SAD...

Contains SPOILERS for those who haven't seen it...


Just saw Graffiti Bridge for the first time, and SAD is how I felt after watching it. Geez, Prince, how did you manage to do that?

Now, to the fans of GB, don't feel bad. I think for the most part, Prince fans got what they were looking for in a Prince movie: music, groovy-ness, cuteness, comedy, cryptic messages, some sexism, some campy-ness... but, it could have been better. To be honest, I think the whole story should have been different, starting with eliminating the Aura character. Seriously.

But, anyway, here's why I thought it was sad:

In an attempt to portray "The Good Guy", Prince came off as sooo pathetic. Too many times, he just looked on, not saying or doing anything while continually getting dumped on by Morris Day. I could only watch so much of that. I know The Kid took a lot of flack in Purple Rain, but, in GB, The Kid's character was so defeated. Morris Day nearly blew up The Kids' club, peed in the plant at the Glam Slam right in The Kids' face and set it on fire as The Kid helplessly stared at him, destroyed equipment, and any chance he got, he would dog The Kid to his face... In addition to his pathetic character, it seemed like every decision The Kid made regarding his music was a bad decision that brought in no revenue or respect and he was constantly reminded of it. "Your music sucks" "your music sucks" "your music sucks"... He was like a walking, talking fail. The woman he loved got hit by a car and died. You later see him with a gun, contemplating suicide. Ugh, sad.

Aura was sad. Yes, what a bland, uninspiring character. I thought she looked like a boy. A nice looking boy, but, a boy, nonetheless. What drew Morris and Prince to her? Her mysteriousness? She wrote 3rd grade level poems and sat under a bridge. She had no emotion on her face and no personality. She sounded like a broken record with the same lines over and over again. No wonder she got hit by a car.

I was a Tevin Campbell fan, but, his presence in the movie was lame. He was like, the only kid in it, too, with no real purpose.

The female characters in GB were mostly half-naked with bad attitudes, and at times were treated rather poorly. I never liked that in Prince movies.

There was a battle that never really took place because NPG's equipment got destroyed. Just sad and unfair. What could be done about it? Nothing. The Kid does "win" in the end, but, only because Morris Day took pity on him, in my opinion.

So, that's why I didn't come away from the film feeling inspired or satisfied. More like, sad and confused. Aura was confusing. She was an angel, right? Angels are supposed to be immortal. How does an angel die by getting hit by a car? My guess is that she became mortal only to fulfill her purpose, which didn't become clear until the very end, because it wasn't very clear throughout the movie to me. So, she came to die, which would in turn mend the rift between Morris Day and The Kid, and saving Glam Slam and the other clubs? It was that deep that she had to freakin' die over it? Tragedies do bring people close together and help them forget their differences, but, somehow, the stuff going on between Morris Day and The Kid didn't warrant the tragedy that took place. Actually, it could have destroyed The Kid because he was already in a bad place on almost all levels.

On a positive note, I always admire Prince's hard work when it comes to music and performing. He had some good songs on the soundtrack (I also liked Tevin's Round and Round). I wasn't crazy about Aura in the movie, but, I liked how The Kid treated her with kindness. I think Prince had good intentions behind making GB, even if it wasn't well-received. GB was all over the place, but, there are definitely worse movies out there.