MovieChat Forums > Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) Discussion > Two very different points/comments/quest...

Two very different points/comments/questions

posted 10 years ago by PussyCrusher_Principal
1 reply | jump to latest

I'm on an Eddie and the Cruisers kick. Just watched the movie on DVD the other night and DVR'd it last night again. Got the book coming from eBay. So two things:

1) Joanne kisses Frank at Benton, But she never leaves Eddie for Frank. In the present (1983) she comes to meet Frank, and we get the impression these two are going to complete unfinished business and get together, a point supported by them going into Joanne's house together at the end. However, 10 minutes prior, Joanne was about to go with "Eddie", obviously still in love with him. Now, she does show Frank a picture she kept of the three of them (Eddie, Frank, Joanne), commenting "This was always my favorite". So, is she equally in love with both men? Is the fact that she is between these two men supposed to drive home the point, made earlier in the film, that Words (Frank) and Music (Eddie), are equally important and, more importantly, need each other? If Joanne is supposed to ultimately symbolize that, I get that being part of the film, but it does seem glaring to me that on the surface, in reality, she could go either way (Frank or Eddie), whomever decided to take her...though, all things being equal, with both men wanting her, she'd choose Eddie, correct? Eddie is the legend, and her original love...

Opinions?

2) Kenny Vance played the record company man who rejects the Season In Hell tapes. Vance had a group that had hits (Jay and the Americans), and ran a label (ABC - or at least was an executive), who, if Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan) are to be believed, was a true thug who used intimidation in his dealings with bands, including theirs, on his label. A brilliant bit of casting! Did this stand out to anyone else?

Love this film, a film at least partially about nostalgia for the past, that has become a piece of nostalgia in its own right. Have always loved E&TC!

....and Whitey's on the moon

[–] MyDarkStar 9 years ago

This is a good question. The way Joanne is presented to us as an audience is that of a girl who has deep aspirations to be something better than she is. As she says in her conversation with Frank at Benton, she has had thoughts of college. She obviously has interest in the Rimbaud book he gives her. So, I believe the idea is that Eddie is the natural fit for her - but she aspires to have somebody like Frank.

When she runs to "Eddie" in that scene I think it is meant to be more of a knee-jerk reaction by her, not necessarily an indication that he's "her favorite". And besides, wouldn't you be excited to see him after 20yrs ?