IMDB Links:    Eddie and the Cruisers        Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!

Most of us have experienced this; it is late at night and you are awake. You turn on the television and decide to explore that new cable box you just had installed. You flick around and something catches you. In this particular case it was what I heard more than what I saw that made me stop my channel surfing. I came upon a little flick called ‘Eddie And The Cruisers’. It featured that unique south Jersey shore sound so I stopped to watch. Enough people experienced something similar to this and the flick became one of the first cable cult classics. It never did well in the box office but was able to find a new life on the re-run movie cable stations. It is not that this is a great movie; it isn’t. It is one that has found more in the way of acceptance by the audience than the critical community. It is full of technical flaws and missteps but has something about it that strikes a chord with those watching. It is about the early days of rock and roll focusing on a fictitious group in New Jersey but it relates to the general spirit of rock. For many of us that grew up in the late fifties and early sixties this was something we could relate to; a time when rock was still struggling for an audience and approval. Not all films are intended to be dissected by film students and critics; they are meant to be enjoyed by the audience and this is one of them.

The film has been available on laser disc and then DVD for several years. Now, a new release with both ‘Eddie and the Cruisers’ and its sequel ‘Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!’ is out as a double feature set distributed by MGM/UA. Finally fans can have both flicks in one place. This is the first time the sequel has made it to DVD and MGM correctly assumed that the target audience for this release would want both films together.

This film was written and directed by Martin Davidson who also handled both jobs in another period piece cult classic ‘The Lords of Flatbush’. Here both the writing and direction are unremarkable but overall solid. The story starts with a report Maggie Foley (Ellen Barkin) who works for a TV news magazine show. She is looking into a long gone rock band that made quite a splash in the local scene years back. She meets up with a former member of the band, Frank ‘Wordman’ Ridgeway (Tom Berenger), who wrote most of the lyrics for the group. Foley goes on to interview most of the surviving members of the group looking into the decades old mystery that surrounded the breakup of the group, the apparent death of the front man and lead singer, Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare). He was presumed dead after a suicide by car accident but the body was never found. This has escalated into an urban legend of sorts that he just got tired of fame becoming more important than the music and simply faked his death and disappeared. Through flashbacks the story unfolds of the group’s performing at a Somers Point, New Jersey club called TonyMart's. The manager of the band, Doc Robbins (Joe Pantoliano) was pushing them to record and album. Eddie saw more than just being a one hit wonder, he wanted to be great or else there was no reason to even play. Things start moving for the band once Ridgeway starts writing the song lyrics and the record their first album. Also in the group is Eddie’s girlfriend, Joann Carlino (Helen Schneider), bassist Sal Amato (Matthew Laurance) and sax player Wendell Newton (Michael 'Tunes' Antunes). Just before the release of the second album Eddie disappears and the record is locked away unreleased in the studio’s vault.

This is an amazingly strong cast with great performances by all. Berenger is fantastic as the man left behind, reaching the verge of stardom and them left to playing cheap joints. As always Pantoliano is something great to watch has he takes his role as the manager over the top as only he can. The music here was actually done by a Jersey band, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. It has a sound similar to Bruce Springsteen with that pounding Jersey shore sound.

This sequel was written by Charles Zev Cohen who had one thriller too his name at the time. This was his last writing credit to date. Directing the film was Jean-Claude Lord who has a long career in French film and television. Pare and Amato are the only cast members from the original to appear here. Most of the other actors moved on and understandably did not want to be in a sequel. The main reason for this sequel was the success the film had on the cable movie channels. The first story ended perfectly with the final reveal that Eddie was alive and keeping out of music. Here the draw of music brings Eddie to the surface. His old record company re-released the Cruise album and it was an unexpected hit. They now want to follow up with the ‘long lost’ tracks from the unreleased second album. Eddie is now in Canada living under the name Joe West and working in construction. He becomes involved with a struggling but promising street band and the call of performing stirs in him. Eddie/Joe starts to gather up new members for a band called Rock Solid and they begin to play. Eddie is dismayed as he sees the same scenarios that pulled apart the Cruisers at work once again. His new band even comes into the sights of the old record label Satin Records who refused to release the second Cruiser’s album. Eddie wants to drive off a bridge again, this time for real but is talked out of it by his girlfriend Dianne Armani (Marina Orsini).

These are two welcomed films and it is reassuring that MGM recognizes how important they are to the loyal fans. These are plain vanilla releases but they are far better than the old VHS tapes many of us still hold on to.