Amazon.com: Eddie and the Cruisers [DVD] : Tom Berenger, Michael Pare, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance, Helen Schneider, David Wilson, Michael 'Tunes' Antunes, Ellen Barkin, Kenny Vance, John Stockwell, Joe Cates, Barry Sand, Vebe Borge, Howard Johnson (II), Joey Balin, Bruce Brown (III), Robin Karfo, Rufus Harley, Louis D'Esposito, Michael Toland: Movies & TV
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Ellen Barkin, Barry Sand, Helen Schneider, Rufus Harley, Louis D'Esposito, Michael 'Tunes' Antunes, John Stockwell, Vebe Borge, Howard Johnson (II), Robin Karfo, Joey Balin, Michael Toland, Matthew Laurance, David Wilson, Bruce Brown (III), Joe Pantoliano, Michael Pare, Joe Cates, Kenny Vance, Tom BerengerSee more
Language
English
Runtime
1 hour and 35 minutes
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"Eddie and the Cruisers" isn't a lost masterpiece, but it's a solid, thoughtful, enjoyable film about one of the great driving narratives of Western culture: The Artist Ahead Of His (or Her) Time, doomed to be ignored during life, then rediscovered after death. From William Blake to Nick Drake, we've seen this story repeated over & over ... and we'll see it many times again.
Yes, there's a touch of fantasy & wish fulfillment here -- but we're not dealing with a gritty, utterly realistic film. This is really parable & myth, after all. The references to Rimbaud, the quote from Wordsworth early in the film, the stylized look of some of the settings, the rock and roll legends evoked throughout -- it's all quite clear.
In which case, complaints about the music are beside the point. How can any soundtrack writer be told, "OK, we need something as good as Beethoven's 'Ninth Symphony,' or Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue,' or Dylan's 'Blood on the Tracks'?" Obviously that's just not possible. The faux-Springsteen songs are strong in their own right, but we should take them as stand-ins for the music that Eddie & Frank actually created, just as in Patricia Rozema's film "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing," glowing panes of framed light represent the magnificent paintings created by one of the characters.
The acting itself is quite good, with Tom Berenger negotiating a rather difficult role as Frank/Word Man: he's the main character, but he often has to stand at the side & simply observe events. He effectively conveys naive uncertainty in flashbacks to his younger days, and a wistful world-weariness as an older man. In fact, he's said that this was one of his favorite roles. Michael Paré makes a fine, brooding, fiery Eddie; singer Helen Schneider is sultry, vulnerable, seeing more than she lets on; and Joe Pantoliano is a slick, raspy-voiced delight. A young Ellen Barkin does what she can with a somewhat underwritten role.
Again, it's not a great film. But it is a very good, honorable & thoroughly entertaining film, with a final scene that still has the power to evoke chills after repeated viewings. You'll have to be open to the sort of story it's telling -- if so, you'll find that it's quite rewarding. Recommended!
If you haven't seen this film, I suggest you should if you are a music lover. The film is NOT a musical, but it is about a lead singer and his band. Great music in the film, I also grabbed the soundtrack!