Grace of My Heart

I'm a real sucker for a film about music! This film has some really strong songs, and some great scenes.... But also some kinda silly bits.... Like the Matt Dillon character, which is essentially Brian Wilson. It's just a bit much. Overall an enjoyable watch though.

A weird sort of 60s musical relic that bombed terribly, but has a good soundtrack and solid performances.

The good news is they play many of the songs all the way through like they should in any movie about music. The bad news is they're almost all ballads. Illeana Douglas is good but not great, with most points being taken away for her dubbed vocals, which weren't that good anyway. Kudos for the talented John Turturro. It appears to be a loose combo biopic of Carol King and Carly Simon with songs by neither. The last song with the title lyrics is the best.

You owe me $3, Kermode.

Like a by-the-numbers biopic, except about a fictional person. But not really, because Edna is so clearly based on Carole King that you wonder why Allison Anders didn't just make a movie about King. And the way Anders shoehorns in various "looking through the prism of the era" moments to briefly comment on social issues is painfully transparent. It's just not very impressive filmmaking on any level. Illeana Douglas is the saving grace (har de har har). The other bonus is the choice soundtrack.