Under the Cherry Moon

Wanna open this by saying I'm a huge Prince fan. I have multiple prince posters hanging in my home. I have Prince tattoos. I am a big big prince fan. That being said this movie is butt.

This movie is worse than Purple Rain, and Purple Rain is not good. It is not quite as bad as Graffiti Bridge. Did I enjoy all of these movies? Yes I did, I've rewatched them multiple times but they're unequivocally bad movies all of them.

Cherry Moon features bad acting, a bad script, and a plot so poorly explained you have to read a plot synopsis to tell what's going on, but also a brilliant soundtrack and really beautiful costumes. Also wow Prince is hot. Prince is soooo hot. He's so hot he makes you nervous. Just looking at him feels like an honor and a privilege. His makeup is perfect, his hair is perfect, his costumes are perfect. There's a scene where he's in a bathtub? Girl. If you've ever thought impure thoughts about Prince this movie is for you.

I will say if you watch this movie drunk it's really good. Watching this movie sober is a chore broken up by floods of dopamine from looking at Prince's little abs. It's 2 hours long but it feels like 4. I once watched this movie alone drinking red wine straight from the bottle and it was a solid 8/10 under those circumstances. Recommend that.

Yeah, I know I only gave this movie a 7, but the vote is a relative thing. Not everything can be a 10. If I were voting on the basis of genre, then definitely a 10. Anyways, I digress. Under the Cherry Moon is the finest movie Prince ever directed (and if you've seen the abysmal Graffiti Bridge, you know what I mean), and the fact that he took over from Mary Lambert (who went on to direct the ludicrously bad Pet Sematary)at the last minute, further proves my point. Prince and erstwhile sidekick Jerome Benton play a pair of hustlers who make no bones about their profession; in fact, the fun they have is so infectious, it seems to take all the sleaze out of it. Merrily they go along until Christopher (Prince) lays eyes on Kristin Scott-Thomas and goes completely ga-ga, forgetting altogether the pair's objective of swindling her out of her fortune. This is a fun movie, one that manages to evoke the feel of a 30s screwball comedy injected with a modern sensibility. The music is among Prince's finest (and most cohesive album-wise), and most rhythmically inventive. Don't rent this expecting to see a work of cinematic art; this is pure entertainment, plain and simple. If you're looking for something you can watch strictly for fun, check this one out. For those who have seen it and love as I do, I have two words for you: Wrecka Stow!

I know a lot of people I talk to didn't like this film, but I thought it was great! Maybe one must be a big admirer of Prince's work to appreciate it or not be bothered by it being in black and white. Personally, I think it was better than 'Purple Rain', which probably was only as successful as it was due to the concert footage. Compare the acting to 'Under the Cherry Moon' and it was awful. In 'Cherry Moon', Prince and Jerome Benton were hilarious together! It was a half decent storyline, but their humor was so ridiculous, it was hilarious! I tend to find the silly stuff funny, and that's partly why I loved this film. It was so silly that it was funny!! Well, I also love Prince and his music. This film was like a modern, comedic twist to classic romance films. The ending was kind of lame, but overall I think the film was great! The film may be in black and white, but yet it's very colorful!

This is fairly typical of Prince. Fun, entertaining, great songs and not for everyone.

Prince fans will enjoy this a lot, others may find it a bit lacking and self-indulgent.

Its meant to be over the top and it is.

The highlight is the music, this is some of his best!

This must be one of the most mocked films ever, widely considered a joke. I think it was Prince's narcissistic and effeminate character that bothered audiences. The film is undeniably silly, but good and quite effective, but with a quirky quality that pushes it into the cult realm. An example is the scene in which Tracy and Tricky (Prince and Jerome Benton) meet Tracy's refined love interest at a posh restaurant and grill her: "Where do you go if you want to get a Sam Cooke album?" Tricky holds up a sign reading "Wrecka Stow" and finally, writhing in discomfort, she gets it and reluctantly answers, "the record store." Believe it or not, the film is well put together, each scene memorable in its own way and a climax that might make you cry. I've never seen a film quite like it, because (like all cult movies), it takes place in a desirable alternate world - one in which gender and race boundaries are blurred.