Product Description

For years her songs brought fame to other people. Then she found her own voice. From the late 1950s doo-wop era to the psychedelic 70s songwriting sensation denise waverly struggles to escape the shadow of pop music icons and ultimately emerges as a singer in her own right. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 06/01/2004 Starring: Illeana Douglas Eric Stolz Run time: 116 minutes Rating: R Director: Allison Anders

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14957 in DVD
• Brand: Universal
• Released on: 1999-08-17
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 116 minutes

Amazon.com
The traditions of old-fashioned melodrama are given a hip facelift in this homage to the Brill Building era (the late 1950s to the early 1970s) of pop-music glory, providing a perfect match between writer-director Allison Anders and her excellent cast. Illeana Douglas plays a singer-songwriter (loosely modeled after Brill recording artist Carole King) whose life runs emotionally parallel to popular music trends. John Turturro is a stand-in for "wall of sound" producer Phil Spector and Matt Dillon is a thinly disguised version of maverick Beach Boy Brian Wilson. It's a bit too schematic in the way the central character is always in the right place at the right time, but as a tale of fame and romantic highs and lows in the '50s and '60s the movie is funny, touching, and sincere. It's a lively and loving tribute to timeless music and the colorful characters who created it. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Grace Of My Heart
Though this film will probably not have much appeal to anyone under 40, it is a clever and entertaining look at the most exciting and creative period in pop music history. Many 'stars' of this era are parodied here, and those familiar with the music of the 60's will immediately recognize the characters portrayed. The original music is beautiful, and recorded with incredible authenticty. John Turturro is marvelous as the New York hot-shot music publisher, carefully nurturing his latest discovery, a female songwriter (played by Illeana Douglas) who turns out hit after hit and makes a fortune for herself and the publishing company, but wants only to make her own record as a singer. "Denise" finally gets to do just that, but only after losing two husbands and for a short while, her own mind. This is one of just a few films that I watch at least 3 times a year.

Why do I like this so much?
First off, I wouldn't normally consider myself a fan of life-affirming womens' stories. I'm supposed to be a spiky intellectual male-type-person. I don't like this kind of music; I prefer loud guitars, anything from the Second Viennese School, atonal improvisation and hip-hop. This film should by rights make me gag.

And yet, it's so well-written and so beautifully acted that it taps in me some suppressed vein of shameless emotionalism. Ileanna Douglas is brilliant as the geeky songwriter who matures into a sadder and wiser Earth Mother, following various more or less catastrophic relationships with oppressive men. John Turturro is the producer with a very strange beard who keeps a sort-of-brotherly eye out for her. Bridget Fonda has a lovely cameo as the teen idol with the guilty secret. Even Patsy Kensit is good, for crying out loud.

There's a scene near the end where Turturro confronts Douglas that gets me as near to crying as I ever get about something fictional, and that's saying a lot. Douglas's singing voice is dubbed by Kristen Vigard, whoever she is, and full marks to her. It's not going to make me go out and buy a Carole King CD, but it's a gem of a movie.

This Movie Pulls at My Heart!
My twenty something daughter & I both love this movie. It was the first time I had seen Illeana Douglas & John Turturro in a movie, & I loved them both. I've found since then that John Turturro is a chameleon, changing physically with each character. I'll never forget Illeana D. in this role--like one of your reviewers said, it's hard to believe she wasn't singing the songs. I loved the music of all the groups in this movie--wish all of the songs were included on the music cd. The girl who sings "God Give Me Strength" was fantastic! As were all singers in this movie. Matt Dillon, Eric Stoltz, & Bruce Davison were excellent, as always. Christina Pickles & Bridget Fonda were great in their small parts, also as usual. I was disappointed that Leonard Maltin gave this movie only 2 1/2 stars, but he does that for a lot of movies that I like. I watched this movie at late night on HBO or some cable channel about two years ago, & became addicted to it, & guess I also infected my daughter. I have ordered a dvd for both of us for Xmas--am looking forward to seeing all the extras. I thought that Edna served as a symbol of the growth of rock music from the early sixties through the eighties. Also, it showed the treatment of a woman in this industry, although probably not as really hard as it was. And, it showed the relationship struggles that real women go through every day. But, it was the music that makes this movie so great for me, & the portrayal of this music & the music business by the great actors.