Under The Cherry Moon [1986] [DVD]

Set in the French Riviera, 'Under the Cherry Moon' tells the story of two gigolos, Christopher Tracy (Prince) and Tricky (Jerome Benton of 'The Time', who hope to make their fortune by marrying one of the wealthy women to whom they ply their trade. Luck comes their way in the form of Mary Sharon, the daughter of a cruel and controlling shipping magnate, who is set to come into a $50,000 000 trust fund when she marries the man her father has approved for her. However, as he sets out to charm Mary and win her affections, Christopher finds himself developing those feelings most damaging to a man in his trade - love. However, the mismatched affair is set to end badly from the start, as outside forces and super-sized egos conflict to keep Mary and Christopher apart. Ending in a tragedy of Romeo and Juliette-proportions, the story finds Christopher concluding 'If two people really loved one another, nothing could break them apart.'

Obviously being a Prince-production, the music is flawless, and especially of interest is the elegantly funky 'Love or Money', which was not included on the accompanying soundtrack album 'Parade - Music from Under the Cherry Moon'.

The opening sequence of Christopher playing piano in a classy restaurant whilst receiving a litany of message-inscribed cocktail napkins from Tricky is as funny and entertaining as the music is beautiful. The film is worth seeing for Prince's costumes alone - happily uninfluenced by the fashions of the time, they exaggerate his skinny 5ft3 frame perfectly - the one he wears to Mary Sharon's birthday celebration is stunning!

Shot in black and white, the film has aged very well, and Prince's straightforward directing style compliments the movie perfectly. For a non-professional actor, his performance is also faultlessly convincing, relying far more on his acting skills than Purple Rain. Mercifully absent is the irritating Morris Day, whose bombastic and childish personality is one of the few blemishes of 'Purple Rain', and one of the many of 'Graffiti Bridge'.

One of the only confusing details is the era in which it is set - described as 'a homage to the great black-and-white films of the 30's and 40's', 'Under the Cherry Moon' sees an unhappy blend of 1930's costumes and sets, and 1980's cars and scenery, with no real attempt at defining a genuine time-period. Prince's intention may have been to create a timeless love fantasy, but all he has succeeded at her is creating a mess!

Ultimately, 'Under the Cherry Moon' is a classy, tasteful, entertaining, musical extravagansa which only Prince could have pulled off. In retrospect, it is not in any way a bad film, and is possibly (dare I say it?) better than 'Purple Rain' - the music is just as good, and the acting far better! If only the outcome of Christopher and Mary's romance could have been destined for happiness, not tragedy...still, as Prince sings in 'Sometimes it Snows in April' 'Sometimes, life ain't always the way...'