Eddie And The Cruisers Review

MPAA Rating: PG
Released: 1983

Eddie and the Cruisers was one of the first films to prosper solely due to the increasing popularity of the then-fledgling cable television industry. While the movie was a complete failure in the theaters, this dramatic musical/mystery developed a legion of fans in the years to come, paving the way for a sequel in 1989 and making it one of the more popular cult 80's films even to this day.

Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare) was the lead singer of an immensely popular 60's rock band: Eddie and the Cruisers. Although the band was on the top of the world and enjoyed extraordinary success, it soon came crashing down when the moody lead singer killed himself by driving his car off a bridge.

Almost 20 years later (the film takes place in the early 80's), a media journalist named Maggie Foley (Ellen Barkin) decides to do a spotlight on the enigmatic lead singer of the ill-fated band. She approaches her expose with an intriguing premise: since Eddie's body was never found, could he in fact still be alive?

During her investigation she contacts Frank Ridgeway (Tom Berenger), a high school teacher that was once the songwriter and piano-player of Eddie and the Cruisers. Frank is hesitant to drudge up old, painful memories, but Maggie is nonetheless successful in planting the seeds of nostalgia into his mind. As Maggie tries to bang together an award-winning story, Frank reunites with members of the old band to reminisce about old times and ultimately try to put an answer to the mystery behind Eddie's death.

Eddie and the Cruisers has developed a cult following since its shaky release, and while it's easy to see why the film received a groundswell of support over the years, I also believe it's overrated. There are some aspects of the film that are very strong, of which some I will soon cover, but unfortunately it does possess an Achilles' heel: it can drag at times.

Let's take a look at the Eddie and the Cruiser's strengths first, the first and foremost of which is clearly the music. A great deal of the movie's runtime is focused on the band playing gigs, and although Michael Pare was lip-synching to John Cafferty's vocals, he did so in a convincing enough manner that fans of musical interludes will likely enjoy these scenes a lot. The actors/band plays with an authentic conviction that you would expect of a true rock band.

The music itself was top-notch and alone worth the price of admission. John Cafferty created some sweet ear candy consisting of insanely infectious 60's-style rock powered by 80's production values… and this compliment comes from someone that doesn't even like 60's rock all that much! Clearly music fans agreed, because one of the film's songs – On the Dark Side – quickly became a radio hit.

Eddie and the Cruiser featured some impressive actors such as Tom Berenger, Joe Pantoliano and Ellen Barkin. Michael Pare, while not the best actor in the world, was also a fine choice for the lead singer as he captured the essence of a rock star. All in all, the casting for this film was superb.

Now we come to the disappointing aspect of the film. Although Eddie and the Cruisers had a runtime of just over 90 minutes, it actually felt quite a bit longer to me. While I enjoyed the musical performances and could appreciate the solid acting throughout the film, parts of it just felt sluggish. The flashbacks were interesting, but the modern-day reunions sometimes tested my patience.

Chances are good that you have already watched this film and developed an opinion if you are an 80's aficionado, but if by chance you missed Eddie and the Cruisers the first time around it's worth giving this character-driven musical/drama/mystery a try.

Movie rating: 6 stars

If you enjoyed Eddie and the Cruisers you may also find the following films to be of interest: