Took my date to see the film cause it was playing for the 40th anniversary.
I hadnāt seen it in a good 5 years, so it was like watching it with a fresh pair of eyes.
I always remembered the scene where the Kid, already ripe with inner turmoil, walks in on his fatherās attempted suicide.
What I didnāt remember was the scene that comes after, where the Kid succumbs to the torment that heās endured, haunted by the sight of his fatherās outline with the gun in chalk, the noise of his previous shouting and the fatal gunshot ringing in his ears, a unkempt rope peering out at the edge of the room, a brief flash of the Kidās own lifeless body hanging from the ceiling, a potential oncoming fateā¦..he finally breaks down under all the pressure and tears up the room. He finds his fatherās sheet music in the ensuing rubble, and regains his inspiration, managing to assemble the title track based off the demo tape that Wendy and Lisa put together.
I was quite disturbed by the scene in the theater, but managed to get through it. Talked to a friend on the phone the day after and finally broke down crying. Itās not one of those things that youāre proud of relating to, but youāre glad itās there for support. Iām grateful I never went through with taking my life, Iām grateful my closest friends never went through with taking their lives. Iām grateful that weāre still here despite all the bullshit. Itās a beautiful thing to be alive and prospering on this divinely-created planet.
Iāve been in that room before, Iāve been on the edge of death, Iāve heard those deafening voices, Iāve seen myself hanging from that ceiling, Iāve had those psycho crash outs, lost friends, burned bridges and somehow wound up with a better life in the process.
Iāve never understood how people refer to the film as a guilty pleasure or a so-bad-itās-good experience. The bizarre mystic nature of it all somehow manages to feel more grounded to me by the day. Prince and Albert Magnoli assembled a work of sheer primal genius.