How Did This Get Made? - Under The Cherry Moon (HDTGM Matinee)

Episode Date: March 25, 2025

Paul, June, and Jason discuss the 1986 musical Under the Cherry Moon directed by and starring Prince. They talk about the answering machine duet, Wrecka Stow, hair brushing, and much more. (Originally released 10/8/20) HDTGM Spring Tour 2025 tickets are now on sale for Austin, Denver, Seattle, Boise, San Fran, Portland, & LA at hdtgm.com.Order Paul’s book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of TraumaCheck out new HDTGM movie merch over at teepublic.com/stores/hdtgmJoin the HDTGM conversation on Discord: discord.gg/hdtgmPaul’s Discord: discord.gg/paulscheerVisit Paul’s YouTube page: youtube.com/paulscheerFollow Paul’s movie recs on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/paulscheer/Watch Enter The Dark Web w/ Paul and Rob Huebel on youtube HDTGM Spring Tour 2025 tickets are now on sale for Austin, Denver, Seattle, Boise, San Fran, Portland, & LA at hdtgm.com.Order Paul’s book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of TraumaCheck out new HDTGM movie merch over at teepublic.com/stores/hdtgmCheck out our new hats at podswag.comJoin the HDTGM conversation on Discord: discord.gg/hdtgmPaul’s Discord: discord.gg/paulscheerEnter the Dark Web w/ Paul and Rob Huebel on YouTube @enterthedarkwebLike good movies too? Listen to Unspooled with Paul and Amy Nicholson: https://www.unspooledpodcast.com/Listen to The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael: www.thedeepdiveacademy.com/podcastWhere to find Paul, June, & Jason:@PaulScheer on Instagram & Twitter@Junediane on IG and @MsJuneDiane on TwitterJason is not on social media Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using the link: siriusxm.com/hdtgm.

Hey, audiophiles! Just a quick note that when taking out her card that she recorded the episode on June, misplaced it. She lost the card that recorded her audio from her great microphone, and we are abusing her Zoom audio only. So if you hear any imperfections, it is not for any other reason than the amazing wizard of audio. Producer, engineer, extraordinaire Devin has gone to great lengths to fix it the best way that he can, but that is why we have a slight issue this week. I think it sounds actually pretty good, but I wanted to give a warning. So I didn't get a million tweets telling me, Hey, did you know, and why?

And I, I got it. We know Devin fixed it and without him, uh, we will be nowhere. So thank you, Devin and enjoy. Money, power, sex, sequins, large jackets, flowery blouses, taco meat and prints. We saw Under the Cherry Moon. So you know what that means. Now it's time for How to Describe Pain.

We're gonna have a good time, celebrate some failure Not just be the hater, cause either you wonder How Did This Get Made? Let's all win the mediocrity of subpar art Perhaps we'll find the answer to the question How Did This Get Made? Hello people of Earth and welcome to How Did This Get Made? I am Tall John Shear

And boy oh boy We have been on a run of movies that I have been How did this get made? I am tall John sheer and boy. Oh boy We have been on a run of movies that I have been Absolutely loving this is the follow-up to purple rain and it is the most Prince film you could possibly ever imagine I can't wait to talk about it did not know until this movie started that the female lead was Kristen Scott Thomas, which is great, and the bad guy from Beverly Hills Cop. All I can say about this plot is Prince is a gigolo and he falls in love,

and as the beginning of the movie states, that leads to his death. But we'll talk about all this and more, but first, let me introduce my co-host. Please welcome Mr. Jason Manzoukas. How are you, Jason? Paul, I mean, I'm thrilled to be here. I almost said this before the podcast started,

but I'm gonna say it now. This is without a doubt the most notes I've ever taken on a How Did This Get Made movie. Like every single scene, every single outfit, every single line of dialogue, every single music cue, every single camera move, I had notes on. I was consumed, I'm obsessed with this movie. I am too.

I felt like I was transcribing the film. That's how much I was writing and I don't even. I felt like I was transcribing the film. That's how much I was writing. I felt like I had taken drugs. I was like, the movie was making me feel like, like, like I was in a fever dream. It was, I'm so excited. We got to talk about it. Um, and I don't even want to delay at all our conversation. So that's why I'll bring in our next cohost.

Please welcome June Diane Raphael. How are you June? Hi Paul, I'm okay. How are you? I'm doing well. I'm so glad to speak to you. June thoughts about Under the Cherry Moon. You know, it's funny Jason,

because I actually didn't write down much because I loved this movie. Yes. I loved it movie. Yes. I loved it so much and I just enjoyed the hell out of it. I can't agree with you more with the slight caveat that it's terrible. Yes. I agree.

I mean, I'm holding both of these things in my hands as both true. I loved it. This is a both end situation. And it's not an either or. Exactly. It is a movie made by a genius, right? And it is so uniquely bizarre, but so heartfelt.

I said to June at one point. And holy Prince. It's so, it's like the movie in Microcosm is like Prince's music career. It's pure genius, but there's too much of it. I mean, to me, I wrote down, this is the princest of Prince's movies ever. I mean, you couldn't, this is him.

I also just wanna start off with a couple of broad stroke questions just to put us in a conversation about Prince, right? First of all, this Prince is not the Prince that I'm used to, right? Like he has something very different. I think I've gotten so locked into the Fred Armisen version

of the very whispery Coke Kaddish. Or the Chappelle Charlie Murphy stories. Yeah, and this Prince is... I mean, he's not that. I mean, he has got so many things. Here's what's interesting. This is, I feel like, the version of Prince that is in some of those stories, which is... And also, if you want great Prince stories, Mike Judge does a great show on Showtime called

Tales from the Tour Bus, and it's a documentary series where people tell stories about the first season about country music and the second season is all about funk. And almost everybody tells Prince stories. Bootsy Collins, James Brown, all these people. Everybody tells Prince stories. Anyway, the thing about Prince that seems to be united throughout all of these things is that he's a fucking rascal. You know?

And in this movie, Prince is a little rascal. He's like, he's like starting trouble. He's winding people up. He's like, half of the movie is a noir in which Prince is the femme fatale, weirdly. And half of the movie, half of the movie is a noir in which Prince is the femme fatale, weirdly. And half of the movie is a screwball comedy. It's like an homage to Preston Sturgis or his girl Friday type of screwball, or like bringing up baby,

basically. Oh, and by the way, so Prince directed this. So this is, it really really no one is filtering him But June I mean, what did you think about Prince like what like what was your coming into this? Yeah I also well, so so the only stuff I haven't heard all these Prince stories I love Prince love and I think about like I was the election approaches It's I've been thinking about him a lot and the time when like Prince died, David Bowie died. And I remember someone tweeting, it's a bad sign when all of the aliens start leaving

the planet. And me, I really do think about it as like, that's kind of when everything started to fall apart. Yeah. Um, and I connected like very deeply to losing Prince, losing Bowie, like losing the men who were able to contain multitudes of sexuality and gender and, and just, um, performance and brilliance. And thank God we got Dennis Rodman still here. Thank God. But it felt like all of these special men were leaving us and leaving us to Donald Trump. And so that's sort of like my overall,

I was really excited to sit down with Prince and be with him, but it was, I have known, the only story, the personal story I've known about Prince has been from when he guest starred on New Girl. Yeah, I know. And I was like, I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. and be with him, but it was, I have known, the only story, the personal story I've known

about Prince has been from when he guest starred on New Girl. Yes, yeah, I think we all know this, yes. Wait, I don't know this. I don't know this. I just know him as having been a rascal on that set, having been like the Prince that we saw in this film, that behavior was I I think, displayed

on the set of New Girl. So I was very aware of that, but it's certainly, I've never seen Purple Rain, so I'm also behind. By the way, I have to admit, I haven't seen it either. I've seen bits of it, and I was blown away just like this. I feel like I've seen it, but I actually haven't. It's a better movie, obviously. It's a better movie.

Because this, to me, this is like, because Prince is in control of Under the Cherry Moon, this is like really a tone poem. It's perfectly Prince. You know, it is not a movie. It is a rambling series of lightly connected scenes that have a slightly, if you took out, here's what I'll say.

If you took out the legitimately incredible music that runs throughout this movie, the movie would suddenly seem to be, that is what's, that is the thread that ties this that keeps this movie held together if you took it out the movie would seem startlingly bizarre i think it's kind of crazy well yeah prince was anything if we were watching this without knowing prince was prince if we were just watching this like oh this is an actor playing this part, not watching it, knowing who this man is and what, you know, all of his albums, whatever,

what he produced in his lifetime, it would be the strangest experience. Can I make an insane claim? And I want to be very clear right now. Prince, for me, is one of my top ten music icons. Like, he's in the pantheon. He is an icon. Like, I think Prince is a, like, once-in-a-generation genius. It is unparalleled what he's done in music. If Prince only made this movie, and we had only that to go on, we would consider it in the same

category as The Room. Like, yes, yes. Instead of saying things like, hi, you know, hi, Mark, hi, we would be going, Garcon, Garcon! We would be doing that impression. Like it's, it is a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it is a, it's, it's Kareening. It, the fact that it is a movie that takes place in France, half of the people are speaking English, half of the people who speak in English, write in French. Half of the people are speaking in French and don't understand English.

I don't understand. And then there are a lot of English, English, British accents as well. Well, I mean, there's so much going on here. I want to just, I want to go back to one thing that you said, Jason, about it being like Tommy Wiseau. I have a big belief that Tommy Wiseau is like a Spielberg or a prince without the talent. So all the same things are there.

This doesn't coalesce the same way, like, right? It's like, oh yeah. They both, under the cherry moon and the room are there, this doesn't coalesce the same way, like, right? It's like, oh yeah. They both, under the cherry moon and the room, are both, without a doubt, the true vision of the creator on film. Like nobody interceded. And as a result, we get this. And I mean, and just to talk a little bit about the French

and the mixing of accents, one of my favorite moments, oh my God, was when you see him walk through the courtyard with these kids, he takes their soccer ball, bounces it like a basketball, I'm fine with that. But when he goes to the flower stand and he goes up to the woman and he's like, what do you want?

And the woman says, oh, I don't know, it's so hard for me to decide. By the way, it's a French market, she's speaking English. Fine. But then you think he's going to interpret for her. Like, oh, you can't describe what you want. I'll do it for you. And then she says, I don't know which one I want.

And then he just turns to the French salesperson and goes, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh. Like, doesn't- And walks away. Doesn't say, then walks away, but doesn't even attempt French. He just goes, uh, uh. It's like, this is beyond.

Like, he's... It is. He's one of the most charismatic screen presences in any way, shape, and form. He is electric to watch, right? But over and over and over again, I was shocked when I was looking at it and being like, I'm not sure he knows how to kiss.

Well, so yeah. The kissing was weird. It was very weird. I think all of this sort of passion was weird. And all of the performance of Passion was so odd. And that was, for me, that was the only disappointment of seeing Prince in these, like, passionate scenes and it feeling so very wrong.

Yeah, it feeling like really, because that's the, I'll be honest, that is the thing that shocked me about this, because I think of Prince as such a, Prince's curated persona was raw sexuality. You know, the ass cheeks of his pants cut out on the whatever it was, the MTV Awards or whatever that was, or just the overt sexuality.

Like one of the first people who is making overtly sexual music that is for a mainstream audience. Like, truly, like, Darling Nikki, like, songs that are about sex, that are played on the radio. Like, you know. Wasn't he... Isn't that why, like, parental guidelines were put on records?

I think that's one of the reasons, yes. Yeah. Specifically because of his records. So, for the fact that, like, the sex scene between he and Kristin Scott Thomas, their sex scene in the grotto, or whatever it's called, is it just cuts between them awkwardly kissing, candles, fingers entwined,

candles, fingers entwined, awkwardly kissing. That's the sex scene. But when the best shot of that, and again, the princest of Prince shots, is the camera lingers on Chris and Scott Thomas's hand, and then is superimposed in her hand, is the two of them like having sex. Like the hand, I mean, it's a beautiful,

it's an insane shot, I love it. But I do feel that while he doesn't know how to kiss, he's got sex appeal. And I would argue that the relationship or the sexual relationship between Tricky and Christopher Tracy, that's a- They have their chemistry- Now their chemistry.

Woo! I could talk about this relationship for hours. I was- See, but here's the thing, and that's why I don't think, Jason, that this is, this could be the room if we didn't know who Prince was, because there's something about this movie and the relationships and what they're going for. Like, this movie is realized and fully fully itself and living out loud and it is millennial in its sense of taking up space and feeling entitled to itself.

And I appreciate that about it. And I do think that they are creating these relationships on screen that are confusing, that I've never seen before, that are fascinating to watch. What was very interesting to me was, and I think again, I do, Prince is a genius. And there is a lot of attempts at genius within this because Prince inside of this movie is using a lot of the tropes and archetypal relationships

that exist in film noir and that exist in screwball comedy. He's kind of, you know, ping-ponging between those two things over and over and over again. And as a result, a lot of the fluidity and a lot of the relationships are upending versions of those relationships. Like, Prince treats himself like the femme fatale in a film noir. The shots linger on Prince. They don't linger on the women in the movie. They linger on Prince.

Like, the first shot is a, like, the first shot is of Prince lying down. It, like, the camera, like, slowly pans up, focusing on his ass, moving up his body. Like, the camera drinks in prints in this fascinating way. Oh, yeah. And the refusal to define he and Tricky's relationship in a way that is they are these male gigolos

who are hustling women. They are American jigs, I'm correct, right? They are American jigglers. They're American jiggos. Hustling women in France, right? Yes, I thought this movie was going to be more of a Casablanca in the beginning. Like, it felt like he was going to be our Rick.

But he is, doesn't own a club. He kind of just jumps around from club to club playing piano. Because I don't even think that club in the daytime where they're dancing is the same club that he was at at night in the beginning of the film, where he's getting too many notes. I mean, how many notes are being written

in that first scene? The notes was making me laugh so hard Cuz I also was like before it the notes start arriving before we understand the story Yeah, so I'm like, why is he getting all these romance notes from this guy back here? Yeah, it's like they are trying to set up so much and it's like do it the eyes the rent is due Here's my other point the beginning of the movie looks like it's going to be it the eyes, the rent is due. Here's my other point. The beginning of the movie looks like it's going to be in the past. I believe again, I'm putting this Casablanca element

to it, old school Hollywood. This movie takes place in present day. It is not, and it has no reason to be black and white. And I would argue it should never have been black and white because I wanna see these fucking outfits. I wanna see what people look like. They keep referring to colors. they keep they keep should I wear the blue or the gold you know like there's a lot of stuff in the movie that

is color specific and there is something also there's something about because you know Prince is such a you know Prince is synonymous with the color purple you know you know the the color purple not the the color purple. So color is such a specific thing that he has chosen to kind of live inside of and choose to represent himself with this single color for so many years. So it was so odd that he chose black and white, but I was like, this is an homage. This is his attempt to live inside of those movies. Right, but I think what he made the mistake of is like, he didn't play into the noir.

Like he basically, Prince should be seen in color. Like that, like that, if anything I know about Prince, it's like you need to see him. And I wanted to see more of him. And I actually think it dulls the movie in a way. Because it is kind of beautifully shot. Uh, well, and the camera is insane. It is not beautifully shot. It is not beautifully shot.

The camera movement was making me nauseous at times. The camera movement is like... The scene where the camera is just revolving 360 around the restaurant was, I legitimately had to pause it because I got nauseous. It's like, I was like, the camera movement is too fast. It's too fast and at points, it feels like, um, I don't know how to describe it more than if I was in a control room

and I had five cameras in front of me and I'm taping a live event and I go and I'm saying, camera three, run and get me a close-up. And you wouldn't hit that close-up button until camera three got into position, but this movie hits the button as it gets into position. Like, you're watching the camera go, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's wild. Also, there's moves that make no sense.

Like, that big, when they do that big, like, circling around the restaurant over and over. And I guess to show, like, all these relationships that aren't working, and it's right before they reveal when Kristen Scott Thomas comes into the restaurant and it just doesn't pay off and we're swinging around and around that restaurant a number of times for something that

she just walks in at the end. Oh yeah, no, there's tons of wasted time. I felt like that scene, they wanted to have the effect of like one of those rotating bars. Yeah. They were like, we can't do that. So instead, why don't we just move the camera, you know? And we'll have all of these, we'll have insights into, you know, there's a couple kissing and then the next time they come around, she's slapping him in the face. And the next time they

come around, they're kissing again, you know? Like, all of this human drama is going on, but it's not significant to the movie or the plot or anything like that. It's just a matter of, they're placeholders for then actors to walk in and do the scene. It's a very bizarre... Oh. When the opening scene when Christopher Prince

is playing piano in the piano bar, and the lady in white walks in. And he does like a Lenny and Squiggy like vert level biting of his palm, or, you know, like, ugh, she's so beautiful. And then he has to like, she catches him looking. And his look is like, he's also doing like Buster Keaton level comedy.

He's also doing physical comedy that is silent movie era, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin style comedy. He's also doing physical comedy that is silent movie era Buster Keaton Charlie Chaplin style comedy. By the way you're being very kind to say that I mean how would you describe the moment where they see bats? It's unbelievable. Why were there bats in there? Why? Why were there bats in there? And it's and it's like it to me is not even a moment that you need a joke it's like a serious conversation. You're like, uh-oh, bats! And they go, ah!

But that's what I mean. Like, there are jokes in here that, like, went, okay, so like, right afterwards, when, like, when the lady in white wakes up and Christopher has been in her bed and he leaves her a note, and the note has, like, a big smiley face on it. I was like, this is, cause it's not,

it's like a, it's a bit of, like, romantic script, but it's not, it's like a, it's a bit of like romantic script, but then a big giant smiley face, weird child-like smiley face. I thought that whole thing felt like a first grader wrote it. I was like, you would never want to call this man for another sex night after this. But I felt like that's, these are Prince jokes. These are jokes that Prince thinks are funny.

There's no way he thinks this is what a real, the real, a real, this is a real sexy note to leave behind. I think he's like, hey, wouldn't it be funny if we did this? You know, like, you see, I think Prince gets away with weird shit because even in the beginning of the movie, when he's at the piano and he's getting upset, he goes to slug back a drink, but the drink that he slugs back has, like,

sugar on the rim and an umbrella in it. Like, he, like, it is, like, to me, it's like, Prince is like, oh, yeah, I want to have that moment where I slam back a martini, but I don't drink martinis. I drink, like, this, like, Long Island iced tea. Yeah. Like, you feel it. Or like, or the scene when Tricky and Prince are

in their apartment building and Tricky and the, the, is it Katie, who's the woman who's the landlord have just had sex and they're arguing about the fact that Tricky and Prince owe her rent and Tricky goes, uh-oh, he's going to give you the Bela Lugosi look. And then it just comes deep, like, rack full focus, hard close up on Prince with like creepy theremin music playing in the background while he does big broad faces at her and she appears to be scared. I didn't like that.

I was like, what is this movie's tone? Well, and then I couldn't quite understand what was happening there. Were they threatening to rape her? Well, she already just had sex with Tricky. Just had sex with Tricky. Well, that doesn't mean she still canicky. Just had sex with Tricky. Well, that doesn't mean she still can't be raped.

Of course, sorry. No, no, no, I'm more mean. I don't think it was like, I think sex is possible, yes. But they are, but you're right. They are kind of like, they are approaching her in a way. But it's like, but here again, as I go, and this is, I have a bigger thought that I wanna share with you,

but this is what, to Jason's point, this is Princess having fun. Like, I'm the Belle of Lugosi, so I'm gonna go suck your blood. Like, I feel like that's what he was going for. Like, I'm a vampire. I couldn't tell if it was like, this is how they kind of like play around,

if this is like, like, because they're so, they are, Tricky and Christopher are, have like the most intimate relationship. In a way that I was like, I feel like the movie is telling us, you know, in, you know, not so coded language that they are a gay couple, but then at times they appear to be- Bisexual, definitely.

Yeah, or have had a relationship with each other, I guess is what I mean. But that it also, both of them, like they're falling out is because they have both fallen in love with Mary. I couldn't... I couldn't quite understand. I couldn't either. I really didn't know if Tricky did genuinely have feelings for Mary.

It seemed like he did. I think he only... I have great feelings because when Prince Sting Tricky did genuinely have feelings for Mary. It seemed like he did. I agree. I think he only had feelings because when Prince said, "'You take care of the money, "'I take care of the panties.'" Or whatever that line is.

Drawers. Oh yeah, drawers. Like that he- Please don't say panties, Paul. Sorry. I never say panties. By the way, I don't say it, but I thought that maybe that's what Christopher Tracy said.

That I thought that it was like a challenge because he did, like he did wait outside for him while they were gonna have sex in the room. Like he did protect him multiple times. Like Tricky, like it felt like a, like it was like a competition between them, but also like she was their toy. What I couldn't figure out was to me, and I think now I might be wrong, what the movie seemed to me to be setting up was that Tricky was Prince's kind of, not quite pimp, but like the guy that handled the money, the guy, like when Tricky was sending him the notes about the lady in white, I was like, oh, he's the guy who sets, who's the go-between. Yeah, who sends the ladies over. Yeah. Who's the go between the women and the gigolo, you know?

And that was their relationship. So then later to find out that Tricky himself is also a gigolo, I was like, oh, I'm confused a little bit. No, I mean, I'm confused a lot, but in this regard, I was like, why does he have feelings for Mary? Isn't it his goal to just facilitate Christopher and Mary getting together? Well, I know he will. I know he financially stands to make some money if Christopher and Mary get together. I think ultimately we were telling the story of him just being scared of losing his friend.

Yes. You know, a friend who I believe he fucks. His friend who he sits in the bath with. Yeah. Exactly. How did this get big? How did this get big? Did anyone else struggle with telling the difference

between Mary's mom and Mrs. Wellington? Yes, I had a hard time. You made fun of me, June, when I said that, because I was confused and I was like... I don't remember making fun of you at all. Wow. Oh, boy. No, I was like, wait, is that the mom? Because they are, they almost dress alike,

they look alike. They look exactly alike. Oh, yes, well, and I think that is kind of, not necessarily intentional, but like they're basically saying, like they're basically, I feel like they're doing like, his, traditionally what he does is he sleeps with older women. You know, like he's the young guy

who sleeps with older women, like American, like American gigolo, you know? But it's very much like, they know what they're in for, right? Like, it's not like, because he comes back with the rent money, and he has it, like, he didn't steal it from her. She knows, like, she's gonna, like, this is a... Yeah. No, no, no, it's like American Jiggalo,

or it's like any of those... It's all above board. I didn't know if it was more of like a sugar daddy kind of relationship or sugar more. What's not above board and what's not cool is the scene where Prince goes into the mother's room in the dark and starts starting to have sex with her thinking it's the daughter.

Like, that is 100% not cool and not above board. Because people do not know what's going on in that regard. So, but I think Mrs. Wellington is a stand-in for the older generation that is, you know, that Kristin Scott Thomas sees as like the parental figures or in the case of Mrs. Wellington, the woman who's sleeping with her father, you know? But that's where I got confused. So Mrs. Wellington, Mrs. Wellington is both paying, paying to have sex with Prince.

And then also sleeping with Isaac, Mary's dad, just for, like just for fun or does she? I think so. I think that, I think she is his mistress. Okay. Wasn't that the phone call? You know what scene I loved? Yes.

The scene I loved was the duet between Prince and the answering machine. When Prince sits at the piano. Oh my God. This is an incredible scene. It's like a literal, it's a duet that Prince is doing between himself playing the piano live and the voice of Isaac leaving a message.

Yes, the bad guy from Beverly Hills Cop. If you literally, I wish someone out there, if you have any time in this quarantine, you could take scenes from Beverly Hills Cop with this man and this movie, because they're the same thing. Like this man is irritated by Prince and Axel Foley. Like they are the same level. He's like, who is this man and this movie because they're the same thing. Like, this man is irritated by Prince and Axel Foley. Like, they are the same level.

He's like, who is this man? And get him out of here, Mr. Foley. Like, I literally just, you could have the same scenes. Like, I really do believe that Prince saw Beverly Hills Cop was like, oh, that should be our bad guy. It's the same relationship. Yeah, but that duet, so that guy is leaving a message for Mrs. Wellington and Prince is playing along to it

and using his side of the duet to make fun of Isaac. It's this, and we haven't met Isaac yet, so it's such a great scene. I love, that was where I was like, this is genius. This is Prince's, this is genius. This is Prince's. This is what is wonderful about Prince. You know who you've dialed. She's not home. Do you want to leave a message?

Hello, beautiful. This is Isaac. Shh. Home in the morning. I called you five times last night. Now where were you? With me. Dach, I hate this damn machine. Me too. Oh, there are you. You aren't seeing another man by any chance?

Yes, yes. Because if you are, I'll kill him. You know I love you, darling. See you. Bye. Bye. Well, by the way, they reprised that at the end where I laughed the hardest in the entire film

was when Tricky is reading the letter from Chris and Scott Thomas, and he just responds to the letter out loud. Like, he's speaking to the letter. And also, Katie says, well, aren't you going to give me a hug? Katie didn't read the letter. He wasn't reading it aloud to her.

That was in voiceover. Katie, are you telling me Katie can hear the voiceover of the movie? Oh wait, can I just, can I posit the one thing that I, I had this thought and we've talked around it a few times, but, Prince is Pee Wee Herman, right? And I say this in the way where he's created a world

in which he lives and all these things are normal in the prince world. And I was like, there is something very similar about these two men that are... I see what you mean. You know what I'm saying? Like, they... Well, except that Peewee Herman is sexless. Sure. And Prince is sex-defined.

You know what I mean? But, like, the... But I know what you mean. Like, the way that they are neither a boy, like I mean Prince at points is like a boy, sometimes he's like a real, like he's like a man, sometimes he's like a woman, sometimes... Can I ask, do we know how old Prince is in the movie?

This is a big question, because I can find that out, but here's my issue, because at one point, Chris and Scott Thomas says to him, I only date people my own age. Right. And then I'm like, well, if she's 32, how old is she? She's not 21 yet. Oh, I thought she was 32. I thought so too.

We misheard that, Paul. She is not yet 21. I was bummed because the entire time I was actually thinking, oh, wow, she's 32. For whatever reason, Paul and I heard 32. And I was like, this is, this is, I was watching the movie thinking, wow, this is an interesting story of a woman who, I think, according to her family,

she should probably have been married earlier. She says at one point, you've been telling me how to live my life for 21 years. So I assumed that's how old she was So Prince is 28 when this movie comes out So, okay, you know give or take like that's the age group that he's playing Which was interesting because it is hard to tell because I do believe that even when Prince died He looked this way like he had a youthful look

I did see him one time when the league went to go to a Vikings game and he was in the box next to us and we all left the box because he went to every home game for the Vikings and he's a huge football fan. And to see him, first of all, not be surrounded by much security at all and be dressed to the nines and walk out of the box in the middle, like where everyone is going to their cars, so is Prince. I mean, his car is waiting for him, and walk out of the box in the middle, like where everyone is going to their cars. So is Prince. I mean, his car is waiting for him,

but like it was easy breezy, Prince just walking out. And I also have a friend whose parents live next door to Prince and Prince would like bring them soup. Like, hey, I made some soup for you. Like, and like, and crashed their 50th birthday one time. He's like, oh, sorry, there's a party. I want to come over. One of the things that comes through, both in those Charlie Murphy stories

and in a lot of the stories that are inside, again, that Tales from the Tour Bus show, is Prince doing incredibly generous things for people. You know, where Prince will... But that's what they found out in his death, that he had been an anonymous donor for so many different... Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah.

Yeah. You know, whether it was younger artists or whether it was just all these people, he just, he went the distance for them in ways that they themselves felt blown away by and surprised by. And again, like him walking out of that booth that way, like we all should have done a better job protecting him.

Yeah. By the way, I will say one thing about Prince that I think is so unique in this day and time is he is a, I mean, he's an icon, right? We can just say icon. And the fact that he lived a life that was very much like, I am a Minnesota guy. Like I love Minnesota, that's where I'm living.

And like, he seemed to have like an air about him that was unfazed by his celebrity or anything about him. Like the fact that he just went over to somebody's 50th birthday party and just hung out and had a drink. Like I love that about him. It's very Bill Murray in a way. He is a true, like a singular once in a generation unique individual.

He is apart from everything else. He is some, he's like, he really is like a once in a generation talent. You don't, like Prince is something else. And that comes through even in his, I will say this, I will say this movie is unsuccessful and, but it's unsuccessful because he's trying to do so much, he's pouring so much creative energy into it that it becomes confusing and kind of a victim of, you can't keep piling stuff on, like you you can't have some time... Like, the scene that I think is incredible is the scene in the... when they go to...

Is it La Papillon? Like, the restaurant where Kristen Scott Thomas says, meet me at La Papillon tomorrow at 7. The Garcon Garcon song, right? Oh, yes. But what that turns into is she goes, oh, look! And suddenly people whisk away the tables and, like, very, and suddenly people whisk away the tables

and like very kind of traditional music dance, like a waltz starts playing, right? And then Prince and Tricky are like, let's bring some of us to this. And they take out a boombox, they put it on top of the piano and they start playing a Prince song. Immediately, everybody starts going bananas. But Prince jumps up on the piano and sometimes sings lyrics into a microphone, sometimes does not and just dances,

sometimes seems to be singing lyrics, but without the microphone. Like, I was like, why isn't there any consistency with what this scene is telling me? It was almost like a scene out of Top Secret when Val Kilmer just turns into Elvis. The movie has this magical realism, but then at other points,

then it seems almost too grounded. It really fluctuates. It's true, because there are some scenes. There are some moments, and yes, the movie is insane and it's too many ideas all over the place. It's a mess. But there are some moments that really land. And like, you know, it's such a strange way. The scene between Mary and her mother toward the end of the movie, when Mary says, and I'm gonna paraphrase with something along the lines of, I've been hurting for so long.

And her mother says, we've all been hurting for so long. And it's this crazy moment of you realize like, oh, this mother has also been in the same trap that Mary's been in and can't get out. And- Or the one that landed for me was when Prince... And again, I don't know why he does this, but Prince and Kristin Scott Thomas have been out all night

and he calls her father on the phone, wakes him up and starts yelling at him and is like, I kissed your daughter, she liked it, blah, blah, blah. And if you try and keep us apart, I'm gonna tell your wife everything you're up to. And he says, his wife is right next to me, he says, you think she doesn't know what I do? And I was like, oof.

Like, this is like brutal. Like, there's just like some real ugliness to the people. Well, I think that must be why, in that scene with the mother, if you look over the corner, you'll see the maid is witnessing at all and just wiping away tears nonstop. Very smartly, Prince places, there's a lot of internal family strife in this family.

They are always all yelling at each other. And very smartly, he always places staff inside the room. I love that, yes. So they are always acting and behaving like monsters in front of people. Oh, um, can we just talk about this scene? When the father brushes her hair? Yes. I mean, that scene creeped me out more than any Blumhouse

movie I've ever seen. First of all, it looks like he's never done that. And it was, I mean, Junik got you too, right? I mean, that was a... Yeah, I did not like that one bit. I don't know what you guys are talking about. I can't wait to have a grown daughter so I can comb her hair at night.

Oh, it was so, like, the way he was, I think if he had some authority to doing it, I would have appreciated it, but it was tentative and too gentle for me. Well, it was like, Paul, do you remember when we went to a, we went to get that pregnancy massage that I had to do? We might want to cut this section out, but we had to, I had to, Jason,

I had to get this like special procedure done to try to flip Gus inside my belly because he was breach. And so we were doing all these crazy massages and I had Paul in the room with me because I was at a male chiropractors and he always had to move my underwear and I was telling Paul like, oh, he's so rough when he does it. And it always surprises me. But then Paul was like, yeah, but do you want him to be gentle?

Like there's no- Yeah, exactly. I think that's exactly what I was gonna say. To be anything otherwise. You gotta get in there and be like, yeah, it's gotta be like a sheath. Yeah. Yeah. And that's how I felt about the hair brushing.

It's like to be, there's no way you can do it. That's ever going to feel. I think I would prefer a rougher, more like I'm just trying to work through a knot type brown. Yeah. Or, or, or if she was like, you know, daddy, you have to brush my hair like you do every night. Or are we like, and he was like, I think you're too old now.

You know what I mean? Like, it was just your birthday. We can't keep doing this. Like, I don't know. Like, it's gotta be. There was something very... Also, I think because he's such a villain and he's such a bad person

that you are also ascribing malintent to every action he does. I would put money on it. It was not written that way. And Prince was off camera and said, brush your hair. And he's like, what? He's like, brush your hair.

Can we get a hairbrush? Can we fly in a hairbrush? And I feel like that's how that scene was played. And there's so many scenes in this movie that look like first and best take. Like there's one moment where Prince is like, like trying to buy a car and money's just falling on the ground. Money's being thrown up. Like it just seems like moment where Prince is like, like, trying to buy a car, and money's just falling on the ground,

money's being thrown up in the... Like, it just seems like, we got it, let's move on. He throws 700,000 francs at people in a Porsche, and that is just one of many things that are purchased that day. But you know what I felt watching this? Like, didn't they find when Prince died, like, hundreds of albums and

music videos? Okay. So to me, this was, this movie was like, it's all a part of, yes, you're right, Jason, he's a genius. And he also made too much. It's just part of the process. It's like, listen, we got his music. And what we're also going to get is this sort of this exercise, you know? Well, one of the things the reason that Prince, you know, left the reason that Prince changed his name to that symbol was because he was trying to get out of his record contract because they would only let him release one record a year and he wanted to release three records a year because that's how much music, or more, because that's how much music he was recording. So he has hundreds of hours of songs

that are just sitting there. I think it's in that Kevin Smith story about him that said that he wired every room in his house to have the ability to start recording songs. So, like, so he could basically hit record in any room and get, like, something down. Like, bathroom, bedroom, anywhere. So he didn't want to ever be away

from not being able to record. So I guess... And he has always had a guitar on, basically. You know, so that if something occurred to him, he could quickly record it. So, by the way, what I want to say here is, I think we all learned, uh, you don't want to take Prince to a buffet because he's could quickly record it. So by the way, what I wanna say here is, I think we all learned, you don't wanna take Prince to a buffet because he's gonna overdo it.

He really is gonna fill that plate. He's like, boy, don't put the jello next to the steak. He wants it all. It's too many things. All the things would have been great, but too many. Oh, it really is. It's like, it's left unchecked. It's an overwhelming, it's in terms of genre,

in terms of tone, in terms of visuals, in terms of everything, there's no consistency. And the thing that kind of, Paul, you earlier comparing it to Peewee, the thing that we've neglected to mention when we started talking about this was that this is a fairy tale because it starts with a narration

that says once upon a time. And so you get this... Yes, there was a bad boy. ...you get this intro which tells you this is a fairy tale. This is, you know, a storybook type story. So I think that's the get out of jail free card for why it's allowed to be, why it's allowed to careen between tones and styles so much.

I mean, even, I honestly feel like he was trying to make, you know, like what you said, every movie that he liked, it was in black and white, like, and it's an homage to all of it, but yet, and I think there is a story here. I mean, he, you know, he tells you at the beginning, he's gonna get killed, he does get killed, but there are these moments that also feel so now,

like that moment with the wreck of Stowe, like the wreck of Stowe moment, like that to me feels like a bit that happened off set, and they're like, we're now putting that in the movie. Because, you know, you have Chris and Scott Thomas, who I think is not necessarily in the same world as Prince and Benton, and they are, you know, and so they do this bit with her,

but it's an apropos of nothing in that moment. Like he's writing it down on a piece of paper and you're like, oh, what is this reference to the grander scheme of the plot? Well, they're just fucking with her. Right. They're really, they're just fucking with her. What on earth is that?

Some new language. Read it. You know what it is? It's nothing, you nitty and you know it, but you won't confess it because you know what it is? it's nothing you nanny and you know it but you won't confess it because you're such a coward. it is something. something you don't know and you won't confess that because you're a coward. this is silly and you're a child. now read it it is? You don't, do you? Wreck-a-stow, it's nothing.

It is something. Come on, read it again. This time say it louder. Wreck-a-stow. Louder! Wreck-a-stove, I give up. What is it? Wait, wait, wait, wait. If you wanted to buy a Sam Cooke Abbot, where would you go?

The Wrecker Stove. Ah! Oh! Oh, no! Oh, my god. That's part of their effort to say, hey, we're going to make high society bend to us, you know?

And we're going to tease you, we're going to play our music, we're going to, like, we're going to fuck with you. I think their whole thing is these rich people fuck them, we're going to take their money, which is their kind of MO with all of these rich women is to kind of get them for what they're worth, to kind of milk them for as much as they can get, essentially, which is why they're going through the newspaper, which apparently lists, is like, the newspaper is essentially the classifieds

for rich women, you know? It's straight out of a Marx Brothers movie. I mean, it really is. Like, the queen of England is coming to this hotel at five o'clock today. Well, I guess we'll know, we know where we'll be, you know, and then they're at the party. You know, it's, it's...

The Kristen Scott Thomas birthday party, where she comes out in a sheet, flashes everybody her naked body, then goes and plays drums while everybody chants along. I was like, this is... The song that's terrible. Planet rock, planet rock. That's all it is.

I gotta tell you though, I loved Kristin Scott. I thought she was wonderful. Why aren't we asking her questions about this movie every single interview? Every time. Every time she's being, every time she's doing press for any single movie, they should be like, Every single interview. Every time. Every time she's being, every time she's doing press for any single movie, they should be like,

great, now we have 100 questions about Under the Cherry Moon. By the way, I like their chemistry together. I felt like she, I mean, she's great. I love her. And I felt like in a weird way, she played it, I'm not in a weird way, she played it perfectly. I mean, you know, like she played, I don't think that she played it, I'm not in a weird way, she played it perfectly. I mean, you know, she played, I don't think that she played it incredibly,

I think there's an element of taming the shrew in here, which she's never much of the shrew. Like she doesn't see, which I think is actually adept in this film, like they don't make her just to be like that, but it's like, she does something that I'm as endeared to her as I am to him. Like, you know. Agree.

Yeah, me too. She has an energy, a life force, she is as watchable and interesting as he is, as tricky as, there again, there are faces and characters in this movie that are endlessly fascinating. I couldn't, I thought she looked so beautiful. I could not, she's somebody who I think

the black and white movie served. I agree that she should have been shown in color, but Kristin Scott, I don't think I've appreciated her features. Should have been like Pleasantville. Yeah. I loved that they made her, cause I think the traditional move would have been to make her an uptight prude, that Prince needed to kind of loosen up and be like,

you need to live a more carefree life, let me pull you away from that. And instead it was so cool that she was already rebelling against the prudishness of her upbringing. I loved that, you know? So that it made her a worthy adversary for Prince, because she could give it as well as she could take it, which I loved.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I think there's an idea here that... I don't know, like, she... I mean, she's being forced into this marriage of, like, to make their family, like she, I mean, she's being forced into this marriage of like to make their family like, it's almost like if the Bezos family was marrying like the Gates's family, right? Like that's what they're trying to set up. Like this is a marriage of making so much money,

of fortunes. And I do feel like we missed out on meeting that guy. We only got a phone call with him. I really wanted to see who that guy would have been. That phone call where she keeps saying things to Prince off screen and he hears everything and keeps thinking she's talking to him. This is again, this is Marx Brothers. This is just straight, like dumb screwball comedy beats.

And then the other thing that I loved was when you have a scene in Kristin Scott Thomas' bedroom at night, and all of her appliances, her radio, her phone, are clear plastic appliances that are filled with neon tubes. I was like, it must be impossible to sleep in this room. There's so much active neon. Yeah. It was... When I go to, I can't have any lights.

Like we went to hotel rooms and there's like little alarm clocks. I have to cover them. I have a really hard time. But if your bedside table had a neon, literally a neon phone, a neon phone, glowing phone and radio. Yeah. Amazing. I love some of the props though. Her father, Isaac, in his home office has a giant headshot of her.

Yes. Loved that. Oh my God. It was a beautiful, like it, but it was like a 1940s, like kind of headshot. There's a place out here in Los Angeles called Fred 62, where they have like all these like actor, like old school actor headshots on the wall. And that's what it felt like that kind of black and white photography. old-school actor headshots on the wall. And that's what it felt like, that kind of black and white photography.

It's also, again, like if Prince is so, Prince is just so mischievous in general, right? Playing with gender roles, playing with stuff like twice. In this movie, Prince is dipped twice while dancing. Oh, yeah. He is dipped, both by Tricky and Kristin Scott-Thomas. I was like, I'm obsessed with this. I'm obsessed with how he can be absolutely

the most charismatic sex symbol, but somehow be following in terms of dancing. Because they also make no effort to hide the fact that Kristin Scott Thomas is Easily four inches taller than him. Oh, that's I mean, that's what's so interesting about Prince Like he's such a slip of a man like he's I said, he's like five one. Yes. He's such a tiny tiny man and And wears it better than any

Short man, I think I've ever seen. Oh my God. Like maybe one of the most sexually compelling and sexually charismatic people of the 20th century, you know, of the second half of the 20th century, like electrically, like unequivocally, like you just, everybody agrees they want to fuck Prince. You know, and Prince was like, yeah, I know.

By the way, when he falls into Tricky's arms in the beginning, that's one of the best romantic scenes because he's, again, like, Prince is what Prince does in this movie. I've never seen any other actor do to what you're saying, Jason. He allows himself to be dipped. He allows himself to be alpha.

He allows himself to be the pursuer and the person being pursued. Like, he's doing so many things. I mean, I don't know how good that is in the grand scheme of, like, tracking a character, but I did find, like, he can excel in all of them. Like, I believe that when he took control of things, I'm like, oh, yeah, I think he can fight.

The focus is always on Prince, Prince's outfits. Like, here's the best version of it, right? It's like all the kind of power dynamic stuff that's happening, everything that's going on. When Prince goes and gets married, Kristen Scott Thomas' character from the airport, and they run away, right? And he's going to tell her he loves her.

Instead of coming clean and telling her he loves her, he gets in the back seat and puts sunglasses on and stops talking to her. Yeah. Yeah. It is insane. It is, and the shot he's using, right? He's using like a, he's using a medium shot

that has the car and both of them within it. She is out of focus, and he is crisp focus. She's the one talking out of focus. He is silent and in complete focus. It's incredible. There are moments in here where he is lingering on himself in ways that are like where he is lingering on himself in ways that are, like, so much more sexual between him and the camera,

meaning us, the audience, than when he is having actual sex scenes. Right? Like, the actual sex scenes feel chaste and, um, un-erotic, but the scenes where Prince is moving or dancing or singing are so erotic, but the scenes where Prince is moving or dancing or singing are so erotic as to be almost to make you blush. You know what I mean? Like, but they are when it is Prince alone, you know, they are not when they are together, if that makes sense.

I, yes, I agree. I think that, you know, well, I think honestly, that's also what Prince always understood about sexuality, that it was far more intriguing, the sort of performance of it and the anticipation and the like mating game of it than the thing itself. He's just, I don't want to actually see those sex scenes ever again. I don't want to actually see those sex scenes ever again. I don't want to see Prince kissing males, females, anyone ever again. I just enjoy him just, you know,

being himself in his strange fluid sexuality. It's really, you're right, Jason, it is something to behold. It's just, you know, I've never quite seen anything like it. I want more movies with Prince. Yeah, you cannot take your eyes off him. That's not gonna happen, Paul. I will, but you know what? He had a long,

he made three films, right? He made Graffiti Bridge, This, and Purple Rain. I feel like he missed out on making more movies, maybe with a stronger director. Like, I would've loved to see P.T. Anderson, like, put him in a movie or something. Like, you more movies, maybe with a stronger director. I would have loved to see P.T. Anderson put him in a movie or something. You have a big director like that,

crafting an interesting performance. But I have to also imagine- And don't forget the new girl. Oh, a new girl, yes. Sorry. But I also feel like there is something about, I thought about this watching the movie. So Purple Rain comes out, it's a giant,

it's a cultural hit, the music is amazing, he's just, you know, a sight to behold. And now you're the studio exec, you've given him all this money, the dailies come in, and you're like, huh, huh, huh, what, okay. Like, how do you process this movie? Like, what is going on in your mind? Because it is...

Watching it segmented must have been even... I mean, they must have been freaking the fuck out. Oh, yeah, because they must... Some scenes must be coming in, like, these broad comedy looks and takes. Like, Prince is doing, like, looney tunes level mugging at times. And then at times is doing absolutely nothing. Is absolutely just like stone-faced wearing sunglasses, you know? It's like the... It is... And I know I'm criticizing the movie a lot.

I loved this movie. Oh, I watched it in a second. I loved... If you said we have to watch it again right now, I'd be like, thank God, because there's more I want to get into. But it's not good! It's crazy! When, when, I mean, this movie can be summed up in this quote. I feel like this is the level of, not sense,

but this is like the tone of the film. Like at one point when Jerome Benton, who plays Tricky, who was part of Morris Day in the time, uh, and involved in Janet Jackson stuff too, like, when he go, like he says, like there's some, like he's like, I'm gonna act like a man, just like Liberace. Like that to me is the movie. Like that through that lens is to which the movie is shot.

Yeah, well I do. I think that Prince is, like this is what I mean. Prince is so smart, he's always winking at you. I think that Prince is, like, this is what I mean. Prince is so smart, he's always winking at you. He's always being like, it's always, there's always mischief going on. It's all, you can't trust any of the images that are happening, you know? There's subtext to everything that is really, it really, it keeps you guessing. You really are like, it keeps you guessing on plot points. It keeps you guessing on character. Uh, what's going on with characters,

character wants and reality. Like, there was so much during this movie where I was like, wait, are Prince and Tricky still trying to con Mary out of her money, or are they now really falling in love? Or is just... Or is it just working? You know, is it just working? You know, is their con working?

I wasn't clear. You have enough scenes between the two of them where they don't discuss it in any clear detail, but yet they discuss a lot of things. I'm like, why are we not getting the real info here? Aren't we? Don't we need to hear what you guys are up to? Like, nope.

It's like going back to the ocean's 11 hideout and they never talk about the heist. It's like they're just talking about what they had for lunch. It's like, wait, wait guys, you're gonna tell me what's happening here at the end? When he's dancing on that piano, it is so good. It is, he, during that sequence,

he takes off and puts on his jacket four times. Mm-hmm. It's fucking incredible. I also did anyone. The final scene. Well, it's not the final final scene, but when Mary's at the airport and she's scheduled to take her midnight flight to go see Jonathan and it seems like all is lost and Prince shows up.

She's wearing all the clothes that are available. She has on, she's wearing all clothing. She has on a giant hat, a like turtleneck lace dress, gloves, a long lace dress, stockings, I think socks on top of the stockings. She is, oh, she's definitely wearing hose. She's for sure wearing pantyhose.

And they're like white pantyhose. She's wearing them in the grotto later. And I was like, wouldn't she have taken those off to have sex? I don't understand. But yes, I agree. I thought that was to your point earlier, Paul, that was the Casablanca moment.

I feel like everybody, you know, like he drives up as they're going to fly away in the plane. And that was like that homage to like that final scene in Casablanca. Yeah, she's wearing all the clothes. Everybody the I thought the clothes were kind of amazing across the board because because they both felt like they would work, what year is this, 1984? 86. 86.

They both work contemporaneously, is that right? And they also work in evoking a sense of period, you know? It works both ways. They're not like straight 80s fashions, but they're also not like 40s fashions. They're somehow able to do both. And they look good. I mean, I loved her dresses,

regardless of what time period they were. I thought they all looked, I thought she looked beautiful and his clothing was fantastic. And even Mrs. Wellington and Mary Senior. Oh, and the mom. Yeah, everybody looked great. Wellington and Mary Senior. Yeah, everybody looked great. Yeah, I agree.

And I thought a lot of the also the locations were beautiful. Like they shot, they did not do a good job shooting those locations. But they got to the locations. But they set up and like the camera was oftentimes wobbly. They were not, I don't know if they had dollies or not. Like, I was like, there was stuff that I was confused. Like, you did it, you must.

They forgot to pack the dollies because they had too many outfits. You did all of this setup, but why did you let this camera move? By the way, his co-director was the guy who directed a bunch of Janet Jackson's music videos, like the Rhythm Nation music videos. Oh, interesting.

So they have a similarity because that was in Black and White as well. Obviously, we had an opinion about this movie, but there are people out there with a different opinion. It is now time for second opinions. Alright, so these are five star reviews pulled from Amazon. Thank you, John Lajoie for that amazing song, as always. The average rating is 4.7 out of 5 stars. So people really, really, really like this movie. As a matter of fact, there isn't much research on this film, but I will say that in 2016, Peter Sobinski,

who wrote for Roger Ebert's website, said, Cherry Moon is a better film than Purple Rain. And has gone on to say, you know, that people wanted it to be like Purple Rain, and that's why it didn't do well. So there is a lot of people who love this film, and these are people who really love this film. This is Rico Suave, probably not his real name.

Most underrated film in the 80s. Let me say this, I don't see why people bashed it when it was in theaters. The only flaw to me is that it's in black and white. Other than that, this movie's funny, and we know Prince has no Steven Spielberg or George Lucas. I mean, George Lucas is not who I'd put as my number two director.

Of course, he's not, he's Prince, and he did a decent job directing the film, but I do find Jerome Betten to be on the other side of the fence. And it goes on and on about that. But basically, it ends with this. It's a good movie, don't believe the haters. If you don't understand Prince music,

then you might not like this movie. It's really for the hardcore Prince fans, so enjoy. That's five stars there. KRT writes, I love it since I saw it back in 1988, which is two years after it came out. I bought it on VHS tape for 95 bucks. It was rare. I had to order it from overseas.

I was a Prince fan, so anything you give me, I love. At the end of the movie, the poem, I had a past boyfriend spray painted on a king-sized bedsheet to win me back and it worked. As you know, the movie takes place in France. It's in black and white. It's a romance comedy and drama. Prince plays a gold digging piano playing gigolo.

Don't take it too seriously. Prince is fun to watch. Despite his size, he was a sexy motherfucker. Also a Prince song. Yeah. But also like despite his size. And then Teresa C says, this is a gift from my sister so I really can't judge the product by the content. I don't know Prince, but I love Purple Rain, so I'm judging this by the packaging, five stars. And then this one kind of fell into the five star category, don't know why, from Susie Onosanaka.

She writes, boring, put me to sleep, five stars. So maybe as a sleeping aid, this is a great sleeping aid. I don't know. Jason June, we've talked about this movie. I think we all would say, we recommend you watching it. I mean, right? I mean... Yeah, we're all across the board on this. I certainly believe that. I mean, although I think to June's point,

when we were watching it, not to call you out, June, you were like, it's gotten too... It's gotten... We could end it up now. I think it does get a little bit long in the last like 20 minutes, trim it up just a little bit, but purely fun to watch. Yeah, I agree. I thought it, I thought it, I wish it, you know, but again, it's print, so it's gonna be long

and it's gonna be too much. Thank God it's not two and a half hours. It's only an hour and 42, which is at least good. Absolutely, but I, I, I've really enjoyed this. I really, I really just found it to be delightful and strange and interesting and watchable. And it was great to be with Prince in all of his insanity. A couple of things to share with you. The cast was changed. Originally, his love interest was Susanna Melvin,

who was a sister of the Revolution member, Wendy Melvin. I was Prince's girlfriend at the time. She was playing Mary, but it was clear she couldn't act and she was replaced by Kristin Scott Thomas. That was her feature debut. The movie, at the end of its run, its final domestic gross was $10 million. I imagine it, I don't see how much it actually cost here.

But yeah, it seemed like it was a lot more than that. But yeah, so this movie came and was kind of, I think a big, a big, big flop for him. But yet he didn't make another movie until many, many years later. But this movie was, I mean. It's amazing how much control he had. You know, that he was able to put out a movie

that was so full of so many ideas without anybody interfering to be like, hey, let's make some trims, let's make this add up a little more. And he was like, no. I think that's what you get when you make... You know, when you make a... When you sign up to make a Prince movie. Yeah, and when you're following up Purple Rain.

Because Purple Rain could not be denied. I mean, I want to just look at Purple Rain's box office gross, because I'm sure that played... So, Purple Rain made $70 million on a budget of $7.2 million. There's no budget I can find for Cherry Moon. So, but yeah, so, you know, that's huge. I mean, that movie is all profit at that point. Seven making 70 in 1984? you know, is huge.

Huge, huge. So, yeah. So I wonder if they just like let them run wild. And I think I appreciate somebody whose second swing is this giant. I really, really do. Love it, love it. And I loved that, like it really is,

it appears to me that Prince is having a blast. He's not phoning it in at all. Oh, the opposite. He is engaged. He loves what he's doing and it shows and it's infectious and it's contagious. So even when they're running away from bats, even when he's doing Bela Lugosi,

like he doesn't feel embarrassed by it. He lets himself look silly. He lets himself be put into positions that so many other actors would never let themselves be portrayed that way. And he doesn't just do it. He does it with mischievous glee. And that is so compelling to watch.

I love watching Prince be that rascal. Watching him in the middle of it call her dad in the middle of the night to be like, I'm kissing your daughter. I love when he's just like poking at structures of society, poking at people, poking at all of this stuff. When he gets into the car in the middle of the movie when he's going to have sex with that woman again,

and he's just like playing around in like a Rolls Royce, like he just likes the Rolls Royce. It's like, there is such, and again, back to my Pee Wee Herman thing, like there's a youthfulness, there's a playfulness, and there's a sexiness. Like I can't, I don't think anyone I've ever seen on screen can hit all the beats that he has hit.

Like, yeah. I agree, that's so hit. Like, yeah. I agree. That's so true. I was going to say it to your Pee Wee Herman point, which I like, is that Pee Wee Herman has a childlike innocence to him that Prince does not. Prince has a real worldliness to him, but there is something still childlike in his mischievousness.

Like, if you told me Prince and Kristen Scott Thomas in this movie are supposed to be 19 years old, I would be like, oh, okay, they're like rebellious teenagers. This is like a musical version of Rebel Without a Cause or whatever, you know what I mean? Like, this is kids fucking around, you know? But it's not, it's not. By the way, I'm also just realizing there's no reason

why this movie isn't in the United States. Like, she's not French, he's not French. That doesn't play any part of anything besides just the location. Correct. Hahahaha! Um, just to give you a couple things that we have going on right now,

we're doing our first virtual live show that is happening on October 9th. You can get tickets at HDTGM.com. And also we have this very special charity episode that we recorded. That's a culmination of a very long bit where we were sent Transformers DVDs for two years. And we recorded a special episode about Transformers 2, Revenge of the Fallen. You can only hear it now for $5. And all that money goes to When We All Vote, an amazing charity doing some great work to activate voters and make sure that every vote is counted in this upcoming election.

So they're both available on our website at HDTGM. You can get all the information there along with a very special newly released Michael Bay says vote t-shirt. So everything is up there. Make sure you come and see our first live show. We're gonna have a lot of fun doing it. Jason Jason June anything you want to plug or anything like that? No, I'm excited for the live show and Yeah, just a reminder for everyone to check their registration check to make sure that you can vote by mail if you want to

and that you make sure your mail-in ballot is going to arrive, et cetera, et cetera. And yeah, just remember to vote. And by the way, I just want to tag onto that, June, that especially in Wisconsin, apparently a lot of people have been purged from the voter rolls in Wisconsin. So make sure you check if you are living in Wisconsin and listening, that you were not purged accidentally. So I've been reading a lot about that. I'm sorry, Paul, I just wanna clarify.

Are you saying that the purge is happening in Wisconsin? That is exactly what I've heard. Oh my God. Yeah, so it's gonna be hard for them to vote. That's why we really gotta make sure you get registered. Yeah. Holy cow. So we gotta be, guys, we gotta vote. We cannot have a purge.

Well, apparently- We can't let this purge. You are safe from the purge if you register to vote and you actually vote. So that's what I'm saying is if you don't register to vote, you are opening yourself up to the purge. And that's, you know, that's on you at this point because you have plenty of time. You have until November 3rd. I know we're joking around, but I feel like we are teetering on the edge of the purge.

Oh, don't say it. I feel it. I don't even want to go too far down the road with this bit. Jason, what about you? Anything you want to promote? I don't have anything to promote far down the road with this bit. Jason, what about you? Anything you want to promote? I don't have anything to promote, but you know what I will,

I will throw a little bit of attention to a friend of ours, Drew Droege, who's so funny and so wonderful. Before all this went on, had a great show off Broadway called Happy Birthday Doug. And it is now able to, you are able to stream it via Broadway HD. It went up last week. It's fantastic.

So if you are wanting something to watch that is a piece of theater, that's an incredible piece of theater by a very funny friend of ours, seek it out. It's called Happy Birthday, Doug. I think it's called Broadway HD. And it's Drew Droege's one-man show. So that's what I'll plug.

Great. I love it. Well, thank you so much. Thank you to Avril Halle for championing this movie. She's been on this one for a long time, a producer who picks all of our movies. She is fantastic. Thank you to Cody for pulling this thing all together. Thank you to Devin, our engineer, and thank you to Nia Kiley who does all of our research. This week we had a miscommunication, so I don't have all the research, so don't blame

him, blame me. Also, Molly Reynolds for digging through, finding all of our research. This week we had a miscommunication, so I don't have all the research, so don't blame him, blame me. Also, Molly Reynolds for digging through, finding all of our great second opinions, and July Diaz, who listens through every one of our episodes and makes sure everything sounds perfect and great. I want to let you know that we will answer all questions about Under the Cherry Moon next week on our mini episode, but you can give me a call at 619-PAUL-ASK, 619-PAUL-ASK. You can talk to me about anything you want, your life, your love, your job, any issue. I will be there to answer it. And stay tuned, we have a lot of good stuff coming up and we appreciate you listening.

And oh, this is important. Please remember to rate and review our show. It really helps. Apparently we don't tell people to do that enough. So if you'd like to show just a rate and review. I don't think you've ever mentioned that. I know, I was just told to do it and also- I don't even know that this exists. Where does one do that?

You could do it on Apple, I believe. That's where, on the Apple Podcast app. And then also, the other thing I was telling people, or I'm supposed to tell people, if you want to sign up for all of our catalog commercial-free, you can go to Stitcher Premium, but use our code bonkers. Apparently, a lot of people listen to our show, but have never used our code.

So I'm asking you, if you want to hear us commercial-free, that's new episodes and old episodes, use our code bonkers. It's too premium. You can get all cool stuff. So that's all. Thank you so much, everybody, for listening. And we'll see you next week on a mini episode. Thank you, June. Thank you, Jason. Bye for now.