Review of Graffiti Bridge (1990) by Rich B — 11 Mar 2009

Music is the power. Love is the message. Truth is the answer.

GRAFFITI BRIDGE was originally conceived as a movie for Kim Basinger and Prince, but they broke up before it went into production so in steps Ingrid Chavez. The original idea for the movie intended to focus on Morris Day and The Time, but Warner Brothers demanded that it be a sequel to Prince's first instalment, and box office hit, 'Purple Rain'.

The plot of the movie can be summed up by the lyrics of a Prince songs 'Seven Corners'..."7 corners - 2 souls fight, One wants money, one wants light. Without peace, without love, nothing's ever gonna turn out right. The child of the spirit, neither one can ignore, here 2 show them heaven's door...Love always wins in the end" The movie is essentially about the Kid (Prince) and Morris (Morris Day) squaring off against each other on how a club they share ownership should be run. A mysterious woman, Aura (Ingrid Chavez), enters both their lives and becomes the catalyst for them to both change in spiritual ways.

First things first, although I am a Prince fan and avid admirer of the soundtrack Graffiti Bridge, this movie is far from perfect. The acting is bad, the directing is lame. The dialogue is cringe-worthy at the best of times and the movie itself stinks of a very strong cheese. HOWEVER, I, like many have a keen taste for cheese. Despite all the glitches, it contains magical moments and has some amazing qualities to it that makes it so unique. The biggest problem with this movie is not the bad acting, or any of the above mentioned criticisms, the problem with this movie is that it is grossly misunderstood. Graffiti Bridge does not try to be a Hollywood smash hit. It is an artists unique interpretation of love and spirituality. It was not made to please some snooty toffs at the Cannes Film Festival. It was made for people who would enjoy it for what it is - an entertaining B movie well worthy of the 3pm slot on Channel 5.

The sets on the movie are dodgy and do have the feel of a back yard cheapo youth drama production. However, I think this was 100% intentional. The movie was filmed entirely on sets to avoid the Minnesota weather, and also because Prince wanted to create a true 1950s musical feeling. And that's exactly how it feels. It reminds me of Grease II. It's not Grease I, BUT it'ss still good, just in its own unique way, and should never be compared to the first movie.

The soundtrack to the movie is an incredible roller-coaster ride of Prince's expressions of spirituality and personal redemption through his music. Whilst the film delivers a good sound, the movie also carries the flag for the emergence of 'Minneapolis funk' from the early 1980's. The fan will recognize some familiar faces including a bit-part performance by Mavis Staples, and some rather amusing cameos from George Clinton (Parliament-Funkadelic), not forgetting band members of The Time, and The New Power Generation.

Overall, Graffiti Bridge is essentially for the die-hard Prince fan. However, I think any open minded individual is going to get something good out of this picture as the message embedded in the movie is greatly prioritized over its production.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHY FLIXTER KEEPS MESSING UP MY USE OF COMMAS, AND QUOTATIONS ETC, BUT ITS JUST ABOUT READABLE. IM NOT WRITING IT ALL OUT AGAIN!