Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Released in 1983 and directed by Jon Amiel, "Eddie and the Cruisers" is a rock drama about a TV reporter (Ellen Barkin) who picks up the story of a legendary early 60's rock band that prematurely ended when their charismatic leader, Eddie Wilson (Michael Paré), died when his Chevy went off a bridge, although his body was never recovered. The newswoman interviews the living band members 18 years after their heyday and tries to track down the missing tapes to their never-released avant-garde second album. The band members are Frank (Tom Berenger), Joann (Helen Schneider), Sal (Matthew Laurance), Kenny (David Wilson) and Wendell (Michael "Tunes" Antunes), while their bullcrappin' manager is Doc (Joe Pantoliano).This was the inspiration for 2009's "The Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll" but both movies have their distinctions, as well as pros and cons. "Eddie" is about a band from the early 60s whereas "The Perfect Age" is about a Guns N' Roses-type band whose heyday was in the 80s. Each film starts out shaky as the story is set-up, but they progressively get better. Both films feature charismatic frontmen with diametrically opposed styles, but also very similar when you think about it. Each feature revealing chats amongst the characters with "Eddie" shining in the final act when it unveils Eddie's youthful place of solitude, Palace of Depression (which is an actual place in southern New Jersey, Vineland; a building made of junk built by the eccentric George Daynor, a former Alaskan gold miner who lost his fortune in the Crash of '29). Growing-up, my gang had several hidden spots where we'd meet, each with a name known only to us; I even had a personal "My Place" in the woods behind my parents house on a lake where I'd often go for private reflection. When I was 15 I planned to commit suicide there, but thankfully didn't go through with it. The movie gets points for including such an existential element.Was Eddie still alive or did he die in 1964? The ending reveals the truth and the way it's done is superlative.So which movie is better, "Eddie" or "The Perfect Age"? They both shoot for greatness and in some small ways attain it. Disregarding the rockin' performances, "Eddie" is more location-bound and therefore dramatically sedentary whereas "The Perfect Age" is a road movie in disguise and therefore seemingly more eventful. In my opinion the music's better in the latter, but then I prefer the heavier side of rock/metal over the Bruce-Springsteen-in-the-early 60s style of "Eddie" (which is good for what it is, don't get me wrong). "Eddie" stands out for including the Palace of Depression angle and contains superb lines in the final act, but "The Perfect Age" soars in its own way, like Spyder & Eric's brouhaha in the rain and the blues bar sequence (featuring cameos by legends Sugar Blue, Pinetop Perkins, Hubert Sumlin, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith and Bob Stroger). Then there's the powerful climatic scene in "Perfect Age" at Spyder's ritzy mansion with Jane's Addiction's "Three Days" playing in the background, which just so happens to rank with the all-time best cinematic scenes utilizing rock songs, like the close of 1998's "Buffalo '66" with Yes' incredible "Heart of the Sunrise." The songs by the fictitious Eddie and the Cruisers were composed/performed by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. The main song, "On the Dark Side," became a #1 hit for the band and "Tender Years" was a minor one. Most of the cast weren't musicians, although Matthew Laurance (Sal) learned how to play bass for the movie. Only Michael "Tunes" Antunes, the sax player for the Beaver Brown Band, and Helen Schneider (Joann) were professional musicians.Speaking of whom, I can't close without mentioning how Helen really shines here. No, she's no Meryl Streep, but she's great for her role in "Eddie." You could say she's The Perfect Rage of Rock 'n' Roll (sorry, that was just DUMB). I should also add that it's interesting to see Berenger, Barkin and Paré when they were so young.The film runs 95 minutes and was shot entirely in New Jersey with the exception of the college sequence, which was filmed just across the Pennsylvania border at Haverford College.GRADE: B+

A television newswoman (Ellen Barkin) picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare) may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.The 1980s, among many other great things in the movie world, were apparently the decade of music films. We really do not see them anymore, but the 80s brought us this film (1983) "La Bamba" (1987) and this film's sequel (1989), just to name a few. Apparently it was also the decade where Joe Pantoliano appeared in music films, because he is both here and in "La Bamba". Roger Ebert wrote at the time that the film was "so frustrating, so dumb, so unsatisfactory", but he was so wrong. This may not be high art, and it may be odd to hear Springsteen-esque music allegedly being played in 1963, but it is a darn fun film.Although the film had a strong cult following when it was played repeatedly on HBO, those under 30 today may not remember the movie. Yet, the hit single "On the Dark Side" still receives regular radio play, so it is anything but forgotten. This might be the time to visit (or revisit) the film, especially now that we have had thirty years to reflect on the careers of Michael Pare, Tom Berenger and Joe Pantoliano.Hats off to Shout Factory for releasing this as a double feature on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, it comes as bare bones release, with only subtitles to speak of. Michael Pare was not asked to do a commentary (though he probably would), and it would have been a really cool thing to include a remastered soundtrack CD. Maybe we have not seen the final release of this film yet.

I was 15 when this movie was released, and I LOVED IT. Eddie and the Cruisers is one of those AWESOME movies. I remember partying to it and watching at least 100+ times. It is a movie the seems to describe a lot of what was going on in the 80's even though it was supposed to be set in the 60's. Eddie was a music "ICON" for us, John John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band were awesome, and the music still lives on today. As a child of the "80's" a Gen."X" child, we are called the Lost Generation and Eddie was also lost,and showed how a lot of us felt, just disappear... Again, if you haven't seen this movie, you really NEED to. It is truly a Classic 80's movie. Also, watch garage sales, flea markets, thrift stores. You can sometimes find the Soundtrack which is also awesome. My Ex-husband recently found it in a box a friend gave him, and the first time he listened to "The Dark Side" it took him back again..

This is one of my favorite small movies of all times. It draws off a lot of artistic partnerships for inspiration with its underlying theme of "words and music" and the seeming contradictions in life, art and relationships that go into making something beautiful and real. The characters are wonderfully rendered and the performances are pitch perfect. The music is haunting when it should be and always exciting to listen to. Eddie's struggle is the eternal struggle of the artist, who wants to be great, in contrast to his friend who suggests, "They're just some guys from Jersey". The ending is the perfect ending. The film, while not the perfect film (since a perfect film doesn't exist), is one of the few of which I actually own a copy. It you haven't seen "Eddie", I promise you, it's nothing that you think it is ... any more than "Eddie and the Cruisers" are "just some guys from Jersey".