My love for Prince is well established by this point, but there is something I must confess–between Morris Day & The Time’s performance of “The Bird” and Prince & The Revolution’s “Purple Rain” in the film Purple Rain, Morris Day hands down should have won. You know deep in your hearts it is true. Together we can enter our new, free reality together.
I am not saying “The Bird” is a better song than “Purple Rain,” though it doesn’t really matter because both were written by Prince and “The Bird” even had almost all the instruments recorded by Prince. What I am saying is that Morris Day’s showmanship is unparalleled. This was already established at the beginning of the movie, when The Time’s “Jungle Love” goes up against “Let’s Go Crazy.” (I can’t find any clips of “Let’s Go Crazy” but believe me that it’s incredible but just slightly less incredible than “Jungle Love.”)
Morris Day is an expert buffon. He spends the movie in a half-drunk strut, insulting women, combing his hair, only wearing coats on his shoulders. He is the brutish goof to Prince’s misunderstood genius, and that’s fine, that’s how plots work. But tell me this–if you’re in Minneapolis’s hottest club, dressed up and ready to dance, do you want to sway and cry to the beautiful nonsense of “Purple Rain”…
OR DO YOU WANT TO DO THE FUCKING BIRD?
Look at that slide. Just look at it. You know that saying about how Fred Astaire made dancing look easy and Gene Kelly made it look impossible? Morris Day and The Time managed to do both at once. They are effortless and precise. They are a professional party. Now, if Prince had come on to “Baby I’m a Star” or even “I Would Die 4 U,” The Revolution would have put up a good fight. But no, they save those for the encore, and decide to battle with “Purple Rain,” a song that would have had everybody heading straight for the bathroom after flapping their arms around like loons to The Time. In the universe Purple Rain chose to set up, The Time would have been the champions, and it is the only (I repeat, only) thing unbelievable about that film.
Tags: morris day, no i’ve never seen jay and silent bob strike back and you should have already known about the time before that, prince, purple rain, the time, what time is it, where is my jerome?
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Thank you for this! Must rewatch now — the only scene I remember is sexy Prince’s hand going down some sexy lady’s pants. My 8 year old brain was completely rewired by that moment.
Warning, the movie is actually terrible and I say this as a fan of Prince’s music. I watched it recently, having not seen it since high school. Granted, at the time of the re-watch I was feverish with a slight flu, but honestly that should have helped. It didn’t.
The truth is too real in this one I can’t take it. OF COURSE a roomful of people would rather do the fucking bird.
WORD.
You’re not wrong, Jaya. Morris Day and The Time have serious showmanship, he reminds me a bit of Cab Calloway which is High Praise coming from me. I mean, come on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mq4UT4VnbE
Yes, I never put the two together before your comment. I saw Mr Calloway and his band perform in the late 1970s – he was a performer! I saw Purple Rain on first run in the 1980s. Love Prince. Love that tight, well choreographed and well played dance music the Time did.
Perhaps you should purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.
I AM GOING TO SEE MORRIS DAY AND THE TIME ON SUNDAY!!!!!
Morris Day attempts to save the club by promoting female musicians. Prince beats women and constantly denigrates his band mates and tries to destroy his ex-girlfriends band in the process. Morris Day should have won because he was clearly the hero.
YES thank you
Prince also owns his bad behavior, puts it in the context of growing up in an abusive household without using that as an excuse, and commits to changing himself. Morris, on the other hand, has Jerome throw a woman in the dumpster and taunts Prince after his father attempts suicide.
OK, I probably shouldn’t comment on my comments, but I’d like to point out that we’re talking about characters in a movie that may or may not have any particular resemblance to their real-life counterparts, and even if you don’t give “The Kid” any credit for what I’ve suggested above, remember that this is Prince deliberately portraying himself in an unflattering manner, kind of extraordinary for someone who’s always been extremely protective of his image. Morris Day, on the other hand, seems to have an ego as big as the sun, and wants people to believe that he’s the real genius, not Prince. Sorry, no. (The Time is an incredibly tight group, and I own Ice Cream Castle, the album that has “Jungle Love” and “The Bird”; the title track is also great, and the music holds up. Prince, on the other hand, is one of the best musicians in pop music, period, full stop, and the soundtrack is one of the most solid records I have.)
Riding around some train tracks while When Doves Cry plays and tidying up some sheet music is neither owning nor commiting to change
MORRIS AND JEROME 4EVER
Thank you Jaya! The Time is very clearly the most fun part of Purple Rain. One of my favorite things in movies/concerts is when the performers are just kind of wandering onto the stage, just hanging out like, “Oh, we’re just getting ready to blow your mind, nbd…” and then BOOM you’re hit with a whole lot of COOL MUSIC and PRECISE CHOREOGRAPHED DANCING and man. I just love “Jungle Love” is what I’m saying.
I came into this prepared to fight for my man… but got dang. I have been convinced.
What I remember most about this movie is watching it with my college roommate, and when he starts singing “Where is my love life” after the fight with his girlfriend, she snapped at the screen, “You slapped it!”
What I remember most about this movie is watching it with my college roommate, and when he starts singing "Where is my love life" after the fight with his girlfriend, she snapped at the screen, "You slapped it!"
I was telling my friends ALMOST THIS EXACT THING as we were walking out of the Juliet Theater in Poughkeepsie in 1984!
I was telling my friends ALMOST THIS EXACT THING as we were walking out of the Juliet Theater in Poughkeepsie in 1984!
Prince also owns his bad behavior, puts it in the context of growing up in an abusive household without using that as an excuse, and commits to changing himself. Morris, on the other hand, has Jerome throw a woman in the dumpster and taunts Prince after his father attempts suicide.
OK, I probably shouldn't comment on my comments, but I'd like to point out that we're talking about characters in a movie that may or may not have any particular resemblance to their real-life counterparts, and even if you don't give "The Kid" any credit for what I've suggested above, remember that this is Prince deliberately portraying himself in an unflattering manner, kind of extraordinary for someone who's always been extremely protective of his image. Morris Day, on the other hand, seems to have an ego as big as the sun, and wants people to believe that he's the real genius, not Prince. Sorry, no. (The Time is an incredibly tight group, and I own Ice Cream Castle, the album that has "Jungle Love" and "The Bird"; the title track is also great, and the music holds up. Prince, on the other hand, is one of the best musicians in pop music, period, full stop, and the soundtrack is one of the most solid records I have.)
Riding around some train tracks while When Doves Cry plays and tidying up some sheet music is neither owning nor commiting to change
The lore I always heard around Minneapolis was that Morris Day killed it even more than what’s in the movie now, and Prince got worried that he was being overshadowed. He demanded a recut to minimize Morris’ part and uninvited Morris to the opening. Which I choose to believe, because DRAMA.
Also, Lake Minnetonka is full of millfoil and surrounded by rich people’s cabins these days.
I now live in Minneapolis (well, the suburbs) and enjoy reciting the line about taking a dip in the purifying waters of Lake Minnetonka. One of these days I’ll make it to First Avenue (I told you I live in the suburbs).
I had to come out of lurking just for this. I saw Morris Day in concert last year and I swear, it was one of the most fun things I have ever done.
Without Morris Day and The Time, Purple Rain would've been Purple Sheeit…