Plot: What’s it about?
Christopher Tracy (Prince) is a piano player on the French Riviera, but he lives a lifestyle that defies his casual profession. After all, his expensive clothes, lush residence, and extravagant tastes couldn’t be upheld by his income as a musician. No, he has another job that he focuses on, one which allows him to live the kind of plush lifestyle he desires. The locale is loaded with rich, powerful people and a lot of those individuals are female. A number of divorced women venture to the area, with money to burn and boredom to conquer. These women have had bad marriages, poor husbands, and lousy sex lives, so some fun in the sun is just what they want. Tracy steps in to lend a hand, or whatever body parts these women might desire. He and his friend Tricky (Jerome Benton) target new arrivals to approach, ones that can help fund their lifestyles. So when the women come to hear his piano performances, he makes sure the encore is more than a few extra songs. He seduces the rich women, provides them with sexual services, then collects a large sum of cash. The ladies love to tip big, so Tracy makes out like a bandit. His latest target is Mary Sharon (Kristen Scott Thomas), a young woman about to inherit fifty-million dollars. But when the affection becomes real, can Tracy make the transition to real love?
As if Purple Rain wasn’t bad enough, Prince would return to cinematic venues with more of his visions. This is one of those visions, the insane and totally worthless Under the Cherry Moon, the kind of movie you’d imagine Satan would run on a loop for his houseguests. At least Purple Rain had a few memorable moments, whereas this heap of trash is work to endure, even the first ten minutes are hard to fathom. I don’t hate Prince. I mean, his music is decent at times and you can’t argue with his success in that arena, but when it comes to movies, the purple one should have left well enough alone. The backstory on why Under the Cherry Moon is that Prince went ballistic, taking control of every last detail on the production. The original director was fired, the cinematographer’s intentions were disregarded, and Prince decided to direct the movie himself, a decision that in hindsight, was a miserable choice. Purple Rain was tolerable because of the music, the real focus was there and the drama was a sidetrack. But here, Prince leaves the musical performance out and pushes on with his thespian skills. Another huge mistake on his part. His performance is dreadful from start to finish, while his direction is almost as good as a grade school production. A horrid movie, a lackluster disc, this is just one to avoid at all costs. Now if you’re a huge Prince fan and can overlook how bad the flick is, then by all means…
Video: How does it look?
Under the Cherry Moon is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This movie was filmed in color, but Prince decided he would rather have it shown in black & white. I think a choice would have been great, given the circumstances, but Warner has issued only the theatrical version and I think we all understand. The image we do get looks good, with no compression errors to note, and the print also seems sharp and without serious flaws. The contrast is excellent as well, with well defined shadows and no detail loss to be found. The image is a tad soft at times, so don’t expect the visuals to be that refined. This works well enough here though, so I don’t think anyone will be let down. I did see a little more edge enhancement than I would have liked, but the rest of the elements seem in fine enough form.
Audio: How does it sound?
A 2.0 surround option is found here, which is a shade limited at times, but seems to be more than adequate in most scenes. This movie has some lulls in audio, but it also has some scenes that flat out rock. The surrounds will see enough action to keep you happy, and subtle use is effective and well done also. The dialogue is well replicated here as well, not one syllable is lost in the mix. So when some extra kick is needed, this soundtrack can step up, but lacks the kind of depth a full 5.1 remix could offer. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French, on the chance you might need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes several of Prince’s music videos, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
