Remembering Prince’s Lackluster Film ‘Under The Cherry Moon’

The late Prince Rogers Nelson, better known as Prince, is popular for the legacy he left behind in the form of iconic songs that prove just how talented he was and the films he starred in, box-office hits or not. He made his mark in the industry by making sure people didn’t just hear him sing but also appreciated his love for performance arts.

Legacy

There are countless songs by Prince that are still popular worldwide, some of which include Take Me With U, Baby I’m A Star, Thieves in the Temples, I Wanna Be Your Lover and Nothing Compares 2 U – the list can go on and on. Most of his fans would agree that Prince was born to be a singer, proven by his impressive collections of accolades. Judging from the numerous awards under his belt, there is no doubt that award-giving bodies hailed him one of the best among his contemporaries.

But that’s not all. He is also regarded as a legend in this industry after having sold more than 100 million copies of his albums, certainly not an easy feat for singers in their lifetime. In 2004, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. All in all, he was nothing short of a musical genius.

Prince may have left his fans but his legacy still lives on

Taking On The Film Industry

On the film industry, meanwhile, Prince showed his acting prowess at his first starrer, “Purple Rain,” a romance drama film that was released in 1984. It is safe to say it was a huge success after it gained $68 million, well more than the movie’s budget of just $7 million. It was loosely based on his life and along with it was an album of the same title.

The same can’t be said of his second starrer, romance musical drama “Under the Cherry Moon,” Prince’s directorial debut. It proved to be a lackluster movie that tells the story of a piano artist who fell in love with an heiress on the French Riviera. It flopped, to say the least, with critics poking fun at the film and audience generally snubbing the handicraft.

Prince’s directorial debut film “Under the Cherry Moon,” underperformed in theaters

Underwhelming Film

What his two films have in common is that, both had won him awards. However, “Under the Cherry Moon” garnered not-so-prestigious acclamations, ones that you don’t want to receive as a thespian. It gained a meek $10 million in the box office and received Razzie awards like Worst Actor, Worst Director, Worst Picture, and Worst Original Song.

Others say that the film had a cliche storyline and that Prince and on-screen partner Kristin Scott Thomas had a hard time making people believe of their characters’ supposed chemistry. Others simply found the singer’s character in the film, a gigolo named Christopher who prey on rich women, insufferable.

While others appreciate how the film tried its best in exuding first-class, upscale feels, it simply lacked deeper meaning. The film was black and white, supposedly emitting classic vibe, but eagle-eyed fans were quick to point some missed details in the “Under the Cherry Moon” that totally set the whole story back.

There were some eyebrow-raising, inconsistent details – for instance, it was set in the 1930s if it were the costume and the set are to be considered, but the mention of Sam Cooke confused the timeline altogether because the King of Soul peaked his career in the ‘50s through the ‘60s. In one scene, Christopher and his trusty pal Tricky, played by Jerome Benton, even brought out a boom box that was not popular until the ‘80s.

Fans still praised the comic connection between Prince and Jerome Benton in the film

Praises

If there’s something good that came about this movie is that this paved the way for the leading lady to be noticed in show business. Thomas would later on star in another romantic film called “The English Patient,” where she was paired with Ralph Fiennes.

Still, fans of Prince praised the film’s musical performances, there’s no doubt the singer could sing the songs well, after all, he’s a singer first before trying his luck in acting. Others commend the comic acts between the two brothers in the movie.

One thing is for sure, his downfall didn’t stop the influential man from pursuing a career in this field as he starred in “Sign O’ The Times” and what was believed to be the sequel of “Purple Rain,” “Graffiti Bridge.”