Falling from Grace
Encyclopedia
Falling from Grace is a 1992 drama
film
, produced by Little B and distributed by Columbia Pictures
. Rock singer John Mellencamp
makes his acting and directorial debut in this story by Lonesome Dove
author Larry McMurtry
. The story contains many similarities to Mellencamp's real life. It is his sole directing credit.
At the birthday party, Bud's high school sweetheart and now sister-in-law, P.J., invites Bud out for a walk, which is met with curious suspicion by Bud's father, Speck. P.J. confesses she has sex with Speck, which is met with shock and disapproval by Bud.
Speck, a successful poultry farmer, is shown early on to be a chauvinistic and dominating womanizer. He fathered an illegitimate son but his wife, Marian, stayed with him. Speck refers to himself as a sire and the women who bore his children as fillies. Over time he is revealed to be dominating, violent, exploitive and shameless, to the point of even making a pass at Bud's wife.
Bud and Alice seem to have a good marriage, and she is clearly very devoted. But after learning of P.J.'s affair with Speck, Bud has sex with P.J. as well. P.J. seems to view her sexual encounters as conquests and take pride in simultaneously having three Parks men as lovers. She also seems to view her promiscuity, and the need to keep it secret, as a source of excitement for a housewife and mother who resides in what she considers to be a boring town.
The three days turn into several weeks. Bud's feelings of both love and lust for P.J. are rekindled, and he neglects Alice. Already disillusioned by the music business and thinking about leaving it, he realizes that he's a small-town man at heart and wants to stay in Doak City, where many of his relatives still reside. His anger toward his father also escalates.
California-bred Alice continues to love her husband but quickly becomes tired of small town life and his neglect. She accuses Bud of committing adultery. He doesn't deny it and she leaves with Terri Jo.
Bud tries to get P.J. back as the woman of his life. She reveals that she wanted that many years earlier, but that he wouldn't make a commitment, and it's too late now.
Frustrated and angry, Bud confronts Speck in a restaurant. Speck shows no interest or sympathy in his son's problems but expresses displeasure in having received none of the millions of dollars Bud has made in music. On the basis that he "sired" Bud, Speck claims to be entitled to some of Bud's money. Bud warns Speck to make no further sexual advances at Alice and, in a rage, knocks the food and tableware off the table. As Bud gets up to leave, he is viciously beaten by Speck.
Feeling like he's hit rock bottom, Bud gets drunk and performs a stunt from his wild youth. He lies in a cage in the back of a pickup truck and has one of his friends push the cage onto the road while the truck is moving. He wakes up lying in a hospital bed wearing a brace on his neck and a cast on his right arm. Standing beside his bed are P.J., his sister Sally Cutler and his paternal grandmother.
Alice returns and seems willing to take Bud back if he will be honest with her. Having been rejected by P.J. and humbled by his father and the accident, Bud now realizes what's most important in his life. He and Alice reconcile.
Reception:
Falling from Grace was given a very limited release in February of 1992, only being shown in select cinemas across America. Being produced on an estimated $3 million budget the film, was a significant box office flop only taking in $231,826 in domestic ticket sales. The low box office result is mostly due to the film receiving a very limited release. Columbia Pictures removed it from theaters in March 1992, not even a month after the film's limited release was announced. Critical Reception was a bit more gracious, but even so some critics reacted very harshly towards the film. Among its biggest fans were Siskel and Ebert. On their television program in February 1992, the film received a "Two Thumbs Up" rating with Siskel saying it was a very well written, acted, directed, honest and intelligent film and even captured small town life better than films like Driving Miss Daisy, and Steel Magnolias which received Oscar recognition. He even ranked it as high as Tender Mercies the 1983 Oscar Winning film with Robert Duvall as a struggling Country singer. Ebert agreed with Siskel claiming that he was surprised how great the directing and acting was, and said that he wanted the word to get around that it was one of the best films of the year although this film never actually made Siskel and Ebert's Best List for the year of 1992. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also gave the film a positive review. Among the critics who had a passionate dislike for the film were Jeffery Lyons, and Michael Medved of the television program Sneak Previews. Leonard Maltin also had a strong dislike for the film. In his book Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide he gave the film a BOMB rating (the worst rating a film can receive from Maltin) calling it "warmed over Larry McMurtry tripe" and saying Kay Lenz's performance was the only thing to avoid cliche and said that Mellencamp's performance was "simply boring."
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, produced by Little B and distributed by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
. Rock singer John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
makes his acting and directorial debut in this story by Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove
Lonesome Dove is a 1985 Pulitzer Prize–winning western novel written by Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the Lonesome Dove series, but the third installment in the series chronologically...
author Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry
Larry Jeff McMurtry is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas...
. The story contains many similarities to Mellencamp's real life. It is his sole directing credit.
Plot
Music superstar Bud Parks, along with his statuesque wife, Alice, and their approximately eight-year-old daughter, Terri Jo, return to his small hometown, fictional Doak City, Indiana, for his paternal grandfather's 80th birthday. Initially, the visit is light-hearted and Bud receives a hero's welcome from many of his relatives and fans. But what is supposed to be a three-day visit of fun quickly turns into much more.At the birthday party, Bud's high school sweetheart and now sister-in-law, P.J., invites Bud out for a walk, which is met with curious suspicion by Bud's father, Speck. P.J. confesses she has sex with Speck, which is met with shock and disapproval by Bud.
Speck, a successful poultry farmer, is shown early on to be a chauvinistic and dominating womanizer. He fathered an illegitimate son but his wife, Marian, stayed with him. Speck refers to himself as a sire and the women who bore his children as fillies. Over time he is revealed to be dominating, violent, exploitive and shameless, to the point of even making a pass at Bud's wife.
Bud and Alice seem to have a good marriage, and she is clearly very devoted. But after learning of P.J.'s affair with Speck, Bud has sex with P.J. as well. P.J. seems to view her sexual encounters as conquests and take pride in simultaneously having three Parks men as lovers. She also seems to view her promiscuity, and the need to keep it secret, as a source of excitement for a housewife and mother who resides in what she considers to be a boring town.
The three days turn into several weeks. Bud's feelings of both love and lust for P.J. are rekindled, and he neglects Alice. Already disillusioned by the music business and thinking about leaving it, he realizes that he's a small-town man at heart and wants to stay in Doak City, where many of his relatives still reside. His anger toward his father also escalates.
California-bred Alice continues to love her husband but quickly becomes tired of small town life and his neglect. She accuses Bud of committing adultery. He doesn't deny it and she leaves with Terri Jo.
Bud tries to get P.J. back as the woman of his life. She reveals that she wanted that many years earlier, but that he wouldn't make a commitment, and it's too late now.
Frustrated and angry, Bud confronts Speck in a restaurant. Speck shows no interest or sympathy in his son's problems but expresses displeasure in having received none of the millions of dollars Bud has made in music. On the basis that he "sired" Bud, Speck claims to be entitled to some of Bud's money. Bud warns Speck to make no further sexual advances at Alice and, in a rage, knocks the food and tableware off the table. As Bud gets up to leave, he is viciously beaten by Speck.
Feeling like he's hit rock bottom, Bud gets drunk and performs a stunt from his wild youth. He lies in a cage in the back of a pickup truck and has one of his friends push the cage onto the road while the truck is moving. He wakes up lying in a hospital bed wearing a brace on his neck and a cast on his right arm. Standing beside his bed are P.J., his sister Sally Cutler and his paternal grandmother.
Alice returns and seems willing to take Bud back if he will be honest with her. Having been rejected by P.J. and humbled by his father and the accident, Bud now realizes what's most important in his life. He and Alice reconcile.
Major Characters/Cast
| Character | Actor | Character Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bud Parks | John Mellencamp John Mellencamp John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds... |
A contemporary music superstar, implied to be in the country genre, Bud is marginally educated but very street smart. And despite his fame, he still prefers small town life. Though sometimes wild, he is a nice man who is gracious toward his fans and takes financial care of many of his relatives back home. But has a weakness for his high school sweetheart and now sister-in-law, P.J., and is very bitter toward his father, Speck. |
| Alice Parks | Mariel Hemingway Mariel Hemingway - Early life :Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway and Margaux Hemingway... |
Bud's modelesque wife, she is from California and is much more polished than her husband. She is very devoted to Bud and their daughter, Terri Jo, but dislikes small town life and is very sensitive to being neglected by her husband. |
| Speck Parks | Claude Akins Claude Akins Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series... |
The father of Bud, Parker, Sally and Ramey, Speck is s dominating, self-centered womanizer who runs the successful Parks Poultry. He is friendly on the surface but is actually very shameless and exploitive and even views much of his family with contempt. |
| Grandpa Parks | Dub Taylor Dub Taylor Walter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:... |
Speck's father and Bud's grandfather, Grandpa Parks is always a crass and profane but equally jolly and humorous. Even at the age of 80, he remains girl crazy. |
| P.J. Parks | Kay Lenz Kay Lenz Kay Ann Lenz is an American actress.A former child performer, Lenz has worked primarily in television and has won two Emmy Awards.-Background:... |
Bud's high school sweetheart and now married to his brother, Parker, P.J. nevertheless has extramarital affairs with both Bud and Speck. Despite being on the edge of middle age, she remains sexy. She is unhappy with her life has a housewife and mother in what she considers to be a boring town. Her adulterous relationships are a source of excitement for her. |
| Ramey Parks | Larry Crane Larry Crane Larry Crane is an American editor, recording engineer and archivist based in Portland, Oregon. Crane is the editor and founder of Tape Op Magazine, the owner of Portland's Jackpot! Recording Studio, a freelance engineer, and the archivist for musician Elliott Smith.-Career:Tape Op was started in... |
The illegitimate son of Speck and an unidentified woman, Ramey is scuzzy but friendly and is close to Bud. Ramey seems marginally educated and works for his father in an apparently blue collar capacity. One of the few people who Speck seems to appreciate, Ramey is hailed by Speck as "the best worker I got." Still, Ramey is conscious about being in the shadow of his famous half-brother. |
| Linda | Kate Noonan | Ramey's wife or girlfriend, a simple and modest but cordial hairdresser who runs a home-based salon. |
| Sally Cutler | Deirdre O'Connell | Bud's sister, who works an unspecified night job. She is a nice woman but is emotionally troubled, stemming from marital and financial problems. |
| Mitch Cutler | John Prine John Prine John Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:... |
Sally's husband and Bud's brother-in-law, Mitch works for Bud in an unspecified capacity and believes that he's on charity, despite Bud's insistence to the contrary. Mitch suffers from depression and low self-esteem and often doesn't come home at night. He and Sally already lost their farm and remain deeply in debt. |
| Parker Parks | Brent Huff Brent Huff Brent Huff is a former male model and actor, writer and film director.- Career :He studied on University of Missouri.Brent begin his career as a model after signing with Ford Models in New York and Nina Blanchard in Los Angeles... |
Bud's brother and P.J.'s husband, Parker is the most polished of the Parks boys. He works for his father, seemingly in a managerial capacity, and has a no-nonsense personality, in sharp contrast to his brothers. |
| Marian Parks | Joanne Jacobson | Speck's wife and Bud's mother, Marian is loving toward her children but seems unhappy with her life, having stayed with her husband despite his adultery, perhaps feeling that she would have no social mobility without him. |
| Bobby Tucker | Tracy Cowles | A member of Bud's entourage, possibly a member of Bud's backing band, Bobby is scuzzy but cordial and seems to be a childhood friend of Bud's. Bobby dislikes Bud's neglect of Alice. |
| Grandma Parks | Mary Tom Crain | Speck's mother and Bud's grandmother, Grandma Parks is a traditional housewife. Outgoing, she uses sarcasm and humor, mostly goodnatured, to deal with three generations of wild men in her life. |
| Terri Jo Parks | Melissa Ann Hackman | Bud's and Alice's quiet and well behaved daughter, about eight years old. |
Reception:
Falling from Grace was given a very limited release in February of 1992, only being shown in select cinemas across America. Being produced on an estimated $3 million budget the film, was a significant box office flop only taking in $231,826 in domestic ticket sales. The low box office result is mostly due to the film receiving a very limited release. Columbia Pictures removed it from theaters in March 1992, not even a month after the film's limited release was announced. Critical Reception was a bit more gracious, but even so some critics reacted very harshly towards the film. Among its biggest fans were Siskel and Ebert. On their television program in February 1992, the film received a "Two Thumbs Up" rating with Siskel saying it was a very well written, acted, directed, honest and intelligent film and even captured small town life better than films like Driving Miss Daisy, and Steel Magnolias which received Oscar recognition. He even ranked it as high as Tender Mercies the 1983 Oscar Winning film with Robert Duvall as a struggling Country singer. Ebert agreed with Siskel claiming that he was surprised how great the directing and acting was, and said that he wanted the word to get around that it was one of the best films of the year although this film never actually made Siskel and Ebert's Best List for the year of 1992. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also gave the film a positive review. Among the critics who had a passionate dislike for the film were Jeffery Lyons, and Michael Medved of the television program Sneak Previews. Leonard Maltin also had a strong dislike for the film. In his book Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide he gave the film a BOMB rating (the worst rating a film can receive from Maltin) calling it "warmed over Larry McMurtry tripe" and saying Kay Lenz's performance was the only thing to avoid cliche and said that Mellencamp's performance was "simply boring."
Track listing
- "Bud's Theme" (Instrumental) – Lisa GermanoLisa GermanoLisa Germano is an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released seven albums featuring her often-hushed vocal style, confessional lyrics, and distinctive violin. Her 1994 album Geek the Girl received widespread critical acclaim, including being featured as a top album of...
- "Cradle of the Interstate" – Nanci GriffithNanci GriffithNanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
- "Whiskey Burnin'" – Larry CraneLarry CraneLarry Crane is an American editor, recording engineer and archivist based in Portland, Oregon. Crane is the editor and founder of Tape Op Magazine, the owner of Portland's Jackpot! Recording Studio, a freelance engineer, and the archivist for musician Elliott Smith.-Career:Tape Op was started in...
- "Common Day Man" – Dwight YoakamDwight YoakamDwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
- "It Don't Scare Me None" – John MellencampJohn MellencampJohn Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
- "Searchin' for the Perfect Girl" – Pure Jam
- "All the Best" – John PrineJohn PrineJohn Prine is an American country/folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a recording artist and live performer since the early 1970s.-Biography:...
- "Hold Me Like You Used to Do" – Qkumbrz
- "Sweet Suzanne" – Buzzin' Cousins (John Mellencamp, Dwight Yoakam, John Prine, Joe Ely, James McMurtry)
- "Nothing's for Free" – John MellencampJohn MellencampJohn Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
- "Little Children" (Instrumental) – Lisa GermanoLisa GermanoLisa Germano is an American singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released seven albums featuring her often-hushed vocal style, confessional lyrics, and distinctive violin. Her 1994 album Geek the Girl received widespread critical acclaim, including being featured as a top album of...
- "Days Like These" – Janis IanJanis IanJanis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist, and science fiction author. Ian first entered the folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-sixties; most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century...
- "Falling from Grace" – Larry Rollins