Grace of My Heart poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Illeana Douglas, Matt Dillon, John Turturro, Eric Stoltz, Bruce Davison ... see more see more... , Patsy Kensit , Jennifer Leigh Warren , Bridget Fonda , Lynne Adams , Sissy Boyd , Robert Brunner , David Clennon , Lucinda Jenney , Albert Macklin , Jeff McDonald , Steve McDonald , John Nacco , Christina Pickles , Redd Kross , Diane Robin , Richard Schiff , Chris Shearer , Kristen Vigard , Tegan West , Peter Fonda , Chris Isaak , J. Mascis , Martin Valinsky , Amanda De Cadenet , China Kantner , Shawn Colvin , Drena De Niro , Jade Gordon , Tracy Vilar , Brian Reitzell , Kathy Barbour , Natalie Venetia Belcon , Buster , Precious Chong , Alice Cohen , Paige Dylan , Christina Ehrich , For Real , Melanie A. Gage , Delia Gonzalez , Lita Hernandez , Alicia Jaffee , Deidre Lewis , Irving Eugene Washington , Jill Sobule , Brittany English Stevens , Lita Stevens , Eric A. Stromer , Andrew Williams , Johnny Thomas III , Harry Victor , Kurt Jackson , Eric Jerome Kirkland , David Andrews , Larry Klein

Illeana Douglas delivers a superb performance as Denise Waverly, a fictional singer and songwriter whose life bears more than a passing resemblance to that of real-life pop star Carole King. Edna Buxt... read more read more...on, the daughter of a Philadelphia steel tycoon, aspires to a career as a singer, and when against her mother's bidding she sings a sultry version of "Hey There (You With the Stars in Your Eyes)" (instead of Mom's choice, "You'll Never Walk Alone") at a talent contest, she wins a recording contact and moves to New York City. She cuts a record and gains a new stage name, Denise Waverly; however, she soon finds that girl singers are a dime a dozen in the Big Apple and her career as a vocalist goes nowhere. But she has a knack for writing songs, and eccentric producer Joel Milner (John Turturro) asks her to pen some songs for his upcoming projects. Teamed with Howard Caszatt (Eric Stoltz), a hipster songwriter who wants to express his political and social ideals through pop tunes, she finds both a successful collaborator and husband. While her work with Howard gains Denise writing credits on a string of hit records and respect within the industry, their marriage falls apart, and she becomes involved with Jay Phillips (Matt Dillon), the gifted but unstable leader of a popular West Coast surf music combo. Students of pop music history will have a ball with the various characters modeled after real-life rock legends, and the 1960s-style song score includes numbers written by Joni Mitchell and J. Mascis (of the band Dinosaur Jr.), as well as one-time King collaborator Gerry Goffin; a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, "God Give Me Strength," led to a full album written by the two great tunesmiths. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

72% liked it

2,417 ratings

Critics

77% liked it

22 critics

R, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Allison Anders

Release Date: September 13, 1996

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: April 18, 2000

Get It:

Stats: 116 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Grace of My Heart Grace of My Heart
Upload a Photo | View All Grace of My Heart Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (116)

  • xxdebxx
    April 23, 2011
    xxdebxx
    Grace of my Heart is loosely based on the life of real life singer/songwriter Carol King who yearns to break free of her privileged suburban upbringing to become a pop music singer but instead defers her dreams of pop stardom settling for a career as a songwriter.

    Moving to Ne... read morew York she meets famous song manager Joel Millner (John Tuturro) who helps her on the road to stardom and becomes her lifelong friend and confidant.

    Changing her name to Denise Waverley she writes a number of hits and becomes a famous and much sought after name in the music industry. She faces a lot of tragedies including the suicide of her husband Brian Wilson (played by Matt Dillon) but she overcomes all the hardship and gets her life back on track and produces and brings out her own new album which sells over a million copies.

    Illeana Douglas does a credible turn in the title role, Patsy Kensit plays Denise's longtime songwriting partner and loyal gal pal Cheryl Steed and a very young Bridget Fonda portrays the teenage closeted lesbian and pop singer Kelly Porter.
  • ileo
    December 10, 2007
    ileo
    A personal favorite. Love it.
  • MovieGuruDude72
    August 7, 2010
    MovieGuruDude72
    A great movie if you're a fan of Illeana Douglas. She has some considerable talent in her signing ability. The story hinges around the success of Douglas and her cohorts as they try to become pop icons when pop music started taking off in the 50s, 60s and 70s. A wholesome melodra... read morema with very little deviation from the norm. Sometimes that's a good thing if it's done right. This is.
  • arynne23
    December 19, 2008
    arynne23
    Very good movie!!! Good Music too. Matt Dillon reminds me of The wilson Beach Boy, just how he turns out evenutally. Illeana Douglas did a great job in this one..Love it!
  • KRider555
    April 6, 2006
    KRider555
    Big fan of Illeana Douglas & loved watching her act alongside John Toturro. Could've been tightened up a bit here and there, but was still a good story that indeed reminded me of Carole King.

View All Grace of My Heart Reviews

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy
June 7, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

The lead, Ileana Douglas, is good, but the musical film suffers from repetitive structure and lack of sufficiently interesting ideas. Full Review

Michael Dequina
September 10, 2005
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

An intelligent, engaging comedy-drama that will have audiences tapping their toes and running off to buy the soundtrack. Full Review

Josh Bell
February 26, 2004
Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly

Sweetly nostalgic and strangely comforting.

Frank Wilkins
December 3, 2003
Frank Wilkins, ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Illeana Douglas grabs onto her first starring role with passion and conviction. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
August 27, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

Pean to creativity and a celebration of one woman's indomitable creativity. Full Review

David Rooney
March 31, 2009
David Rooney, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

April 12, 2002
Globe and Mail

Click to read the article Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

No review available.

Jack Mathews
February 14, 2001
Jack Mathews, Los Angeles Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Janet Maslin
January 1, 2000
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

This list looks lonely.
Add a suggestion!

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Grace of My Heart : Watch Free on TV

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Grace of My Heart. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Grace of My Heart to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?