Falling From Grace (1992)

Singer John Mellencamp makes his acting and directing debut in this heartfelt love story about a famous singer's return to his small-town roots. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Larry Mc Murtry FALLING FROM GRACE travels the same rural roads as Mellencamp's best music. Jetting in from Los Angeles Singer Bud Parks (Mellencamp) and his wife Alice (Mariel Hemingway) return to his Indiana hometown to celebrate his grandfather's 80th birthday. But once there Bud immediately returns to the wildways of his youth.System Requirements:Running Time: 100 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396051867 Manufacturer No: 05186 Product Description

Mellencamp in a great movie

Great movie about small town living with a big star that comes back to shake things up. It's a very good story. Mellencamp is not the star in this movie. The story is. August 23, 2008

Boring

This movie is so boring. I appreciate Mellencamp as a muscian but
his acting is stilted and dull, as are most of the performances in
this movie. It is along the lines of Toby Keith's movie he did
a couple years ago, another boring movie. I was also disappointed
that Mellencamp didn't sing in the movie.

There is so much adultery in the movie, it was disgusting. December 12, 2007

Mellencamp the Sinner of Seymour

John Mellencamp does a sensitive job of directing his first starring
film. He portrays a country singing star who returns to his hometown
of Seymour, Indiana, and soon is wronging his wife, played by sexy
Mariel Hemingway. Mellencamp's dad and grandpa, played by the wonderful
"redneck" actors, Claude Akins and Dub Taylor, are seriously oversexed,
and the curse has descended down to him. Everyone despises his weakness,
himself most of all. Mellencamp resolves his guilt in the most idiotic
way imaginable. Don't try this at home!

I like the verisimilitude of this southern Indiana-shot movie. You
will savor the porches and kitchens, chicken farm, fishin' creek,
roller rink, shot 'n' beer joint, and breakfast diner, where mean Claude
Akins delivers a big plate o' beat-up. Look for folksinger John Prine
as Mellencamp's brother-in-law. Some critics have roasted Mellencamp's
performance; I think he is adequately natural. To sum, it's a "little
movie that could." June 9, 2007

An OK first movie...

I bought this film because I'm a big Mellencamp fan, and Roger Ebert praised it highly. Plus, the script came from Larry McMurtry, author of "Lonesome Dove", "The Last Picture Show", etc.

The good stuff first: Mellencamp proves himself to be an adequate director.

Surprisingly, for a first time out, it's a perfectly fine directorial debut. Nothing flashy...actually it's anti-flashy, befitting the material. No major screw-ups. Close-up, two-shot, pan...it's fine.

He definitely has screen presence, if not real acting chops. He's fine for the role he's in, yet you can see (or feel) the hesitation before lines; he knows when he's supposed to come in...he moves well, but you still get the feeling he's "reading" his lines.

His grandfather is a hoot, and his father malevolent enough for what happens in the film.

Overall though, the movie isn't terribly good. Much of the acting from the other characters seemed forced; the line reading flat. Other characters barely existed at all. There are a lot of characters, by the way. Bud Parks (Mellencamp) has a wife (Mariel Hemingway) and a daughter. He's visiting from Hollywood, as he's a huge country star coming home to visit. He's got a brother, married to Bud's old high school girlfriend (Kay Lenz). They have a passel of kids. He's got a sister, married to some guy, and they have money problems. He's got an illegitimate but widely acknowledged half-brother, who appears to be most close to him. He has a mom, a grandmother, a father and a grandfather...none of whom are divorced, yet spend no time with each other. There's a friend/caretaker/employee or two (or three). Most of the men are clearly scum. Most of the women are saintly, with a few marked exceptions.

The Southern Gothic aspect of the script I didn't think worked. The actors didn't make me believe they could do the things they did. Does that make sense?
Sometimes in a film, characters do unrealistic things, but because of the craft of acting, screenwriting...of filmmaking...you get so carried away that it doesn't matter.
Better yet, those supposedly "unrealistic" things become possible, even "real."

None of this happened here.

Here's the thing: I love Mellencamp, and actually think he could really be something on screen. There is that something about him that works. It's just that here there are too many things that don't work here...and by the time the film was over (100 minutes, but due to it's deliberate pacing, felt like twice that) I just didn't give a hoot about any of them. January 5, 2005

great movie

i have no idea why so many folks are bashing this film. sure its not a special effects extravaganza with a huge hollywood budget . but as a movie exploring small town life and the things left behind its pretty good. mellencamp's acting is suttle but pretty decent in my opinion. the ultimate test of a good movie is if it entertains and it did the trick for me. October 17, 2004

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