Under the Cherry Moon (1986)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

People are voting emotionally.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Guess the riddle - what is in black and white, pretentious, vapid, utterly silly, full of trite clichés, to the point that even Kristin Scott Thomas hated her part here, full of awful missteps in the plot and then leaving a sour aftertaste? This is Under the Cherry Moon - Prince's absolute flop on all cylinders, empty and useless barrage over dead desert and a total waste of anybody's time. My advice - forget this awful flick, give it a Zero and throw all the rotten tomatoes on it.

Are you a movie goer looking for visuals to admire? then Under the Cherry Moon will apply. Do you enjoy movies containing soundtracks of musical excellent, of course subjective to your musical taste, Under the Cherry Moon should apply again. However if you want a strong narrative and solid characterisation then lower your expectations as Under the Cherry Moon delivers poorly.As two Gigolo's swindling their way through Paris, Christopher (Prince) and Tricky (Jerome Benton) are searching for the perfect payoff. This is found in young Heiress Mary Sharon (Kristen Scott Thomas) who the promiscuous pair soon target. However their initial plan of exploiting Mary's wealth diminishes as Christopher falls in love thus beginning a whirlwind romance against her controlling Father's wishes. The plot summary may sound reasonably structured yet Under the Cherry Moon took on too many genres repelling any sense of focus. Not that mixing generic concepts has not achieved success for other films but Under the Cherry Moon is not amongst them. The comical scenes juxapositioned with high melodrama was narratively disjointed.This is rooted in Under the Cherry Moon's characterisation. Focusing upon Christopher and Tricky's personalities neither one had substance. Since they were the primary characters there should have been an aspect which makes audiences side with them. Instead the majority of Under the Cherry Moon is spent highlighting their self-interest or knack of comedic sensibilities when faced with problems. For a dramatic narrative it becomes ludicrous especially upon the film's latter half becomes dedicated to philosophical ideas. Realising Mary is his soul mate Christopher engages the notion of their eternal bonding, even after he's exposed as a fraud, leading them to a melodramatic climax. Despite this attempt at dealing with consequences of the characters, in Under the Cherry Moon's wider context it was wholly inadequate.So it there anything worthy to note? Yes there is. As previously stated the visuals have to be admired with Michael Ballhaus' cinematography providing stylishly crisp images. Unsurprisingly Prince succeeded in provided his own style. The flamboyant attire conveyed essences of a gigolo persona, shame his characterisation had no calibre. A final positive was Under the Cherry Moon's soundtrack provided by Prince & the Revolution containing songs of their 1986 album Parade. A personal highlight being 'Girls & Boys' when Christopher interrupts a party to impress Mary and audiences alike with ecstatic dance moves. Though this cannot excuse the wider flaws which made Under the Cherry Moon generally subpar.

This movie has issued a challenge to all humans- I DARE YOU TO WATCH THIS MOVIE FROM BEGINNING TO END! Nothing sucks quite like Under The Cherry Moon, consider the factors that lead to its creation: War, Disease, Famine, Poverty, MTV. Some one thought "hey this script by Prince is great, er at least its spelled correctly!" Some one thought "y'know who we should get to produce this? we should get Prince!" I have known rabid die hard Prince fans, people who actually think Prince has legitimate worth and value, and even these fans cannot watch all of Under The Cherry Moon. The average threshold for pain is forty minutes of viewing before the viewer stops the movie, if you can make through to the end legend has it Prince himself will materialize out of thin air to congratulate you personally.

Read the outline of this movie and rented it - I don't know anything about Prince, his films or his music,and he was a total surprise. I rented it because KST was in it and she doesn't normally do anything bad. That is not to say that this film is bad - just confusing. The main three characters, with the divine Francesca Annis on the cusp, are disappointing in that there seems to be no chemistry. I felt that Tricky has more charisma than Christopher, and he said that he liked Mary more than his friend, so why did he end up with the landlady? I was expecting great things with the monochrome portrayal and have to say that many times I felt that colour could have saved it. It was ordinary - and no I don't need a plethora of Prince fans to tell me I don't get it, maybe it just wasn't delivered. If it had been written better, if it had been acted better (mainly by the two main men)then it could have been worth the time spent watching it. I was disappointed because I felt that it had great promise, just poor execution. Music a bonus.