The Worst Film Ever

Sorry, this movie sucks

A Disappointing Continuation

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

i don't expect everyone to love this movie. I do think that while it isn't a masterpiece that it has one of the best story lines ever. I loved it pure and simple for the musical it wanted to be and the drama that it was.best Illeana douglas act i have seen.haven't seen her since goodfellas but i think she did wellhad it been by some large star the movie would have been hugestill im disappointed i'm struggling to find this movie in Aussie format on DVD for my sister this Christmas. she loves the movie.someone suggest another movie to find. or give me details of where to get it in PAL format

This flavor of an era, the spirit of a moment, sensitive treatment of a fictitious woman based on some models from 20th Century pop music and New york history. The acting was excellent and the music left me wistful, relaxed and energized. It was well written. I particularly like Matt Dillon as her second husband, third lover. I saw a boyish brilliance that made her love for him totally believable. It was fun, a little spiritual and nice costumes and local flavor of New York and California. I wanted to know more. Of course, we know it was loosely based on Carol King and Carly Simon but that is besides the point. It was a movie that a young adult or middle aged woman could watch without shame. Ileana Douglas and the rest of the cast did not have to imitate life.

Character actress Illeana Douglas is such a reassuring presence on the screen that she ALMOST makes "Grace of My Heart" worth-seeing. In a thinly-disguised biography of Carole King, Douglas plays a singer-turned-songwriter in the early-'60s who feels the pressure of being a female under the thumb of powerful males in the music-biz but makes no major decisions about it; she's a strong woman, but also a go-alonger, and eventually she gets her chance to shine. The movie has some great scenes, but they aren't strung together smoothly, and the narrative keeps getting interrupted by half-comic bits of romantic confusion. Eric Stoltz (filling in for Gerry Goffin) cuts a nice figure in his shades and suits, but he has no personality; when he treats Douglas cruelly, there seems to be nothing at stake for her beyond raising their child alone (certainly she could do better). Several key supporting roles are wonderfully filled, particularly by John Turturro as a record producer and Bruce Davison as a radio-host (both are charming). Much of the music is dead-on in its nostalgia, the production values are fine, and Douglas is simply terrific (her toothy smile and wide eyes are endearing); yet the film hits a bump just before the final act and never recovers. Interest wanes, and that's too bad because Douglas works engagingly hard at creating a character we should care more about. **1/2 from ****

The chronically under-appreciated Illeana Douglas gives a characteristically glowing, winsome, totally spot-on performance as aspiring singer/songwriter Denise Waverly, who during a very turbulent and wildly eventful fifteen year time span goes from being a frustrated, creatively stifled behind-the-scenes magic maker to eventually acquiring the clout and courage to branch out on her own to sing her own material in a strong, assertive, independent female voice. Learning under the expert tutelage of cranky, eccentric, misanthropic Brill Building impresario Joel Millner (a fabulously freaky John Turturro) and enduring a steady succession of unsuccessful romantic relationships with footloose, insecure, insensitive bohemian songwriter Howard Castatt (a perfectly jerky Eric Stoltz), conventional married disc jockey John Murray (a typically fine Bruce Davison), and brilliantly innovative, but paranoid and temperamental surf-rock composer Jay Phillips (a splendidly spaced-out Matt Dillon), the extremely intelligent and resilient Denise uses her bittersweet life experiences as prime fodder for her ever evolving and emotionally charged songs.Flavorfully documenting rock music's growth from effervescent girl group pop to trippy psychedelic experimentation to intensely personal singer/songwriter confessional tunes, Allison Anders' simply sensational feature, loosely based on the real-life exploits of Carole King (besides the obviously King-influenced Denise, most of the other characters are clearly composites of various actual rock people as well) and executive produced by Martin Scorsesse, crackles with all the joyous vibrancy and infectious exuberance of the marvelously dynamic and exciting music scene its set in. Anders' deft, assured direction and sharply perceptive script, both keenly tuned in to the mercurial zeitgeist of the 60's and the then burgeoning women's right movement, works as both invigorating rock music history and inspirational pro-feminist tract alike. The splendidly catchy and melodious Larry Klein-produced soundtrack, Jean Yves Escoffier's smooth, agile, gliding cinematography, a story which manages to be genuinely touching without ever lapsing into mawkishly contrived sentiment, an absorbing, minutely detailed backstage glimpse at the pop music songwriting and recording process, and the uniformly superlative acting -- Patsy Kensit as Denise's longtime songwriting partner and loyal gal pal Cheryl Steed, Bridget Fonda as awkward closeted lesbian pop singer Kelly Porter, and David Clennon as a flaky hippie shrink are especially terrific -- round out this positively radiant and utterly delightful gem.