BobbyT24 Okay, I'll admit it. I'm an Eddie and the Cruisers fan. I loved the first movie, although I thought the story was a little dry. But the ending always made me want to know what happened to Eddie Wilson in the early-'60s since we all knew he didn't necessarily end his life at the end of that bridge.Enter "Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!" taking place roughly 25 years after the original time frame. Again, I'll admit... this is a guilty pleasure of mine. This may not be "Gone With The Wind", but it makes me smile each and every time I put on this corny movie. The supporting acting is so-so. The story is fairly by-the-numbers. As a sequel, it ties up most of the loose ends from the original. The lead actor and his love interest let's say aren't necessarily of the Academy Award caliber although they try. But the plot isn't necessarily why we watch this movie and the director knew this. The music and what ultimately happened to Eddie is all this story aspires to. And the music is in one word... W-O-W!!! It's sad to note John Cafferty - the REAL voice of Eddie Wilson - has since passed away. I once watched him open for "Journey" decades ago. His perfectly soulful singing voice was unique and hits my heart just right. Having Michael Pare lip-syncing to those amazing tunes always puts a smile on my face, no matter the day.Now if you're expecting some blockbuster movie, this isn't the one for you. This is a movie by what looks to be a group of people who simply wanted to give a proper send-off to a movie mystery that the audience wanted to see. It isn't grand. It isn't intellectual. It may not even be all that good. But it's fitting - and the music is special.I'm thankful to watch this every few years. Some of the music is on my iPod and I listen to it often. As a movie, this is at most a 5 simply because it ties up the loose ends of the original and watching a movie hero create a band is creative and enjoyable. But the music... a solid 10 as far as I'm concerned. :-) RIP John Cafferty. You are missed.

iluvcards This goof didn't show up in the "official" goofs listings. When the band comes off the stage of their 1st performance.........Rick calls out to "Joe", but calls him 'Eddie'. I played it back twice to be sure, and yes, that's he said. At this point, there is not any indication that Rick knows Joe's true identity. Apparently, the people at IMDb did not catch this goof. Obviously, neither did the producer, or film editors. Interesting.....did anybody else catch this goof? As far as sequels go, I liked it. I'd rate it slightly above average. I would like to know where Frank, Doc, Joann were.........since they were present in the 1st movie when the tapes were discovered. And the name of the new band.....Rock Solid?.........pretty lame. Still, at least there was a follow-up to the 1st movie, so we can see what happened to Eddie.EDDIE LOVES!

bobafett_ski An example of how not to do a sequel man.Its obvious that this script was thrown together at the last minute man. The dialogue is laughable man, and the direction is as well man.The original had some depth to it and a dark, mysterious aura. The sequel, not so much.The storyline is ridiculous. It takes place right where the first one left off. Eddie (or Joe if you will), who resides in Canada, still has his musical passion but is afraid of revealing himself as the true Eddie Wilson. To make matters worse, the last album he recorded has been released 20 years after he 'died', and Eddie Wilson is once again a hot topic in the music world. Eddie ends up in a bar one night and runs into some musicians, a sax player who reminds him of Wendell from the first movie, and a young (and highly annoying) guitarist. Eddie compliments the sax player and criticizes the guitarist and thus begins the makings of a new band. For some reason the next half hour of the movie is basically the young guitarist stalking and harassing Eddie about becoming a better musician. It's laughable how the kid always knows where Eddie is. He somehow knows he is a construction worker and at what site he is working. He knows he is at an art show with the boring love interest. He knows Eddie is at a roller skating rink, and so on. The scripted dialogue between the two goes something like this, "Hey man, leave me alone." "Come on man, I wanna learn." They eventually put a band together, but Eddie never believes they are ready to perform. "Come on man, we want to play." "No! We aren't ready man." After another half hour of bickering, the sax player (a Billy Dee Williams clone by the way) finally reveals he knows who Eddie is. This of course brings the band closer and Eddie caves in about performing.After all the build up of the great Eddie Wilson throughout the film, the big reveal at the end is less than climactic. The only hold over character from the first movie is Sal. I guess all the others knew better. There is a secondary story about a 'mystery' tape with Eddie performing on it, but surprisingly, it isn't needed.The music is okay. It does take up half of the movie (it helps alleviate the pain of the dialogue man) and I really liked the song played during the opening credits.Stick with the original, unless you really need a sip of nostalgia.

marjan-23 Saw the 2 movies again on TV recently (saw them first about 10 years ago) and loved them just as much as the first time around, probably more. "Eddie Lives" is my favorite though - it has great music from start to finish, John Cafferty's voice is marvellous and he has come up with some truly good songs, songs that sound as good today as ten years ago when I bought the soundtrack. The movie has a touching story line and a hunk of a lead in Michael Pare. The final 'huge crowd' scenes are amazing - you wonder how they managed to get the crowd go "Eddie, Eddie!!" Have now bought the movie on DVD and watch it whenever I need a'feel good' movie.