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With: Prince, Jerome Benton, Kristin Scott Thomas, Steven Berkoff, Emmanuelle Sallet, Alexandra Stewart, Francesca Annis, Pamela Ludwig, Barbara Stall, Karen Geerlings, Victor Spinetti, Myriam Tadesse, Moune De Vivier, John Rico
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Written by: Becky Johnston
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Directed by: Prince
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MPAA Rating: PG-13
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Running Time: 98
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Date: 07/02/1986
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Under the Cherry Moon (1986)
Do U Lie?
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
An infamous critical and financial flop by one of the most talented pop musicians of all time, Under the Cherry Moon is deserving of another look. Prince's previous movie Purple Rain was a huge hit and a critical success, so Warner Bros. didn't pay much attention to this one, assuming it would be an automatic slam dunk. An inexperienced writer was hired for the screenplay, and director Mary Lambert quit a few weeks into the production, prompting Prince to take over and make his directorial debut. But the film still had cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, whose lush, black-and-white textures are gorgeous, especially for that time. (The costumes, set design, and French Riviera locations are not bad either.) The story is pretty silly, but it seems obvious that it was meant to be silly, with Prince and Jerome Benton (Morris Day's sidekick in The Time) performing all kinds of ridiculous antics in order to win a rich young heiress (Kristin Scott Thomas, in her debut). Above all, it contains an incredible soundtrack of songs by Prince at the very peak of his powers. It's not exactly Lubitsch, to be sure, but it's an attractive and diverting comedy.
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