Purple Rain

 Film(s) to be reviewed:  Purple Rain

Purpose for watching the film(s):  

Jess bought me an “STP” t-shirt about 22 years ago, and it’s starting to get a little threadbare, so for Christmas 2021 I asked for some more t-shirts.  Jess bought me a Baby Yoda t-shirt, and a Purple Rain t-shirt.  Then, in December of 2022, I just so happened to be wearing my Purple Rain t-shirt when I went to see Avatar: The Way of Water, and as the usher was ripping my ticket he said, “People always made fun of me because I didn’t see Purple Rain until I was in my 30s”.  I looked down, somewhat embarrassed, and said, “I still haven’t seen Purple Rain”.  It was as I shuffled dejectedly to my seat that I resolved to see Purple Rain that very night… 

My reaction to the film(s):

Usually I avoid describing details of a film’s plot, to me that’s like spoiling the story.  When I ask someone else about a movie that I haven’t seen yet, I only want to know what their impression of the film was.  From their description of how they emotionally reacted to the film, and based on what I know about the person, I develop my own conclusions as to whether I think that I will like the movie or not.  In the case of Purple Rain, its plot epitomizes everything about the movie, and it would be impossible to describe my reaction to the movie without discussing its plot.  As I begin to describe the plot, you’ll have to imagine how my serious look of contemplation transitions to a sly smile as I write the following words:  In the tradition of Bogart and Brando, the late artist, formerly (and currently) known as Prince portrays a reluctant hero, who must face his greatest challenge… himself.  Realizing that there may be some critics that would question whether Prince, a relative newcomer at the time to feature films, would be convincing in a leading role, it was decided that Morris Day (of Morris Day & The Time) should play the protagonist.  Now I can’t say that Morris Day was as good a villain as Joaquin Phoenix was in Gladiator, but then that would be an unfair comparison, since it’s kind of hard to act like a bad ass when you’re being upstaged by a man in high heels and wearing a purple sequin jumpsuit.  If you’re thinking to yourself, “wow, it didn’t take Peter very long to deviate from describing the plot of the movie”, then you’re wrong - except for describing the scene where Prince drives a woman out to the middle of nowhere on his motorcycle, then tricks her into stripping off all of her clothes, then drives away abandoning her naked and alone (because he thought it was funny), and the scene where Prince confronts his father for being abusive to his mother (with no sense of irony regarding the previously mentioned scene), I have now described the entire plot.  But what makes it a great movie, is that it’s Prince, and there’s Prince music, and did I mention that Prince is riding a motorcycle?

Closing thoughts about the film(s):

Do you ever get that feeling when you’re watching a movie that another piece of the cultural puzzle has been fitted into place, and you’re one step closer to being cool?  Now I finally get all those Morris Day & The Time references in Kevin Smith movies. I’m not sure that makes me any cooler, but the next time someone asks me about my Purple Rain t-shirt, I can say, “yeah, I’ve seen that movie too”.