grace of my heart

Director: allison anders

Actor: illeana douglas,john turturro,sissy boyd,christina pickles

Data Published: Fri Sep 13 1996

Genres: Comedy,Drama,Music

Key Words: f rated,title directed by female,songwriter,singer songwriter,rock band

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116442/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_of_My_Heart

Description: Grace of My Heart is a movie starring Illeana Douglas, John Turturro, and Sissy Boyd. An aspiring singer, Denise Waverly/Edna Buxton, sacrifices her own singing career to write hit songs that launch the careers of other singers. The...

Plot: The film opens in the year 1958 where Edna Buxton (Illeana Douglas) is a steel heiress living in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, who wants to be a singer and enters a talent contest. The story begins with a conversation between herself and her mother (Christina Pickles) with regard to what she will sing and what she will wear. At her mother's insistence, she reluctantly makes a plan to sing "You'll Never Walk Alone." Edna is even less thrilled about her mother's choice of wardrobe, calling it uncomfortable. Her mother responds with a cutting remark, "Perhaps it's not the dress. Perhaps it's you who doesn't fit, dear." Backstage at the contest, she meets a blues singer named Doris Shelley (Jennifer Leigh Warren). Doris advises Edna to follow her heart, and the two women trade dresses. Clad in Doris’s sleek black dress, Edna sings "Hey There" instead. Despite the fact that she wins the contest, she loses the respect of her mother, who has since left the theater in humiliation. An excited Edna decides to use her grand prize winnings to record a demo. The studio producer (Richard Schiff) tactfully delivers the painful truth to Edna that not only are girl singers not getting signed, the record companies are trying to get rid of the ones currently on their rosters. When she tells him that she wrote the song, he is impressed enough to direct her to Joel Milner (John Turturro) who takes her under his wing, renames her "Denise Waverly" and invents a blue-collar persona for her. Milner reworks her song for a male doo-wop group, the Stylettes, as male solo artists are groups are far more marketable. The song becomes a hit. Denise (formerly Edna) moves to New York City and becomes a songwriter in the Brill Building. At a party, she meets the arrogant songwriter Howard Caszatt (Eric Stoltz), and despite an awkward initial meeting they become romantically involved. She also reunites with Doris, who is not only singing at the party that night, but apologizes for keeping Denise’s expensive dress after all that time. She insists it was because she wasn’t sure how or where to return it. Meanwhile, Denise offers to and writes a song specifically for Doris and her two girlfriends. She persuades a reluctant Milner to audition the group. Milner likes the group and the song Denise has written, and renames the group The Luminaries. In 1965, at Howard's insistence, he and Denise begin writing together; partly out of respect for her talent, but primarily because she's had greater mainstream and commercial success. His songs had been deemed "too controversial" and had been repeatedly banned from radio airplay. She overhears an argument between Sha-Sha (Kathy Barbour)’s niece Annie (Tracy Vilar) and her boyfriend. It turns out the young teen is pregnant. Denise and Howard pen the song “Unwanted Number” based on the girl’s struggle. Although it's banned, it attracts the attention of prominent and influential disc jockey John Murray (Bruce Davison) who, despite the negative attention of the song, credits Denise with sparking the craze for girl groups. Denise then suggests that she and Howard should write a wedding-themed song for the Luminaries. Howard says he doesn't believe in marriage, but when Denise reveals that she is pregnant with Howard's child, they are married and have a daughter. Life is idyllic for Denise with a family and successful songwriting career. Milner then recruits the beautiful English songwriter Cheryl Steed (Patsy Kensit), who immediately catches Howard’s eye, and ultimately Denise’s disdain. Cheryl immediately diffuses the flirtation by informing the couple that she already has a songwriting partner—her husband Matthew (Chris Isaak). Joel tasks Denise and Cheryl with collaboration on a song for the ingénue singer Kelly Porter (Bridget Fonda). The women protest but, nevertheless, bond over the realization that the young songstress is in a closeted lesbian relationship. Their song “My Secret Love” is the hit that is born out of this situation. Denise arrives home unexpectedly and finds Howard in bed with another woman; not long afterward, she learns that she is pregnant with Howard's second baby; Cheryl convinces her to see an obstetrician, who safely performs an illegal abortion. Denise and Cheryl then become close friends. Over the next few years, Denise throws herself into her work and becomes highly successful. Having broken up with Howard, she has a brief but unhappy affair with the married John Murray, which ends when he moves with his family to Chicago. In 1970, Denise is despondent over the end of her affair with Murray. As a means of cheering her up, he finally offers to send her to the studio to sing for herself. As added incentive, he offers the production assistance of California wunderkind Jay Phillips to produce her single. She’s initially hesitant, saying she finds the whole "surf and turf" sound laughable. She writes and sings "God Give Me Strength," and is delighted by Jay's skillful orchestral arrangement. Her record, however, bombs. Between the loss suffered by her foundering single and the advent of the British invasion. Milner's fortunes are depleted. Denise blames herself for making the song too personal and bankrupting Joel. He tells her she did more for him than she realized and that it was time for then both to move on. Denise and Jay become a couple and resettle in California. Things seem fine for a while; Annie has stayed on to help take care of Denise’s daughter Luna, and the child becomes like a sister to Annie’s son. Jay is affectionate and showers love on both children, but is reclusive and a user of recreational drugs like marijuana and peyote. He disapproves of Denise writing songs for television-she’s since joined forces with the newly divorced Cheryl who is writing Los Angeles for a Bubblegum pop TV show called Where the Action Is. He insists that it's beneath her and hopes that she'll fail. Jay's behavior becomes more erratic-He becomes increasingly paranoid. His songwriting becomes too avant garde and his band mates distance themselves from him. He takes the children on an outing, and comes home, having completely forgotten them. When the police bring them home safely, Jay realizes what he’s done and drifts into a deep depression causing him to become even more isolated. The depression seemingly abates after a visit from his friend "Jonesy", who reminds him of the things that are important in his life, including his "groovy new old lady", Denise. Thinking that the worst is over, Denise invites Jay to join her and Cheryl at the Whiskey a Go-Go to hear Doris (who embarked on a solo career in LA when The Luminaries broke up) and her new boyfriend sing. Jay begs off, saying he's got a song idea he wants to explore. He promises a night of lovemaking when she returns. While the women celebrate, Jay is revealed to be still in the throes of his depression; having put on a brave face for Denise's benefit. He walks into the ocean, taking his own life. Denise is further distraught to discover that Jay's fans blame her for not stopping his death. Numbed by Jay's death, Denise retires with her family to a hippie commune in Northern California and tries to make sense of everything that has happened. A year or two later, Joel Milner visits Denise at the commune and takes her and the children to dinner. That night, he criticizes how far down she's allowed her grieving to take her and that it's destroying her and her talent. Denise angrily lashes out, and she tells Milner that he'd be nothing without her success. He agrees, and the more he agrees with the angrier she becomes. She strikes him then collapses in tears, grieving for Jay. Milner consoles her and the two are reconciled. With Joel's help and Jay's spiritual guidance from beyond, Denise is able to put the pieces of her life together to create what will become the platinum-selling work Grace of My Heart. As she lays down the piano track for the song, her life is recounted in pictures; leading to the moment when her own mother receives a copy of her album in the mail with a handwritten note. Seemingly proud of her daughter's success, she smiles. Denise finally finds her fit after all.