Graffiti Bridge [VHS]

So here's the 411: your name is Prince, and at the moment you are one of the world's biggest musical stars. You've sold millions around the world, and even had a box-office smash of a film. But that was the 80's. And now it is 1990. So what are you gonna do? The answer is simple: make another film, which is written, directed AND produced by yours truly. Take some singers, extras and a couple of good ideas and slam it together. Isn't that GREAT! No, it's not. Graffiti Bridge is quite simply the worst of the 3 films that Prince has done, and is also one of the most annoying. The basic premise of the film is a sequel to 1985's Purple Rain- The Kid (aka Prince), the ever-annoying Morris Day and even-more-annoying Tricky are back. But this time, they each have their own club, and are fighting for control of the "Glam Slam" club. Ingrid Chavez stars as Apollonia's "replacement", the frankly indecipherable Aura (yes, as kooky as her name suggests). With Prince at the helm, the pacing of the film suffers- the musical sequences are too short, whilst the gloriously gloopy "dramatic scenes" are exceedingly long. And what of the stars themselves? Prince, reprising his role as The Kid has somehow transformed himself from the spunky, funky rock-n-roller in Purple Rain to some sort of long-haired messiah, whilst Morris Day remains exceedingly irritating. Whilst his humour and wit made Purple Rain just oh-so-much better, second time around he's become boring- even his chilli munching at the start of the film doesn't spice up his character. Ingrid Chavez's Aura isn't particularly bad, it's just that she seems overwhelmed when next to messiah or chill-breath. Her singing isn't too bad, but when placed next to Mavis Staples she seems ridiculously out of place; Staples herself steals the final scenes from Prince, but even she is defeated by the ultimate nemesis- a rubbish script. Jerome Benton made a good sidekick in Under The Cherry Moon, but in this film he just becomes a pawn to the bad scripting and direction. The DVD adds little to the film itself- it's a few music videos, which only serve to highlight the values of the soundtrack on it's own. As the film stands, it hasn't improved with age, and buyers are strongly recommended to seek out it's predecessors instead.

'Graffiti Bridge' is Prince's third and final feature film.

Written, directed and starring the purple one the film done terrible at the box-office and made very little money at all.
'Graffiti Bridge' is quite well known for its awfulness, and if i'm being honest; criticising it is a well known hobbie for Prince fans. Still the movie isn't half as bad as what people say it is...trust me.

The story basically revolves around 'The Kid' (Prince) and his rivalry with 'Morris Day' ('The Time' frontman), each of them own a club on 'Seven Corners' (a cheaply made set on Paisley Park to the rest of us) and battle out to see whose music reigns supreme. Morris ain't happy with the 'spiritual noise' that Prince is making and wants his share of the club.

Also thrown in the mix, is 'Aura' (Ingrid Chavez) an angel who The Kid becomes involved with when he see's her drifting in and out of scenes whispering her new-age poetry (which can become insanely annoying by the end of the film).

As you've probably worked out: the film bears alot of similarities to 'Purple Rain', and it is, in essence, a sequel to Prince's hugely successful debut film.
The same characters are portrayed, but whereas 'Purple Rain' was a rock 'n ' roll movie, 'Graffiti Bridge' is more like a musical.

The movie has a spiritual undertone and this coupled with the dreamy set design makes for a more trippy film than 'Purple Rain', in fact one thing that is quite impressive about 'Graffiti Bridge' is how good it can sometimes look; the performance scenes are shot with pace and snappily edited, but the problem with 'Graffiti Bridge' is the acting for the most part.

Unlike some of his previous films none of the stars have any previous acting experience (barring their roles in previous Prince films) and the movie suffers as a result from that. Prince again plays the moody, troubled kid, whilst Morris reprises his familar role as the wise-cracking rival, but other than the two main stars, few of the actors stand out.

As with 'Purple Rain' Morris steals pretty much every scene he's in and he's one of the saving graces of the film, thus Prince rightly gives him more screen time.
The main attraction of the film, however, is the performances.

As with 'Purple Rain', Prince's antics onstange keep the momentum going and all the musical numbers impress, the undisputed highlights being his tightly choreographed performance of 'Elephants & Flowers' and his, ahem, energetic rendition of 'Tick, Tick, Bang!'.

I don't think 'Graffiti Bridge' is a must buy, even for a Prince fan, but it can be an highly enjoyable film.
The films soundtrack on the other hand, is essential, and remains one of Prince's strongest albums post-Lovesexy.

I have to confess to having a soft spot for this film, but, if you aren't a big Prince fan, there's not much for you to enjoy.
The album Graffiti Bridge was not a commercial success so most of the songs are not particularly well known (the biggest hit was Thieves in the Temple). However if you liked the album there is some joy to be had from watching the film because in spite of the thin plot there is plenty of music.
The story is a sort of fantasy follow up to Purple Rain, but where PR was at times a gritty story of a struggling musician and his band, this is a fantasy story about an angel being sent down to earth to help guide "The Kid" and to make him and his arch enemy Morris Day set aside their differences. Day and his sidekick Jerome offer some fun comic relief, and the message in the film is sincere, but as I say, if you're not a fan, this will probably be a bit too silly for you.