"Purple Rain" is the film portrait of an artist at the height of his popularity. Prince, in his film debut, stars as a musician known simply as The Kid. He and his band, The Revolution, are a fixture on the Minneapolis music scene, looking for their big break. However, the chance at a break seems to be slipping away, and Billy Sparks (Billy Sparks), who owns the club where The Revolution has been playing, senses it. Everybody tells The Kid that his music is only starting to make sense of himself. He belittles his band mates when they want to contribute songs to The Revolution's repertoire. Morris Day (Morris Day), the lead singer of The Kid's main rival, The Time, offers Billy a business proposition. Morris is creating a girl group featuring a new singer named Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero). Not only are The Kid, Morris, and Apollonia vying for the right to be on stage at Billy's First Avenue club, but the men find themselves trying to win Apollonia's heart.

Life is not only turbulent in the club, but also at The Kid's home. His parents (Clarence Williams III and Olga Karlatos) are always fighting with one another. The Kid has tried to intervene in the physical confrontations, but his father has been able to throw him aside. At one time, the father had tried to make a career in the music business, but his failure in that pursuit has left him bitter and angry. The Kid tries to talk to his father about the craft they share, but his father wants to keep his techniques to himself. He tells his wife to be grateful for the things he can provide. However, the father, who is identified only as Francis L., attempts suicide after a fight that results in his wife leaving him. The Kid vows he will never be like his father, but his actions belie his words, as conflicts with Apollonia and The Revolution might just make him exactly like his father. The Kid is the epitome of the tortured, misunderstood artist.

Prince may get the top billing in this film, but the real star of the film is the music. Of the tunes in the movie, Prince reached the Top 40 with five songs, including the number one hits "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy." Prince's album also became a top seller. The Time's two songs, "Jungle Love" and "The Bird," also became hits. The story, by William Blinn and the film's director, Albert Magnoli, is there simply to connect the songs. There's no effort made to go into The Kid's family life or go much into detail about the characters in general. When The Kid and Morris first lay eyes on Apollonia, they experience infatuation at first sight (For awhile, Prince and Apollonia were an item in real life). The acting, for the most part, is done by folks who who are musicians first and actors second - and it shows. They say their lines, but it's clear they're much more expressive and convincing when they're singing and playing. Of the musicians, Day has the most fun with his role. He swaggers and flirts with women he finds hot, and he and his sidekick Jerome (Jerome Benton) revel in sticking it to The Kid and The Revolution at every turn. With the exception of a brief early scene between Prince and Apollonia, Day and Benton provide virtually all of the comic relief.

Of all of the musicians featured, Prince is the only one whose has a character name different from his real name. That decision is as ridiculous as if the members of The Beatles had been given different character names in their films. The script is also very mean-spirited, and often misogynistic. Apollonia's opening scene involves her running out on her cab fare. The Kid brings out a puppet to belittle fellow band members Wendy (Wendy Melvoin) and Lisa (Lisa Coleman) when they dare to offer The Kid a song they've written. In addition to the scenes of physical violence against women, a woman who's angry with Morris literally gets thrown into a dumpster by Jerome. These scenes detract from the overall appeal of the movie.

"Purple Rain" comes to life when the musicians take the stage. When he's in concert, Prince is one part Jimi Hendrix, one part James Brown, and one part a flash and a voice all his own. He sings, he plays, he moves around the stage in a very lively manner. The rest of The Revolution moves in sync with him until he flies into a solo. When he gyrates around the stage during "I Would Die 4 U," he brings out the sensual nature of his lyrics. The Time is even more choreographed during their numbers. When the band flaps their arms during "The Bird," many of the audience members follow suit. Even Apollonia, whose career in music never saw great success, has her best moments in the film when she's singing "Sex Shooter" with her group, Apollonia 6. While they may be portrayed as musical rivals, these performers share a love and excitement they can only find with an audience who loves what they're seeing and hearing.

I liked "Purple Rain" better when I first saw it in a theater in 1984. I suppose I got as caught up in the theatrical experience as the audience in the film got caught up in the live music. It still holds up for me overall because of the music, though the acting (except for Williams) and the script are problematic. It's a good look at a time where the musical scene of Minnesota was drawing all sorts of notice, with Prince and The Revolution, The Time, Husker Du, and the Replacements. Prince, much like his character, created a buzz with his fusion of soul and rock. Although he continued to have hits through the eighties and nineties, Prince lost a lot of his fans when he disbanded The Revolution, and bewildered almost everybody when he changed his name to a symbol. He returned to the screen in two more movies - "Under The Cherry Moon" and the "Purple Rain" sequel, "Graffiti Bridge." Prince has denied that "Purple Rain" is a movie based on his own life, but I doubt that, for some of his behavior suggests that people do have a hard time understanding him. "Purple Rain" captures an artist at his best and at his worst, and is a reminder of the state of popular music of the mid-eighties. Prince may have been brooding and eccentric, but he also produced some of the more energetic and exciting music of the era. The music may have the marks of the era all over it, but it reminds me that Prince was a musical force who turned out to be only a one-hit wonder on the big screen.

This is an entry in the Minnesota write-off in honor of the February 7th birthday of Sinclair Lewis hosted by Stephen_Murray. For a complete list of entries, go to this link:

http://www.epinions.com/user-stephen_murray

Thank you Stephen.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older