On E List of Movie Reviews

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Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 7/19

7/19: A rock 'n' roll band out of Southern New Jersey with roots from the Shore...this is all quite familiar, so this movie is about the Boss named Bruce Springsteen?

At any rate, Eddie and the Cruisers is an enjoyable picture with a good story about a guitarist who's passionate about making timeless music and then vanishes without a trace. Unfortunately, it lacks momentum due to not having any special movie moments. The music is wrong for the 60's when it's too close to Bruce Springsteen's during the 80's.

Fully lip-syncing his way through the show, Michael Paré is the standout and is supported by decent performances from Tom Berenger, Matthew Laurance (the cheating dentist from Beverly Hills, 90210) with the best line of the film "We ain't great. We're just some guys from Jersey," Joe Pantoliano, Helen Schneider, and Ellen Barkin, among others. Eddie Wilson's disappearance is not fully explained, but it's an interesting angle, which smacks of Citizen Kane, to set up a sequel of which I'm looking forward to. The ending is spooky, to say the least.

Eddie and the Cruisers is the most Southern New Jersey film that I can ever recall. Where it was shot are Somers Point, Ocean City, Atlantic City (the boardwalk), Vineland (the Palace of Depression), Atco (the junkyard), Blackwood (at a motel that's most definitely on Black Horse Pike), and Mount Holly (Rancocas Valley Regional High School where my mother attended in the early 60's). I spent most of my time at Beach Haven of Long Beach Island. When the band played in front of the college students, it's at Haverford College of Haverford, Pennsylvania.

All in all, Eddie and the Cruisers isn't a strong picture and has a weak ending, but it captures the essence of Southern New Jersey very well.

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