I love girl groups. Always have. Always will. Especially the girl groups of the late fifties and early sixties. I just love female singers, and I definitely love the music of that period. I’m probably one of the very few people still alive who own both copies of Patty Duke’s albums. Yeah, Patty Duke.

She had a short lived musical career, and her albums are just a small part of my collection. Try getting those titles on CD. I didn’t see “Grace of My Heart” in a theater.
It wasn’t given wide enough exposure, and I really don’t think it played in my town. If it did, it came and went faster than a Pia Zadora television series. I’m also a big Burt Bacharach fan, so I didn’t let not seeing the film stop me from being one of the first to buy the soundtrack when it came out.

Director Allison Anders (Gas, Food, Lodging) and musical producer Larry Klein did an outrageous job of creating new songs that sound like old songs. In order to tell her story of a female songwriter in the early 1960’s, Anders and Klein needed a soundtrack that would honor the period but be relevant to today’s listeners. They brought together musicians and songwriters from both periods, and came up with a sound that is not only authentic, but extremely listen-able. I almost wore out my first CD, and keep a second, still shrink wrapped, standing by in case of emergency. The music is that good, and one song in particular, “God Give Me Strength,” is possibly one of the most moving and soulful songs I have heard in some time. Written by Bacharach and Elvis Costello, the song haunts your memory long after you hear it. It totally bewilders me that it wasn’t even nominated for Best Song at the Oscars.

“Grace of My Heart” also stars one of my favorite people, the extremely talented Illeana Douglas. I haven’t seen Douglas in a bad performance, even though she has been in some bad movies. Her icy ice skater in “To Die For” was a keeper. Here she plays Edna Buxton, aspiring singer and daughter of a steel magnate. Even though she lives with her mother in luxury, Edna wants more. Her desire to sing lands her a spot at a local talent show where the prize is a recording contract in New York. She wins, only to find out that the contract was basically a public relations ploy.

Still, she makes the rounds, quickly learning that not only does every record label have someone like her, they’re trying to get rid of someone like her. Undeterred, Edna eventually lands a job writing songs for other singers, and becomes part of the Brill Building experience. The film follows Edna’s rise to the top of the charts, where she becomes noted for her strong lyrics and sense of melody. We also watch as Edna (now Denise Waverly) falls in and out of love with several men, including Eric Stoltz as her song writing partner in New York, and Matt Dillon as a Brian Wilson clone in California.

In between the hits and broken hearts, Denise learns to trust herself, and in a bold move, finally releases an album of her own work. Even though Anders script is fiction, the characters are a pastiche of familiar types. Denise is supposed to be Carole King, while Eric Stoltz is supposed to be Gerry Coffin. Of course all the names have been changed to protect the innocent. I like Allison Anders films because they are about people. Here she has created a nostalgic musical, yet the emphasis is on the characters. Even when they sing they have something valuable to say. Occasionally the film becomes melodramatic, but the cast is so good that they manage to keep the material from becoming a cliche.

Douglas is dynamic, while John Turturro is a delight as her producer whose hair and dancing are both wild. The actors make the dialogue sparkle. Anders paints an interesting canvas, one that is easy to appreciate and understand. You care about the characters, and if you’re like me, you can’t wait for the next musical interlude. I really liked this film. It affected me on so many levels. It didn’t get the attention it deserves in theaters, but the DVD more than makes up for the slight.

COMPLETE CHECK-UP

VISION: [ X ] 20/20 [ ] Good [ ] Cataracts [ ] Blind

Splendid 1.85:1 widescreen digital transfer enhanced at 16:9 for widescreen televisions. There is a minor amount of flecking, but overall the colors are sharp and vivid, while the attention to detail is extremely sharp. Good saturation, plus high density blacks. Clean negative allows for pure whites (most of the time) and clean shadows. Depth of field is surprisingly sharp. Flesh tones are warm and sincere, while other colors of the spectrum get the respect they deserve. Overall, a wonderful job.

HEARING: [ X ] Excellent [ ] Minor Hearing Loss [ ] Needs Hearing Aid [ ] Deaf

Vibrant, highly effective 5.1 Surround soundtrack envelops you in a musical rhapsody so sharp and precise you feel like you’re actually in the studio. Strong, influential basses combine with clean middle and high ends to create a pleasurable mix of potent dialogue and clean, distortion free music. Ambient noise is decent but not overwhelming, and stereo effects are lean but appropriate. The DVD also features a French Dolby Surround soundtrack as well.

ORAL: [ ] Excellent [ X ] Good [ ] Poor

Closed captions in English for the hard of hearing.

COORDINATION: [ X ] Excellent [ ] Good [ ] Clumsy [ ] Weak

Universal Studios Home Video once again goes the distance by packing this Collector’s Edition with enough extras to satisfy most DVD fans.

First and foremost is the extensive behind-the-scenes documentary “The Making of Grace of My Heart” that more than covers every detail I wanted to know about the making of the film. Filled with interviews, location footage and observations, the documentary is a delight. It covers all of the various aspects of getting the film made, from corralling the musical talent, to marketing the film. This was a labor of love, and you can feel that from every cast and crew member interviewed.

Allison Anders provides a very thoughtful and in-depth audio commentary track, and she is a delight to listen to. She’s smart and sassy, and she knows what she’s talking about. Her energy is always high, and her stories are so interesting and captivating.

An extensive library of deleted footage that restores some of the scenes talked about in the documentary. I couldn’t get enough, and even though some of the footage was delivered in a rough cut form, it was still fascinating to see what was left on the cutting room floor. Most of the full-length musical numbers have been restored (using still frames where film is missing to maintain the beat), plus there’s more back story on Waverly’s journey of self discovery. One scene that should have made the cut involves Denise Waverly and a fellow songwriter (Patsy Kensit) sharing a moment of revelation regarding their backgrounds. It’s a sad, then funny moment that explains so much.

The DVD includes extensive production notes, plus cast & crew bios, plus the film’s original theatrical trailer.

Handsome main and scene access menus, with motion active scenes.

A “Grace of My Heart” screen saver for your computer, and web links for those with DVD-ROM capabilities.

PROGNOSIS: [ X ] Excellent [ ] Fit [ ] Will Live [ ] Resuscitate [ ] Terminal

Let’s say Grace, and then go get a copy for your own collection.

VITALS: $34.98/Rated R/116 Minutes/Color/18 Chapter Stops/Keepcase/#20438

ATTENDING RESIDENT: John Larsen

PATIENT: GRACE OF MY HEART-COLLECTOR’S EDITION

BIRTH DATE: 1996

HMO: Universal Studios Home Video

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 5th, 2000 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Film Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.