Starring Prince, The Time, Morris Day, and Jerome Benton
Directed by Prince
Music and Lyrics by Prince, the Time, and others
Prince made one last shot at movie stardom in 1990. His 1987 concert film Sign O' the Times and 1988 album Lovesexxy were disappointments, but his success with the soundtrack for the 1989 Batman and the single "Batdance" put him back on top. Originally, Prince intended for this to revolve more around Day's band The Time, but somewhere along the line, it mutated into a sequel to Prince's biggest hit Purple Rain. Does it reach the heights of his first film, or is it less-than-heavenly? Let's begin at the Kid's (Prince) club Glam Slam and find out...
The Story: Billy, the owner of the Fifth Avenue Club in the first film, willed half of Glam Slam to him. He willed the other half to Morris (Day), who also owns the club Pandemonium. Morris needs to pay the mayor $10,000 and tries to force the Kid to sell his half. The Kid is considering it. He's done nothing but write songs and letters to his now-deceased father since the latter's passing.
Into this hotbed of intrigue walks Aura (Ingrid Chavez), an angel who wants to convince the Kid and Morris to repent and lead more straightforward lives. Things really get complicated when both men fall hard for her, which only makes Morris more jealous. He first trashes Glam Slam, then performs outside the club to sway visitors. The Kid finally challenges Morris to a musical duel at Glam Slam that ends in tragedy and makes Kid realize what Aura really meant to him.
The Song and Dance: Prince explores spirituality, sexuality, and salvation in this look at how one woman changes the lives of two men in Minneapolis. The enormous, neon-drenched sets and funky, urban early 90's gives it a strangely ethereal vibe and contrasts nicely with the other major black musical that year, the more upbeat and goofy House Party. Prince's charisma is in full-force here, whether he's brooding over those letters to his father or lifting up the club goers in the end in a white shirt with wispy fog behind him.
Favorite Number: We open with the Kid singing about his "New Power Generation" with his current band at his club. He gets down with jazz master George Clinton as they show "We Can Funk." "The Time gets "Release It" in front of the Grand Slam to lure away customers. Young pop and rap sensation Tevin Campbell shows off what made him a hit with kids and adults alike in his big dance routine "Round N' Round." "Seven Corners" is the big number with Aura and the Time at Grand Slam and as they leave. Morris thinks he's a "Love Machine,"and so does the Kid's girlfriend Jill (Jill Jones), but the Kid doesn't agree. Mavis Staples gets another great number as she leads the chorus in singing about her club and who she is, "Melody Cool." "Thieves In the Temple" is the Kid's song as the Time and Morris destroy his band's instruments. The movie ends with a backlit Kid and the Steeles as he insists he "Still Would Stand All the Time" to the entranced club goers.
Trivia: Prince originally wanted Madonna to play Aura, but she thought the script was a load of hogwash. Kim Basinger, whom he was dating at the time, was his second choice, but they broke up and she dropped out.
This would be Chavez' only film and Tevin Campbell's first film.
Shot almost entirely at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Minnesota.
What I Don't Like: This is basically an extended music video. It looks like a music video of the time, and it certainly feels like one, with its disjointed sequences and barely-there plot. No one comes anywhere close to Prince's charisma and cool. Chauvez may be able to write songs, but she can't do much more than look mystical. Day and Benton do have a few amusing sequences that showed they could have made a fairly funny pair with better material. The script is atrocious, the characters negligible. The fantasy elements feel out of place and are completely at odds with the dark, gritty biography in the first film, and it lacks the first film's almost documentary feel and authentic outdoor shooting, too.
The Big Finale: Good music and a few creatively choreographed dance numbers can't overcome the overwrought and amateurish script and direction. Once again, for major Prince fans only. Everyone else is better off looking up the soundtrack and skipping the film entirely.
Home Media: Like Prince's other films, easily found on disc and streaming.
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