Maybe I'm not the best person to judge a Prince film as I am partial to his music. And, while he's no De Niro, with his expressive face, I don't think he's that terrible an actor either. I wouldn't particularly want to see him taking on "straight" roles, but he gives a performance that can carry a well-meaning musical, as indeed this is.
Yet despite all this, Graffiti Bridge is a movie I had low expectations of after poor reviews and a straight-to-video release in the UK. Not only that, but the soundtrack album, an eclectic collection of songs at best, was perhaps Prince's only faux pas in his strong 1980-1991 period. While Controversy may have been indulgent and Batman/Diamonds and Pearls more progressively mainstream, none of the albums contained anything as truly terrible as this film's title song, arguably the worst Prince song of all time.
Yet the film – an unofficial sequel to Purple Rain - is surprisingly entertaining. The direction by Prince himself is remarkably assured, and while the performances by fellow musicians aren't quite so polished, they are fun, Morris Day particularly. Only Ingrid Chavez really disappoints with a slightly wooden diction. The script isn't all that hot, though Prince shows noted self-effacement in the dialogue on occasion. (He's alternately described as a "little cricket" and a "little prick" at various stages). As he himself said around the time, he wasn't trying to be Francis Ford Coppola.
The deliberately cartoonish, pseudo-noir sets evoke memories of the Tim Burton Batman movies, while the variable song material works far better within the film's framework than as a stand-alone CD spin-off. All are present and correct from said album, except the opener "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got". The movie also contains four songs not on the soundtrack – "Seven Corners", "Blondie", "Jerk Out" and "Number 1". In the case of the latter, a trite ditty performed by Robin Power, this is perhaps fortunate. The tracks are arguably more derivative than usual – the funky "Shake!" has a chord line more than a little similar to "96 Tears". Though that said, while not first-rate Prince, songs like New Power Generation, Thieves in the Temple and Still Would Stand All Time are above standard. Even weaker efforts like The Question of U and Elephants & Flowers seem improved within this context, even if the miming doesn't always convince.
Some of the dance sequences – The Time performing Release It and, in particular, prodigiously talented Tevin Campbell with Round and Round - are excellent. Some of the dialogue passages ("Abandoned on the street at the tender age of seven, how could I ever learn the real meaning of Heaven?") indicate the artist's increasing pretension and loss of irony, however. While the repetitious drama inherent – Prince as noble romantic underdog hero; Day as all-powerful, lecherous villain – doesn't really go anywhere, but this is by no means the turkey it's trumped up to be. Admittedly more of a film for aficionados of Prince and his music, as a light-hearted showcase of said subject it succeeds admirably.
Post-script, August 2016: When I reviewed this 15 years ago I said "Maybe I'm not the best person to judge a Prince film"... how right I was. Somehow managing to give it 6/10, I watched what is a sub-par movie through Purple tinted glasses. Prince fans might enjoy this film... but only once.
Yet despite all this, Graffiti Bridge is a movie I had low expectations of after poor reviews and a straight-to-video release in the UK. Not only that, but the soundtrack album, an eclectic collection of songs at best, was perhaps Prince's only faux pas in his strong 1980-1991 period. While Controversy may have been indulgent and Batman/Diamonds and Pearls more progressively mainstream, none of the albums contained anything as truly terrible as this film's title song, arguably the worst Prince song of all time.
Yet the film – an unofficial sequel to Purple Rain - is surprisingly entertaining. The direction by Prince himself is remarkably assured, and while the performances by fellow musicians aren't quite so polished, they are fun, Morris Day particularly. Only Ingrid Chavez really disappoints with a slightly wooden diction. The script isn't all that hot, though Prince shows noted self-effacement in the dialogue on occasion. (He's alternately described as a "little cricket" and a "little prick" at various stages). As he himself said around the time, he wasn't trying to be Francis Ford Coppola.
The deliberately cartoonish, pseudo-noir sets evoke memories of the Tim Burton Batman movies, while the variable song material works far better within the film's framework than as a stand-alone CD spin-off. All are present and correct from said album, except the opener "Can't Stop This Feeling I Got". The movie also contains four songs not on the soundtrack – "Seven Corners", "Blondie", "Jerk Out" and "Number 1". In the case of the latter, a trite ditty performed by Robin Power, this is perhaps fortunate. The tracks are arguably more derivative than usual – the funky "Shake!" has a chord line more than a little similar to "96 Tears". Though that said, while not first-rate Prince, songs like New Power Generation, Thieves in the Temple and Still Would Stand All Time are above standard. Even weaker efforts like The Question of U and Elephants & Flowers seem improved within this context, even if the miming doesn't always convince.
Some of the dance sequences – The Time performing Release It and, in particular, prodigiously talented Tevin Campbell with Round and Round - are excellent. Some of the dialogue passages ("Abandoned on the street at the tender age of seven, how could I ever learn the real meaning of Heaven?") indicate the artist's increasing pretension and loss of irony, however. While the repetitious drama inherent – Prince as noble romantic underdog hero; Day as all-powerful, lecherous villain – doesn't really go anywhere, but this is by no means the turkey it's trumped up to be. Admittedly more of a film for aficionados of Prince and his music, as a light-hearted showcase of said subject it succeeds admirably.
Post-script, August 2016: When I reviewed this 15 years ago I said "Maybe I'm not the best person to judge a Prince film"... how right I was. Somehow managing to give it 6/10, I watched what is a sub-par movie through Purple tinted glasses. Prince fans might enjoy this film... but only once.