Purple Rain

• Directed by Albert Magnoli
• July 27, 1984

A rising musician struggles with his turbulent personal life while dealing with a devious rival musician.

Some movies like Purple Rain are very era specific. Much like Top Gun it’s one of those movies that could’ve only come out in the 80s as it was and any attempt to do redo it would be incapable of re-capturing the vibe of the time that helped to make it special and gives the movie a character.

To some extent the cast plays a fictionalized version of themselves. Other than Olga Karlatos as Prince’s (The Kid) mother and Clarence Williams III as his dad /Francis L., the character of each uses their actual name.

Among the first characters we encounter is Apollonia as Apollonia taking a ride in a cab to the club before running out on the fare with her scenes mixed with some of the best music of the era. Prince and The Revolution as does Morris Day and The Time with a little help from Dez Dickerson and his group the Modernaires sling out a few tunes as the main love interest tries to get into the First Avenue club.

It cannot be stated that the acting in general leaves much to be desired. Morris Day-as-Morris, Billy Sparks-as-Billy, and Jerome Benton-as-Jerome outshine everybody else and that includes Prince who demanded to star in a movie. It is reported there was effort by studio people to replace Prince with John Travolta. Given Saturday Night Fever was still very culturally relevant, it makes some sense. Though Travolta lacked the charisma and stage presence of Prince, he was the better actor. Even lip-synching can you imagine Travolta performing ‘Purple Rain’ or ‘Let’s Go Crazy’?

Much like John Milius did in Conan the Barbarian for Schwarzenegger, Albert Magnoli limits Prince’s dialogue and screen time. He is present just enough to be important for the film but due to a lack of range doesn’t do a great deal. That scene when The Kid’s dad is abusing his mom and The Kid tries to break it up is all the proof an honest viewer needs.

Magnoli puts a lot of effort into trying to make The Kid look like some kind of artistic badass. While a great artist, Prince was no badass. ‘Great’ and ‘badass’ are not the same thing. No matter how cool the motorcycle is you can’t make a man in a long scarf, ruffles, and a purple jacket look dangerous.

Morris Day sold the part of jerky rival Morris. He is an a-hole that has charm and charisma allowing to draw in and keep people in his orbit. A jokester/prankster aiming for success and a good time who makes it look easy while putting in place things for his victory. Day paired with Jerome Bunton provides the occasional bit of comedy like their riff on “Who’s On First?” It is a very funny scene not because of any originality but because the longer it goes the more difficult it becomes to get the point across making it even funnier!

There is a deeper story here. It is not all music or comedy. The Kid is living at home with his abusive father and abused mother who equally hates the relationship and keeps coming back to it. We see that in his own way The Kid is repeating his father’s mistakes and becoming just like a man the hates. He engages in physical abuse and self-destructive behavior much like his old man who had talent did.

I certainly enjoyed seeing the performances and hearing the songs, but when it comes right down to it, this is maybe an hour or so of actual story with establishing shots and pointless pieces of filmed fluff used to stretch it out. The script has more in common with a TV pilot or the penultimate episode of a dramatic series than it does a feature film. 

That’s not to say this is a terrible movie. It’s just not as packed with events as other movies that have traveled a similar path. What makes it a good movie is the music and that it is a time capsule of the era. Production occurred in and around Minneapolis, Minnesota giving the story a special aspect he reflexive choice of LA could not.

Purple Rain is a pretty standard story made special by the music contained within. While he may have been no great actor here, Prince certainly shows why he was a great performer.