Under the Cherry Moon

I first saw this when I was 9 years old, and I have to admit...even at that age, I knew a good movie when I saw one. And this was the best I ever saw at the time. Prince really gives a wonderful performance as the sensual gigolo Christopher Tracy. When he unexpectedly falls in love with rich heiress Mary Sharon, brilliantly played by Kristen Scott Thomas, thats when things start to get interesting. Key phrase: "WRECKA STOWE!!!"

I grew up watching Black and White romances with utterly charming leading men and hopelessly beautiful women who fall in love in a space and time that doesn't exist in the real world. I miss that element from modern movies. Although a tad bit inept as a film-maker, Prince more than adequately conveys mood, sensuality, humor, glamour, and plain fun in this HIGHLY stylized B&W movie. He captured the capriciousness of old B&W studio films that were totally star driven. He gets away with it all because HE IS PRINCE.

Prince fans hated with movie and album. For me, the reverse was true. It was this film and this soundtrack that turned me into a Prince fan. When I want a good laugh and a poignant cry, I pop in this movie and remember "sometimes it snows in April".

Under the Cherry Moon (1986)

** (out of 4)

Christopher (Prince) and Tricky (Jerome Benton) are brothers working Miami Beach where they seduce women for their money. Their latest target is Mary (Kristin Scott Thomas), a woman who just turned twenty one and is about to inherit fifty million dollars. Tricky soon finds himself falling in love but the girl's rich father isn't going to go for their relationship.

UNDER THE CHERRY MOON was released to very little noise and it was pretty much forgotten the minute it hit theaters. I doubt many people in 1986 were wanting to see a B&W movie and I doubt even more that they wanted to see anything other than PURPLE RAIN 2. This film has gained a pretty bad reputation over the years but I honestly didn't find it to be that bad. Yes there are all sorts of problems but I thought there was still some good stuff as well.

For starters, the cinematography is downright beautiful and I thought it really captured a fairy tale like quality. The B&W images are perfectly used to highlight the beaches and the sexy locations. I also thought there were some rather funny moments scattered throughout the picture. As far as Prince goes, his acting had certainly gotten a little better since PURPLE RAIN. Benton is decent in his supporting role but I thought Kristin Scott Thomas and Steven Berkoff were quite good.

I'm going to guess that Prince wanted to do some sort of romantic drama that had the flare of the 1930s. This probably explains it being shot in B&W and they even name drop Bela Lugosi in the picture. The biggest problem with the movie is that the story itself is just way too predictable and I'd argue that there's really not any drama and the ending certainly doesn't hit like I'm sure Prince wanted it to. Still, there are much worse movies out there than this.

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!