Film #073 - Under the Cherry Moon (1986)
*singing*
How can i stand 2 sit through this stuff?
Must be a big fan, to watch all this fluff
Why does it fail in so many ways?
Prince could have made any film he could choose,
So why did he make Under the Cherry Moon?
It’s not like he can’t write with style or flair
He could’ve done anything, but just didn’t care
He wanted a tribute to romantic films
But what he came up with reads like a cartoon
He just missed the mark with Under the Cherry Moon.
It had potential in so many ways
But Prince just went nuts and what can you do?
He did what he wished with Under the Cherry Moon
So he fell on his face with Under the Cherry Moon
*stops singing*
In fact, there are a few things of note in Under the Cherry Moon that actually work. Jerome Benton (best known as Morris Day’s sidekick in The Time) shows that he had pretty decent acting chops and is actually funny when he is meant to be. Under the Cherry Moon also marks the major screen debut of Kristin Scott Thomas, who is able to instill her “poor little rich girl” character with at least an ounce of spine. And no matter that his acting is fairly well atrocious in this film, Prince actually handles the directing reigns pretty well. The film certainly has a look that it is unafraid to stick to. And there’s no denying that the soundtrack is fantastic. In fact, Parade: Music from the Motion Picture “Under the Cherry Moon” is my favorite Prince album hands down. (It’s only rivalled by Diamonds and Pearls.) You don’t want to know how many times I found myself singing “Sometimes It Snows In April” last month. (Because it did.)
Under the Cherry Moon suffers from Prince having too highly stylized a concept in his mind and no one was willing to fight him on it or tell him what wasn’t going to work. After the success of Purple Rain, the studio was just too happy to let him do what he wanted. The only thing they really fought him on (bizarrely) was shooting the film in black and white. The studio insisted that he shoot in color, which he did. Then he converted it all to black and white in post production at great expense. That that was the only thing they balked at shows just how hands-off the studio was with this film. They should have taken a firmer hand if they wanted any hope of success.
Ah, well. He did better with his next two.