This vanity project for bland rocker John Mellencamp has him cast as Bud Parks, a successful country singer returning to his roots with his Californian wife, Alice (Mariel Hemingway), in tow after a life of meanderings and philandering.
He returns to his native Doak City, Indiana, to try to reestablish a normal life but instead takes up with his old high school sweetheart “PJ” (Kay Lenz), who is now married to his brother, Parker (Brent Huff) – yes, Parker Parks (!) – and also having an affair with Bud’s lecherous poultry farmer father, Speck (Claude Akins).
Meanwhile, Daddy Parks is eyeing up Alice with that lascivious way of his – until she clocks him with a skillet.
Mellencamp hardly sings a note in Falling From Grace, but his acting and directorial debut effectively captures the nuances of small-town American life without resorting to the usual cliches.
The story is a simple one which has the trashy makings of a hick town soap opera, but the characters are real, and the emotions run deep.
Aside from the tawdry sexual escapades, not much else happens in the film. Bud shoots pool with the boys, picks a fight with the old man, and gets himself all banged up in one of the strangest highway stunts, which must be a very local and very bizarre Indiana custom . . .
He clambers into a cage on the back of a pickup truck. He straps himself in, and the truck roars off down the highway. The cage is then kicked off the back of the truck, and it skids – sparks a-flying – down the asphalt as the good ol’ boys whoop and holler.
Perhaps it’s what kids do in Indiana if they’re too short for basketball.
Shooting in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana, Mellencamp gets all the little details right and evokes memorable performances from a cast that doesn’t really have a star in the bunch.
Larry Crane, a guitarist in Mellencamp’s band, turns in a fresh, unencumbered performance as Bud’s illegitimate half-brother, Ramey.
Bud Parks
John Mellencamp Alice Parks
Mariel Hemingway Speck Parks
Claude Akins Grandpa Parks
Dub Taylor P.J. Parks
Kay Lenz Ramey Parks
Larry Crane Linda
Kate Noonan Sally Cutler
Deirdre O’Connell Mitch Cutler
John Prine Parker Parks
Brent Huff Marian Parks
Joanne Jacobson Bobby Tucker
Tracy Cowles Terri Jo Parks
Melissa Ann Hackman Grandma Parks
Mary Tom Crain Country Club Manager
Sigmund Balaban Turdis
Gary Boebinger Luke
Toby Myers Mrs Pendergrass
Margie Hopper Mrs Sacks
Donna Cowles Mrs Green
Edna Ryan Booker
Director
John Mellencamp
You May Also Like
Misery (1990) This superb adaptation of Stephen King's bestseller from director Rob Reiner deals with the trappings of…
Romancing The Stone (1984) This dumb comic-book adventure has no comedy and is actually a less harrowing adventure than a…
Driller Killer, The (1979) Before making King Of New York (1990) and Bad Lieutenant (1992), filmmaker Abel Ferrara made this…
Missing (1982) Young American journalist and documentary filmmaker Charles Horman (John Shea) lives in Santiago, Chile, with his…
48 Hours (1982) 48 Hours is a Clint Eastwood movie without Clint Eastwood in it. Instead, it's got Nick Nolte,…
Six Bridges to Cross (1955) 14-year-old Boston gang leader Jerry Florea (Sal Mineo) is shot fleeing from a grocery store robbery…
Up In Smoke (1978) Two boys, Pedro (Richard "Cheech" Marin) and Man (Tommy Chong) search for some marijuana to aid…
Separate Tables (1958) The Beauregard Hotel in the English seaside town of Bournemouth during the off-season is the setting…
Aside from the tawdry sexual escapades, not much else happens in the film. Bud shoots pool with the boys, picks a fight with the old man, and gets himself all banged up in one of the strangest highway stunts, which must be a very local and very bizarre Indiana custom . . .
