Purple Rain Movie Review

Purple Rain (1984)

Rent Purple Rain on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Albert Magnoli, William Blinn
Directed by: Albert Magnoli
Starring: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
A young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.

Verdict
This is basically a collection of music videos with the odd scene in between. The  soundtrack earns the praise it generates, but as a movie this leaves quite a bit to be desired. I kept wondering what this is. It seems to be a showcase for Prince's talents. He's a better actor than I expected, but I don't know what this movie wants to showcase more, his musical talents or his raw sexuality.
Skip it.

Review
In 1982 Prince commissioned a semi-autobiographical movie that must contain the word "purple" in the title. This released two years later. The soundtrack that accompanied the movie was a huge hit.

Prince plays The Kid.

Having heard this movie is wild, I was trying to figure out what I was getting into. This starts with what seems to be an extended music video as Prince performs at a concert. In just a few minutes we see a lot of characters. This movie is trying to tell a story through editing alone. A thought that persisted throughout this movie, what is this?

For some reason, nearly every character shares the actor's name. The strange doesn't stop there. In one scene a man literally picks up a woman and throws her in a dumpster for comedic effect. The next scene Prince is flirting with Apollonia. It seems like they know each other.

This is a collection of scenes that happen to have the same characters. There isn't a logical flow. That's likely because this is a showcase for Prince. Again, I don't know what this is. At one point it's a showcase for Prince's ventriloquism. Part music video, part random scene, this is an artistic expression from Prince. I'm just not sure what exactly it's expressing. This includes a great soundtrack, the music album garnered various accolades. Listening to the soundtrack would be more fun.