Eddie and the Cruisers

I saw this movie when my family first got cable television. I watched it once, then twice, then the next thing I know I had watched it about 30 times. The story is well told through flashbacks and current events. the casting is good. Michael Pare is Eddie Wilson. Every time I have seen him since, that's the first thing I think about. Tom Berenger is also very good. His character starts out as naive and innocent and then begins to grow as we grow with him. This movie is totally addictive.

This post is not to review or rate "Eddie", but to explain the background of the plot for other posters who seem confused on this.

"Eddie" was based on the 1980 book, same name, by Paul F. Kluge (avail used Amazon). The basis of the plot is simple: If the lead singer in a #1 rock group dies, how are the lives of others in the group altered? Do they try to keep it going, or let go and move on? Do they ever try to "go back"? Et cetera. Mr. Kluge's inspiration for this was the death of Buddy Holly in 1959. He long wondered what happened to the members of the Crickets after that day, and turned his curiosity into this book.

All this per a personal conversation I had with Mr. Kluge in 1996. At that time, he was a professor at a small Ohio college.

This movie evokes strange feelings of going back down a road, I have been on before, but did not recall ever being on it.

This was one of those movies I watched on cable during the eighties without noticing much. I would only watch it, if I had nothing else to do.

That said, I was amazed how much I remembered from this movie, when I watched it again recently. Probably because this movie has a lot going for it, that I never considered. It is a good story, with some mystery that compels one into the story. The movie has a good sound track and made an interesting point that good musicians feel tortured when trying to express themselves musically.

Released in 1983 and directed by Jon Amiel, "Eddie and the Cruisers" is a rock drama about a TV reporter (Ellen Barkin) who picks up the story of a legendary early 60's rock band that prematurely ended when their charismatic leader, Eddie Wilson (Michael Paré), died when his Chevy went off a bridge, although his body was never recovered. The newswoman interviews the living band members 18 years after their heyday and tries to track down the missing tapes to their never-released avant-garde second album. The band members are Frank (Tom Berenger), Joann (Helen Schneider), Sal (Matthew Laurance), Kenny (David Wilson) and Wendell (Michael "Tunes" Antunes), while their bullcrappin' manager is Doc (Joe Pantoliano).

This was the inspiration for 2009's "The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll" but both movies have their distinctions, as well as pros and cons. "Eddie" is about a band from the early 60s whereas "The Perfect Age" is about a Guns N' Roses-type band whose heyday was in the 80s. Each film starts out shaky as the story is set-up, but they progressively get better. Both films feature charismatic frontmen with diametrically opposed styles, but also very similar when you think about it. Each feature revealing chats amongst the characters with "Eddie" shining in the final act when it unveils Eddie's youthful place of solitude, Palace of Depression (which is an actual place in southern New Jersey, Vineland; a building made of junk built by the eccentric George Daynor, a former Alaskan gold miner who lost his fortune in the Crash of '29). Growing-up, my gang had several hidden spots where we'd meet, each with a name known only to us; I even had a personal "My Place" in the woods behind my parents house on a lake where I'd often go for private reflection. When I was 15 I planned to commit suicide there, but thankfully didn't go through with it. The movie gets points for including such an existential element.

Was Eddie still alive or did he die in 1964? The ending reveals the truth and the way it's done is superlative.

So which movie is better, "Eddie" or "The Perfect Age"? They both shoot for greatness and in some small ways attain it. Disregarding the rockin' performances, "Eddie" is more location-bound and therefore dramatically sedentary whereas "The Perfect Age" is a road movie in disguise and therefore seemingly more eventful. In my opinion the music's better in the latter, but then I prefer the heavier side of rock/metal over the Bruce-Springsteen-in-the-early 60s style of "Eddie" (which is good for what it is, don't get me wrong). "Eddie" stands out for including the Palace of Depression angle and contains superb lines in the final act, but "The Perfect Age" soars in its own way, like Spyder & Eric's brouhaha in the rain and the blues bar sequence (featuring cameos by legends Sugar Blue, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and Bob Stroger). Then there's the powerful climatic scene in "Perfect Age" at Spyder's ritzy mansion with Jane's Addiction's "Three Days" playing in the background, which just so happens to rank with the all-time best cinematic scenes utilizing rock songs, like the close of 1998's "Buffalo '66" with Yes' incredible "Heart of the Sunrise."

The songs by the fictitious Eddie and the Cruisers were composed/performed by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. The main song, "On the Dark Side," became a #1 hit for the band and "Tender Years" was a minor one. Most of the cast weren't musicians, although Matthew Laurance (Sal) learned how to play bass for the movie. Only Michael "Tunes" Antunes, the sax player for the Beaver Brown Band, and Helen Schneider (Joann) were professional musicians.

Speaking of whom, I can't close without mentioning how Helen really shines here. No, she's no Meryl Streep, but she's great for her role in "Eddie." You could say she's The Perfect Rage of Rock 'n' Roll (sorry, that was just DUMB). I should also add that it's interesting to see Berenger, Barkin and Paré when they were so young.

The film runs 95 minutes and was shot entirely in New Jersey with the exception of the college sequence, which was filmed just across the Pennsylvania border at Haverford College.

GRADE: B+

This is one the best rock 'n roll movies ever made, but that doesn't say much since there haven't too many that much good to begin with. However, this IS good.

It features solid music by John Cafferty, whose "The Dark Side," is played quite a bit during the movie but is a great song and always enjoyable to hear. The movie also has interesting characters and a somewhat intriguing story. The story features a decent imitation of a Jim Morrison-type lead singer without getting too dramatic.

A very young Ellen Barkin is the female lead here. She looked better when she got a bit older. A young Joe Pantolione also is in here and Michael Pare was effective as the lead singer.

Don't listen to the national film critics who didn't care for the film. The public liked it and most times, they are a better judge.