streets of fire is wild, i finally got to watch it for my third time tonight with demi and my parents and each time i've remembered that it's kind of weird, but not how weird it is. as perhaps befits a movie billing itself "a rock and roll fable" the setting really doesn't make any damned sense, an old-timey urban undercity in the midst of an apparently endless sprawl; the characters drive for what's said to be hours only to find themselves just as deep, if not more so, in what seems to be the same continuous metropolis, with trains and roads apparently overpassing literally everywhere. it might even just be midgar, really, the cars are about the same. it's lit with a ton of flair, and every set and scene just looks strange and busy enough that it's clear why people would make videogames about it. my dad commented on the neon especially. "that looks like the 50s"
the plot is unpleasantly misogynistic but simple enough not to register as incoherent despite the fact that most of it kind of just happens, interspersed with musical numbers and usually unnecessary violence. weird people pop up just long enough for the movie to linger on like a dream, then usually leave behind (except for the sorels). the musical numbers and everything else strike a weird balance of real enough to register as true in the movie yet still resonate with a bizarre aura of fantasy. only trust your fists, the police will never help you, shoot their cars with your shotgun i guess
rick moranis is incredible, playing an absurd mix of tough-talking swagger and cowardly sheepishness that's honestly hilarious in almost every scene. he carries the role of a man the movie loves to hate perfectly, with confidence and bluster that finally breaks through to something real by the end. it's one of my favorite performances from him, easily. though my favorite character is still mccoy, who the movie goes to incredible lengths to avoid having to have anyone say is a lesbian. instead we just get the most euphemistic use of "soldier" i've ever heard in my life
the ending scene is just the best. it's the only way for the movie to end and the lyrics are so absurd, letting off a movie that's just 100% high on its own wild emotions. i'm not an angel but at least i'm a girl
it's a dumb flop and just like after watching the lost boys recently i'm just left with such sadness that no one gets to make major films that are so confidently absurd anymore