My thing is that I see the film as a bit of a reality play. Tracy was a young upstart, railing against the social heirarchy convention. He & his partner were not into acting poor and were fancy dressers. I like that they had their fashion swerve--those with the will (re--Jidenna's "Classic Man") and not into "trash chic" will do that kind of thing.

Tracy's partner warned him about the potential coming tragedy, and he had an opportunity to break from his amorous dealings when said partner revealed their scheme. However, the momentum of Tracy's impulses and those of his lady egged them on.

>

Bang, he got himself killed. No sappy ending.

>

He was an extravagant guy who lived his radical life with a blazing arc. No redemption necessary. Finis. I like that! On reflection, I guess the movie plot could be seen as synchronous, in a way, with the actor Prince's own musical pursuits and other preferences.

>

Had Tracy run a little faster he might have dodged that particular bullet, and perhaps after a time of furitive living made some reform. A more likely reality for that kind of guy, I think, but I'm still down with the movie.

Germanegro said:

My thing is that I see the film as a bit of a reality play. Tracy was a young upstart, railing against the social heirarchy convention. He & his partner were not into acting poor and were fancy dressers. I like that they had their fashion swerve--those with the will (re--Jidenna's "Classic Man") and not into "trash chic" will do that kind of thing.

Tracy's partner warned him about the potential coming tragedy, and he had an opportunity to break from his amorous dealings when said partner revealed their scheme. However, the momentum of Tracy's impulses and those of his lady egged them on.

>

Bang, he got himself killed. No sappy ending.

>

He was an extravagant guy who lived his radical life with a blazing arc. No redemption necessary. Finis. I like that! On reflection, I guess the movie plot could be seen as synchronous, in a way, with the actor Prince's own musical pursuits and other preferences.

>

Had Tracy run a little faster he might have dodged that particular bullet, and perhaps after a time of furitive living made some reform. A more likely reality for that kind of guy, I think, but I'm still down with the movie.

hmmm... I think that is a sappy ending because of the style of the death, and reactions.

DETROIT FREE PRESS

Published: Thursday, July 3, 1986
Section: FTR
Page: 13A

NERVY PRINCE RETURNS WITH A STYLISTIC SMASH

It takes a lot of nerve to set a picture on the French Riviera and then shoot it in black and white.

And Prince, bless him, has a lot of nerve.

"Under the Cherry Moon," his second film (the first, "Purple Rain," won him an Oscar and grossed more than $80 million), is a stylistic smash.

Its substance leaves something to be desired, true. But fine-looking fun backed by choice music by Prince and the Revolution is quite enough to guarantee most audiences a couple of good hours.

BASICALLY, "Cherry Moon" is the story of a gigolo who falls in love with an heiress and gives it all up for love.

Shot in France around Nice and Cap d'Antibes, some of the world's priciest and most beautiful scenery backgrounds this story of nightclub pianist Christopher Tracy (Prince), his best friend Tricky (Jerome Benton) and a couple of Miami boys in Nice for a little discreet gold-digging.

When Tricky spots a newspaper photo of Mary Sharon (Kristin Scott-Thomas) -- and the story of her 21st birthday inheritance -- he and Christopher crash the party. After that, it's a battle of love, with the couple opposed by Christopher's favorite client (Francesca Annis), Mary's nervous mother and nasty father, and the combined forces of Nice's police and coast guard.

PRINCE IS apparently as hardheaded as filmmaker Barbra Streisand about getting his way. When original director, Mary Lambert, left the picture a few weeks into the shooting, Prince took over her chores. After the film wrapped, unhappy with some of the scenes, Prince returned to Nice and reshot them. He has done respectable work: He finished the picture; he produced an entertainment that, while limited, is as good as much of the stuff cranked out by longtimeprofessionals, and he got to do it the way he wanted.

But, you may ask, can Prince act?

Not yet, at least not on a regular basis. But whenever he's not pouting or vamping a la Valentino, he's infinitely better than he was in "Purple Rain."

The look of the picture is its biggest strength -- contemporary, yes, but with a distinct feel for the '40s. For that, audiences can again thank Prince, who had the good sense to hire cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, a Werner Fassbinder graduate who worked with John Sayles and Martin Scorsese. Ballhaus also filmed Volker Schlondorf's stunning television version of "Death of a Salesman." Backing Ballhaus is production designer Richard Sylbert, the man responsible for the visual style of "Chinatown" and "The Cotton Club."

Kristin Scott-Thomas, the English actress plays the heiress Christopher tames (Prince has not yet entirely outgrown his bad-boy attitude toward women.). She does very nicely in her film debut, so long as she doesn't have to look dreamy and recite Christopher's poetry. And Prince's pal Benton is bearable, albeit slightly less than three-dimensional, as Tricky.

The plot gets embarrassingly over-dramatic near the end -- this isn't supposed to be Shakespeare, for heaven's sake -- but, all things considered, Prince deserves to take a bow. And, no doubt, he will.

Yeah, you're right. A more realistic scene might have had him being cornered and beaten to a pulp. But the stylistic impulse was taken to have him eperience more "graceful" if not silly (lol) exit. Did you see the fight that Tricky had with Issac Sharon's henchmen at the harbor--that was pretty wimpy, but this show was more about style, anyway. Tracy's dying at the end is still much less sappy than having him live and tap-dance or whatever into the sunset with his Mary, lol.

>

ufoclub said:

Germanegro said:

My thing is that I see the film as a bit of a reality play. Tracy was a young upstart, railing against the social heirarchy convention. He & his partner were not into acting poor and were fancy dressers. I like that they had their fashion swerve--those with the will (re--Jidenna's "Classic Man") and not into "trash chic" will do that kind of thing.

Tracy's partner warned him about the potential coming tragedy, and he had an opportunity to break from his amorous dealings when said partner revealed their scheme. However, the momentum of Tracy's impulses and those of his lady egged them on.

>

Bang, he got himself killed. No sappy ending.

>

He was an extravagant guy who lived his radical life with a blazing arc. No redemption necessary. Finis. I like that! On reflection, I guess the movie plot could be seen as synchronous, in a way, with the actor Prince's own musical pursuits and other preferences.

>

Had Tracy run a little faster he might have dodged that particular bullet, and perhaps after a time of furitive living made some reform. A more likely reality for that kind of guy, I think, but I'm still down with the movie.

hmmm... I think that is a sappy ending because of the style of the death, and reactions.

I had the good fortune of being in the theatre opening night of "Under the Cherry Moon" with Prince in attendance.

Back then I worked as an usher at the Knollwood Theatre in St. Louis Park. Prince would often make special arrangements to see movies there.

On that night I was working and Prince and company were "secretly" brought into the Theatre after the lights already went out.

In no time, everyone in the audience caught on.

At the end there was loud applause and, I believe, a standing ovation.

It's probably the showing (outside of the Premiere) where that reaction happened.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Miles Davis discusses Prince

Prince has a,

has James Brown

...his father took him 2 C James Brown,

when he was young, he got on stage and danced with him,

he has that and Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Gaye,

...

that's 4 things,

James brown Jimi Hendrix Marvin Gaye

and he combines all that all the time that's what he is,

His concept on the stage is like Charlie Chaplin, if you look at him you'll see, U know? you can tell

...

but Prince's concept is James Brown and Jimi Hendrix and Charlie Chaplin

and can't you mess with that ...

This is really cool

It's wretched. I attempted to watch it again without grimacing, however I failed.

RobotFix said:

It's wretched. I attempted to watch it again without grimacing, however I failed.

LOL

Better or worse than GB in your opinion? They're both "wretched" IMO but in totally different ways... somehow.

I think GB was worse even though it had more musical numbers, which was one of my main gripes with UTCM, so I dunno. I just think he somehow struck The Perfect Lightning with Purple Rain and may have been better off leaving it there, legacy wise.

yeesh....

I remain uncertain that "establshing a narrative", visual or otherwise, was one of Prince's stronger suits, despite having more talent than just about anyone else I can name from my generation. I mean...he couldn't be good at EVERYTHING, right? But IMO even his direct to VHS (D&P, Love Symbol, UNdertaker, L4AO) narrative nonsense later on doesn't quell my suspiscion that he wasn't real good at story telling or making movies.

I mean, coming up short as a film maker is hardly a mark against everything he DID manage to accomplish so, to me, he still gets a pass just for TRYING and actually DOING it. But god help me, I LOVE fucking around with his more silly attempts at art and I find it funny. It humanizes him for me somehow.

IAdoreWeronika said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

masaba said:

Just finished this up last night coincidentally. Terrible, but I see what he was going for.

That's well put.

masaba said:

Just finished this up last night coincidentally. Terrible, but I see what he was going for.

1. Did the opening scene feel like it could have been a good film? Meaning, I felt the earlier parts of the movie were actually good, and then you could sorta see where Prince might have taken over.

I love the scenes were he is in his gold suit. And then up to the point where he is thrown out of the part and ends up at the wealthy womans home playing her piano

2. Did you like Graffiti Bridge?

Just about every year or so, an UTCM thread is started. Viewers either hate the thing or love it, really no inbetween, LOL!

>

U can C the mixed reviews on Rotten Tomato.

https://www.rottentomatoe...herry_moon

TrivialPursuit said:

looby said:

Now that is over acting!

I knew someone would get to that eventually. lol And the trickle of blood from his mouth, but nothing on his clothes. Did Isaac's men shoot him in a cold sore? LOL

Germanegro said:

Just about every year or so, an UTCM thread is started. Viewers either hate the thing or love it, really no inbetween, LOL!

True, but that's the case for a lot of topics around here. Personally, I LOVE the die hards bending over backwards trying to defend some of the objectively terrible shit Prince created and I also get a huge kick out of podcasts and stuff like MST making fun of bad cinema. It's sort of a hobby of mine.

For lovers of bad cinema and good comedy, check out a podcast called We Hate Movies

https://art19.com/shows/we-hate-movies

Truth be told, I'm rather jazzed to see a 9 page thread that hasn't devolved into conspircay theories surrounding his death, who wrote what song or religous dogma and generally enjoy goofing around on a subject that at least keeps this place alive.

ThirdStrike said:

Ok, don't throw shit at me...but I like this movie more then I do "Purple Rain". But, that's like saying I like doggy better then misionary (by that I mean both are great), so...

Likewise. Of the three movies, it's always been the one I enjoyed (and watched) most. It's pure cheese - the plot is bullshit - and I imagine it would have little appeal to people who weren't already fans, but it captures a certain Princely sass and humour best for me.

I do wonder if they hadn't felt the need to drape the fun stuff around a godawful melodramatic plot, if it might have actually stood the test of time a little mo betta. Later, movies like Pulp Fiction would show that, actually, people wandering around having funny conversations could actually be very watchable; you didn't need to add in Steven Berkoff belowing.

P.S. Some people might say doggy is better than missionary. *cough*

https://themuse.jezebel.c...1psgyyhHYs

All Superstars Should Take Under the Cherry Moon-Sized Risks

Under the Cherry Moon found Prince at his most talkative and least understood (at that point, anyway). But the film was more than just a way to fill some blank spots in the persona Prince had been sketching. The plot concerns the attempt made by Christopher and his sidekick Tricky (Jerome Benton) to woo an heiress named Mary (Kristin Scott Thomas in her big-screen debut) who's worth millions. It takes place on the French Riviera, and as a pair of happy-go-lucky hustlers, Christopher and Tricky surf a sea of white people for the seeming sheer exhilaration of it. The rich white people are often portrayed as unconsciously ridiculous and reflexively wack, like when Mary's birthday-party drum solo encourages a rather prim and proper chanting of, "Planet rock, you just can't stop," by the crowd.

Has It Aged Well?Has It Aged Well?There are few things more comforting than stoking the fires of nostalgia and revisiting old movies. In theory. Sometimes the cinema that we enjoyed when we were younger just does not hold up.PrevNextView All

Once upon a time, referring to a piece of mainstream art as a "vanity project" was a common dismissal. It may be hard to imagine the sting of such a critique now, when concocting, investing in, and selling identity is a viable career path to which many openly aspire. Vanity has become a project in and of itself.

But for better or worse, in the '80s, the idea of a pop star openly cultivating the cult of their personality could be interpreted as distasteful. Prince's directorial debut, Under the Cherry Moon, was received as such—when it was received at all—after it hit theaters with a thud in the summer of 1986. The black-and-white musical melodramedy flop perhaps wouldn't have been such a disappointment if it weren't following Purple Rain, a movie-music one-two punch that sent Prince flying into the stratosphere just two years earlier. The critics consensus summary on Under the Cherry Moon's Rotten Tomatoes page says it all: "Under the Cherry Moon may satisfy the most rabid Prince fans, but everyone else will be better served with this vanity project's far superior soundtrack."

Or does it? Labeling Under the Cherry Moon a vanity project implies that it existed as a thinly veiled excuse for Prince to jump in front of cameras. Now, jumping in front of cameras is one of the things that stars tend to do, so it hardly seems fair to admonish a pop star for using his image in an attempt to entertain. That's like criticizing a duck for quacking or bats for hanging upside down (even in a restaurant, as they do in Under the Cherry Moon, as an absurd scene-ending device). Regardless, Under the Cherry Moon was no empty gesture. It allowed allowed audiences to see a smilier, sillier side of Prince, a self-styled enigma who had been cultivating mystique through his duration in the spotlight. He was practically a remote island of a man by 1986, refusing interviews and, for his preceding album, 1985's Around the World in a Day, eschewing virtually all promotion. In the opening scene, in which his gigolo character Christopher Tracy plays piano and makes eyes with a mutually admiring woman at a bar, a Rudolph Valentino-channeling Prince expresses more with his face than his reliably cool countenance had allowed in public up to that point—perhaps cumulatively.

Under the Cherry Moon found Prince at his most talkative and least understood (at that point, anyway). But the film was more than just a way to fill some blank spots in the persona Prince had been sketching. The plot concerns the attempt made by Christopher and his sidekick Tricky (Jerome Benton) to woo an heiress named Mary (Kristin Scott Thomas in her big-screen debut) who's worth millions. It takes place on the French Riviera, and as a pair of happy-go-lucky hustlers, Christopher and Tricky surf a sea of white people for the seeming sheer exhilaration of it. The rich white people are often portrayed as unconsciously ridiculous and reflexively wack, like when Mary's birthday-party drum solo encourages a rather prim and proper chanting of, "Planet rock, you just can't stop," by the crowd.

While Prince rolled his eyes at the melanin-deprived status quo, race was a subject right on the tip of Becky Johnston's screenplay. Instead of an explicit interrogation or obvious monologuing on the subject, it's mostly referred to with subtlety as a facet of Christopher and Tricky's lived experience. The score-settling in Christopher's pledge to Mary's disapproving father—"You rich folks always take from people like me. That says what? That says now I'm gonna take something from you."—is about as close to overt race commentary as Under the Cherry Moon gets (it's also indicative of Prince's tendency to treat women as objects in the public sphere). Otherwise, Under the Cherry Moon is content to show instead of telling, and this is most apparent in the "Wrecka Stow" scene, probably the most beloved moment in the film, in which Christopher and Tricky crack up over Mary's inability to grasp African American Vernacular English

https://themuse.jezebel.c...1psgyyhHYs

Ok, I was thinking about this, and I'm wondering if the movie wouldn't have been more believable if Prince wasn't playing...well...PRINCE (instead of Christopher Tracy). What I mean is, when Elvis was doing movies, he wasn't always dressed like Elvis. In the case of "UTCM", would the plot (as thin as it was) have been better served with Prince and Jerome playing "normal" hustlers, and not hustlers dressed like Prince and Jerome. That make sense? The Rock does plenty of movies. But he's not dressed like a wrestler in all of them. Get my point? I don't know. Something to think about at least...

ThirdStrike said:

Ok, I was thinking about this, and I'm wondering if the movie wouldn't have been more believable if Prince wasn't playing...well...PRINCE (instead of Christopher Tracy). What I mean is, when Elvis was doing movies, he wasn't always dressed like Elvis. In the case of "UTCM", would the plot (as thin as it was) have been better served with Prince and Jerome playing "normal" hustlers, and not hustlers dressed like Prince and Jerome. That make sense? The Rock does plenty of movies. But he's not dressed like a wrestler in all of them. Get my point? I don't know. Something to think about at least...

Hmm, I wonder? It may have made a difference, but I don't think that Prince's ego would have allowed it. You can definitely see how much the man loved himself in this movie.

deebee said:

ThirdStrike said:

Ok, don't throw shit at me...but I like this movie more then I do "Purple Rain". But, that's like saying I like doggy better then misionary (by that I mean both are great), so...

Likewise. Of the three movies, it's always been the one I enjoyed (and watched) most. It's pure cheese - the plot is bullshit - and I imagine it would have little appeal to people who weren't already fans, but it captures a certain Princely sass and humour best for me.

I do wonder if they hadn't felt the need to drape the fun stuff around a godawful melodramatic plot, if it might have actually stood the test of time a little mo betta. Later, movies like Pulp Fiction would show that, actually, people wandering around having funny conversations could actually be very watchable; you didn't need to add in Steven Berkoff belowing.

P.S. Some people might say doggy is better than missionary. *cough*

Out of curiosity, what did Pulp FIction do that UTCM should have emulated?

Not being snarky. I'm just trying to conflate the two on any level at all.

And I think UTCM tried to have funny conversations. They just mostly sucked and didn't land. Pulp Fiction was actually funny. If we're gonna try this comparsion (and help me out) I guess in UTCM, Berkoff is Marcellus Wallace, Prince and Tricky are Vincent and Jules and Mary is Uma Thurman I guess. And now u honestlty got me cracking up at the idea of a mashup.

Prince asking Tricky for a foot massage or Jules rambling on about the "motherfuckin wrecka stow, motherfucker" is funny to ponder I have to admit.

ThirdStrike said:

Ok, I was thinking about this, and I'm wondering if the movie wouldn't have been more believable if Prince wasn't playing...well...PRINCE (instead of Christopher Tracy). What I mean is, when Elvis was doing movies, he wasn't always dressed like Elvis. In the case of "UTCM", would the plot (as thin as it was) have been better served with Prince and Jerome playing "normal" hustlers, and not hustlers dressed like Prince and Jerome. That make sense? The Rock does plenty of movies. But he's not dressed like a wrestler in all of them. Get my point? I don't know. Something to think about at least...

Yes. It's been brought up too.

ThirdStrike said:

Ok, I was thinking about this, and I'm wondering if the movie wouldn't have been more believable if Prince wasn't playing...well...PRINCE (instead of Christopher Tracy). What I mean is, when Elvis was doing movies, he wasn't always dressed like Elvis. In the case of "UTCM", would the plot (as thin as it was) have been better served with Prince and Jerome playing "normal" hustlers, and not hustlers dressed like Prince and Jerome. That make sense? The Rock does plenty of movies. But he's not dressed like a wrestler in all of them. Get my point? I don't know. Something to think about at least...

I think Prince was too Prince not to be Prince. I think it's hard for entertainers like him to become someone regular.

I really just think if he told a story of a pianist living in France who was connected to the underground France artistic community, Making a living playing grand paino/musical piece Venus de Milo, An Honest Man, Alexis de Paris, Under the Cherry Moon, then he and his experimental band at night are playing Girls & Boys, Kiss, Mountains etc with dark humor but not campy. It would have worked.

Include the Revolution, the Family(that would have saved the Family from breaking up) Sheila E (little appearance from Mazarati and Jill)

High Fashion

Mia Bocca

A Love Bizarre

Girls & Boys video as actually movie pieces

ThirdStrike said:

onlyforaminute said:

ThirdStrike said:

Ok, I was thinking about this, and I'm wondering if the movie wouldn't have been more believable if Prince wasn't playing...well...PRINCE (instead of Christopher Tracy). What I mean is, when Elvis was doing movies, he wasn't always dressed like Elvis. In the case of "UTCM", would the plot (as thin as it was) have been better served with Prince and Jerome playing "normal" hustlers, and not hustlers dressed like Prince and Jerome. That make sense? The Rock does plenty of movies. But he's not dressed like a wrestler in all of them. Get my point? I don't know. Something to think about at least...

You mean if he acted, huh? Go on just say it, we won't take a chunk out of you. It would have been nice to see him slip into a completely different persona as opposed to hyping up a different side of himself. I guess that why some gripe about it being a vanity project like those aren unheard of.

Actually, on the contrary. I thought his acting was fine. Not any worse then his acting in "PR" was. But your points are valid. It was definetely a vanity project. But that doesn't necessarily make it bad. Just a tad one-dimensional. But again, Prince wasn't an actor the same way he was a musician, so it's forgiven...

onlyforaminute said:

ThirdStrike said:

Ok, I was thinking about this, and I'm wondering if the movie wouldn't have been more believable if Prince wasn't playing...well...PRINCE (instead of Christopher Tracy). What I mean is, when Elvis was doing movies, he wasn't always dressed like Elvis. In the case of "UTCM", would the plot (as thin as it was) have been better served with Prince and Jerome playing "normal" hustlers, and not hustlers dressed like Prince and Jerome. That make sense? The Rock does plenty of movies. But he's not dressed like a wrestler in all of them. Get my point? I don't know. Something to think about at least...

You mean if he acted, huh? Go on just say it, we won't take a chunk out of you. It would have been nice to see him slip into a completely different persona as opposed to hyping up a different side of himself. I guess that why some gripe about it being a vanity project like those aren unheard of.

Except that's the thing though and in large part why Purple Rain worked despite its many flaws. For those saying "well, Prince has gotta play PRINCE", I mean...OK....but you wouldn't even have to recast him here for cryin out loud since he already lived it..and PR gave it to us. He lives in a basement with dyfunctional parents and is fighting the local politics of the club scene, tryng to become a star and escape that life.

Showing Prince in UTCM as an up and comer or a street musican instead of a god damned gigalo for crying out loud would have gone a long way. Make him an underdog and an unrealized talent. At least in PR, we're shown WHY we he has problems and is the way he is. Purple Rain is not a great movie but at least we're able to sympathize with Prince's character to a certain degree by showing us his struggle, his shitty family life and his inability to fully relate to people, especially women.

He was an asshole in PR too but we liked him anyway because ^^^^of all that^^^^

Here, I'm not certain what I'm supposed to like about him

Bringing this thread back to the beginning, I don’t think Under The Cherry Moon is a great film. However, I do think it’s a very fun film which highlights the more playful side of Prince absent in his other movies—which, to be honest, I don’t enjoy rewatching these days as much as this one. I’m thankful that Prince was allowed to complete—unrestrained for the most part—the story he wanted us to see and how he wanted us to see it (I fully support the black and white decision). It’s a beautiful failure.