challenge to all humans- I DARE YOU TO WATCH THIS MOVIE FROM BEGINNING TO END! Nothing sucks quite like Under The Cherry Moon, consider the factors that lead to its creation: War, Disease, Famine, Poverty, MTV. Some one thought "hey this script by Prince is great, er at least its spelled correctly!" Some one thought "y'know who we should get to produce this? we should get Prince!" I have known rabid die hard Prince fans, people who actually think Prince has legitimate worth and value, and even these fans cannot watch all of Under The Cherry Moon. The average threshold for pain is forty minutes of viewing before the viewer stops the movie, if you can make through to the end legend has it Prince himself will materialize out of thin air to congratulate you personally.

***POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING.*** I first saw this film when I was around 13 or 14, during my Big Prince Fandom Phase (I still consider myself a fan, and I love his music, but I am nowhere near as obsessive about it as I used to be.) People have called this movie "surreal." I would say that this is an understatement, but in a *good* way. As much as Prince and Tricky's bantering, the black-and-white cinematography makes this film the truly unique viewing experience that it is. And as other comments have pointed out, some of the quotes have become catch-phrases amongst the folks who have seen this film ("WRECKA STOWE!") (Seriously, where *does* one obtain a Sam Cooke album?) **now for the spoiler** And yes, I did cry at the end. After the lighthearted comedy that encompasses most of the action, I was not at all expecting what ended up happening. Despite this, I feel that Under The Cherry Moon should be appreciated for what Prince was trying to do with it. This movie was not well-accepted or well-understood by the critics and the viewing public, and that's their loss.

This is the only movie (I own) that I see again and again and again. The music is classic. the "color" is stylish. The plot is great. Prince is too cool for words. There is even times when you just have to laugh at the one-liners. Even the first 5 minutes is hilarious. Jerome (Tricky) is a compliment to Prince and you can tell they had too much fun making this movie. Give her that Bella Leguosi look! Everything is timed well, and since it had been released in DVD finally I can put my old VHS tape to rest. Sure there are some corny lines and comedy thrown in to a serious movie, but that's Prince. You will be surprised how much of a funny guy he is.

This movie is nowhere near as bad as it's reputation. The acting is better in this movie than in most daytime soap operas. Prince & Jerome Benton are actually quite funny. That may be due to the fact that they're friends in real life. The worst part about this movie is the way Prince dresses in most of it. The soft white jumpsuit with the (hijab-like) headpiece was terrible. Prince overacts towards the end of the film. The jokes are somewhat ethnic without trying to be. The scene that comes to mind is when Tricky is suggesting that he could wed Mary Sharon. Christopher implies that if Tricky even approached Mary, the police would lock him up. Christopher gets into some dialog about being light-skinned(butterscotch) and Tricky being dark-skinned(chocolate) and how they have different fathers. This is to suggest that he wouldn't bail Tricky out of jail once he's locked up. Trickey informs Christopher that he'll "Slap the waves out yo head!". Prince & Jerome Benton were "Bling Bling" before the "Bling Bling Era" came into fashion during the mid 90's. Overall, the movie is a 6.5 on a 1-10 scale.