Cuando el amor se acaba

This is a reasonably strong directorial debut for rocker Mellencamp, who also gives a good lead performance. In fact, the whole cast is quite effective, and the story moves along at an appropriate pace. Personally, I found the final scenes to be rather weak compared to the rest of the film, but even with the poor ending, I still found this to be a solid effort and a generally good movie.

Falling From Grace (1992)

*** (out of 4)

Rocker John Mellencamp made his directorial debut here in this laid back but to the point family drama. In the film Mellencamp plays a man who left his small town to become a rock star and millionaire. He marries a L.A. woman (Mariel Hemingway) but when he goes back to his small Indiana town he gets caught up in his families drama as well as starts an affair with his old love who just happens to be married to his brother as well as having an affair with his father. I love the music of Mellencamp and was even lucky enough to meet him one day but I really wasn't expecting too much out of this film. As it started off I was a bit worried that we've seen this story countless times before and we have but the film kept growing on me to the point where I really enjoyed it. Mellencamp does a good job at playing himself, the laid back, rebel rocker we've all seen on TV. The supporting cast is very good as well and they help pull off the familiar storyline. Mellencamp's direction is also pretty good as he seems right at home shooting this in the hometown he grew up. He also adds one song to the soundtrack, which was very good. If you're a fan of Mellencamp then you'll probably enjoy this more than others.

...that's what "Falling from Grace" is about. Released in 1992, John (Cougar) Mellencamp plays a country star, Bud, who tries to come home to Indiana, bringing his tall blond wife (Mariel Hemingway) and daughter. Unfortunately, his dad's a total jerk (Claude Akins) and his high school sweetheart (Kay Lenz) is married to his brother and having an affair with someone linked to both. It seems like the star just wants to take a break from the show business and hang with his buds and family, like in the old days, but melancholy settles in and temptation strikes.

Wow, after seeing this my wife and I gave thanks for our dysfunctional families -- we never knew we had it so good!

This is a solid drama by first-and-only-time director Mellencamp. All the main players noted above do fine in their roles, but some of the side players are flat and unconvincing, like the bearded guy who works for Bud.

The first time I saw this movie I thought it was an okay drama, but I felt it was dragged down by the country star's mopiness, which is fundamental to the story -- I understand -- but it's still frustrating for the viewer. A couple of the key characters are a turn-off as well, but isn't this the way it is in real life? Noted critic Roger Ebert gave "Falling from Grace" his top rating and Gene Siskel also praised it, but Leonard Martin rated it a BOMB in his guide. The critics on Sneak Previews also dogged it. This just goes to show that "Falling from Grace" is a love-or-hate-it piece.

While I'm somewhere in the middle, I enjoyed it a lot more on my second viewing and therefore lean toward the 'love it' side. It's a low-budget film that is better on repeat viewings. I Like the Seymour, Indiana, locations, which is John's actual hometown. The situations reflect real-life and there are some thematic gems to mine, like "the sins of the father" and the negative domino effect of unfaithfulness. I also like the way the movie ends.

Speaking of which, Bud's wife, Alice, shares a great line: "You can't have some secret world in your mind and another one on the street." Chew on that.

The film runs 100 minutes.

GRADE: B

This one was OK, more on the lines of a good made for TV movie than anything else. It was great to see Dub Taylor and Claude Akins working together one last time, though I got a kick outta their being father/son, Dub was born in '07 and Sheriff Lobo there 11 years lator.

Wonder what they thought about being directed by a rock singer? Oh well.

The film is okay for what it is, Mellencamp plays himself(gone country), not too terribly but is def. no actor. He hangs around the small town homestead, gets in a bar fight with Sheriff Lobo(dad), shoots of a gun or three, messes around with old flame Kay Lenz and drives wife Mariel Hemingway nuts. He talks about coming back to stay and his cronies say 'go back, you don't belong here, you got out, we don't want you here', more or less.

And there is a stunt involving riding in a cage of sorts in the back of a truck, kicking it off the back and watching Mellencamp go richocheting around the pavement behind said truck, caught in the bashed in cage and brush. He winds up in the hospital.

Some critics loved this-Siskel and Ebert, for example, and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone. Boston Globe thought it was okay too. Lyons, Medved and Maltin all hated it.

I sorta liked it, as a big Mellencamp fan-and will give it ** for Mellencamps decent direction and seeing Akins/Dub one last time. But the rest is only so so. Okay music too.

So so. Couple fine performances from Kay Lenz as a small town tramp and Claude Akins as the mother of all despicable dads helps to elevate this meandering, overly talky film (de rigeur when you ask a great novelist to write the screenplay) slightly above the mediocrity bar. Big problem for me is that I just never bought the basic premise, that a well known country singer would throw over a loving marriage and a successful career to go back home to Doak City Indiana and marry his jilted high school sweetheart. Second biggest problem was John Mellenkamp's dull acting which sure as hell isn't going to get un dull if you're directing yourself. Third biggest problem was scenarist and veteran Texan Larry McMurtry making his Indiana middle border folks sound like they all wandered in from Archer City. Give it a C plus. PS...Nice location shooting in Hoosier country and a good country soundtrack also aid in making the story somewhat digestible.