Watch Light of Day For Free

Powerful

Memorable, crazy movie

Just perfect...

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It has been a while since I sat through this movie that I saw at the theatre because Michael J. Fox was in it and his movies can be pretty good. He should stick to comedy where he shines. The two things I remember about this movie is i) one of the few movies I have gone to with my mother and ii) there is one scene where there is supposed to be high drama and a very serious line is said. The theatre burst into laughter for a variety of reasons including the character spoke words that were obvious to anyone watching, the acting was so bad, and everyone was thinking "enough already." So my mom did not particularly like the film but she was confused because laughing usually implies a comedy and she could not see anything funny in this movie.

I just watched "Light of Day" again, one of my favorite 80's movies. It's a lost treasure, having never been released on DVD in the US due to an obscure IP issue. I only managed to find it as a mediocre transfer from VHS, which is sad and surprising. It's probably the most realistic and competent portrayal of the working class US family in the 1980's ever caught on film. Flawlessly cast, perfectly executed for what it is (meaning any technical rough edges only make it better), and heartbreakingly relatable.Joan Jett excels in a role not much different from herself in real life. Gena Rowlands and Jason Miller, as eminently recognizable actors (but not exactly super stars that every viewer can name), were a perfect selection for parents that the average viewer will instantly, subconsciously identify as representative of the previous generation. And Micheal J. Fox perfectly balances Jett in a performance that I wouldn't go so far as to say demonstrates *range* so much as it just happened to be a perfect-fit (tho the role itself certainly has more depth than what's he's generally known for).And the music is great!I love it. I relate to it. More subtlety and realism than any John Hughes 80's classic. Accidental excellence *in the extreme*! Find it. Watch it. Petition Sony Pictures for a Blu-Ray release!!!

I wouldn't go as far as to say this is the greatest rock n roll movie Ever, but I think this is the greatest bar band movie EVER! I grew up around Cleveland about this time, and this is how it was! My brothers are muscicians, and this was THEIR story! Back then, not many movies were filmed in Cleveland because of how it looked. It was sooooo refreshing to see a movie that not only showed how Cleveland looked, but how the people that lived there REALLY were! Joe( Michael J. Fox) reminds me so much of my brother it's scary! And Patti ( Joan Jett) was who I wanted to be!! Not to mention the music ROCKS!! I have been to the Euclid Tavern ( I think it's closed now) and the Akron Agaora (I know that's closed) and that's how they really were! Kudos to Paul Schrader for making this movie! BTW........CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!!! (Did I mention that Michael J. Fox is my favorite actor? GET BETTER MICHAEL!!!!!!!)

Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett are an unlikely sibling twosome, living in Cleveland with Jett's illegitimate kid and hoping to get their rock-and-roll band off the ground (Fox struggles with an underwritten character, at once rebellious and responsible, while Jett talks with a thick, streetwise drawl suggesting she's from the opposite side of town). This downbeat movie has none of the spirit of Joan Jett's rock videos from the 1980s; a few of the camera set-ups are good, but the locations aren't especially well-captured and the music--integral to the story--isn't strong enough to provide the necessary uplift the soapy plot desperately needs. Fox has a solid scene fighting with his sister over her boy, although a whole sequence with him quitting the band over a shoplifting incident doesn't wash. Gena Rowlands is admirable as their mother (with a medical condition!), but there's too much of her and this plot-thread fails to build momentum. "Back to the Future" fans passed on this, and who can blame them? Despite being a personal project from writer-director Paul Schrader, his handling is pedestrian, sometimes awkward or unsure, and his dialogue doesn't have the canny ring of truth--it's all a blue-collar cliché. ** from ****