Fans earnestly debate how Prince's early 90s work stacks up against his 80s golden period, but there's little disagreement that his cinematic output was a straight arrow down -- from the exhilarating heights of Purple Rain, to the lovable oddity of Under the Cherry Moon, the clunky Graffiti Bridge, and finally here: the largely embarrassing 3 Chains o' Gold.

3 Chains might be tough to defend as a movie, but it helps us understand where our hero is at -- artistically, professionally, personally -- as he moves into his 36th year...