Grace of My Heart

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Grace of My Heart

R

Released Sep 13, 1996

1h 56m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

Tomatometer

28 Reviews

79%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton (Illeana Douglas) wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner (John Turturro) recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt (Eric Stoltz). The ups and downs of Denise's career parallel the tumult of the 1960s pop scene.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

This is not the smoothest trip: the transitions are bumpy, the lip-synching's imperfect...But rough edges are more than offset by contagious vitality...It may not be precision-tooled, but it's triumphantly alive.

Feb 26, 2018

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Adam Mars-Jones

Independent (UK)

Edna Buxton... really wants to do is sing her own material, but there's no market for that in 1959. If her character were a song, you'd want her key changes to be less abrupt -- there's not much modulation.

Nov 15, 2017

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Globe and Mail

Rated: 1.5/4

Apr 12, 2002

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Anders explores things hardly any other director does.

Rated: B

Sep 1, 2022

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Sheila Reid

Women in the Life

Set in the late 50's and turbulent 60's, this is a rich reflection of the period in which a small town female singer/songwriter tries to make it big in show business.

May 16, 2022

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Mal Vincent

The Virginian-Pilot

Most interesting is the mix of original songs by songwriting teams from both the past and present, including Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach. Other writing contributors include Carole Bayer Sager, Los Lobos and Joni Mitchell.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 14, 2022

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dave e

This was a great movie about music in general. Loosely based around Brian Wilson, I loved this film and have seen it many times.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/10/24

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Richard H

This is one of my all time favorites. Incredible actors and a soundtrack of hits.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/07/24

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Steve D

For me it just dragged.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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Audience Member

I absolutely love this movie and so does my family. It has a great storyline depicting the change in music in the late 50's early 60's their writers and producers. It deals with social issues in the US at the time how money and success then rarely equalled wealth. The music tracks are fabulous.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

jon c

The story of the teenage musician of the rock n' roll era directed by Alison Anders Illeana Douglas plays Edna Buxton alongside Matt Dillon, John Tuturro, Eric Stoltz, Bridget Fonda, and Bruce Davison After she wins a talent contest she changes her name to Denise Waverly Then she moved to New York City to make it big as both a musician and a songwriter Joel Milner sees the potential inside her teaming her with songsmith Howard Cazatt This biopic shows her ups and downs of her music career parallel the tumult of the 1960s pop scene She goes through several romances, kids, and trying to stay trendy as time goes by She wants the public to know her music comes from her This movie is tad too long, some of the scene transitions are not-so-smooth but Douglas' performance shines as a woman finding her voice in a charming tale A very nice soundtrack helps it move along

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

Beautifully done ,the music ,the actors made this film engrossing and entertaining .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

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Allison Anders

Director

Illeana Douglas

Denise Waverly

Matt Dillon

Jay Phillips

Eric Stoltz

Howard Cazsatt

Bruce Davison

John Murray

Patsy Kensit-Healy

Cheryl Steed

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Synopsis

Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton (Illeana Douglas) wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner (John Turturro) recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt (Eric Stoltz). The ups and downs of Denise's career parallel the tumult of the 1960s pop scene.

Director: Allison Anders
Producer: Daniel Hassid, Ruth Charny
Screenwriter: Allison Anders
Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Gramercy Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Cappa Productions, Gramercy Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 27, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $646.9K
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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