Falling from Grace (1992)

Rocker John Mellencamp's feature-film acting and directing debut, Falling From Grace, never found much of an audience — and it probably won't do better on video, a medium usually kinder to such small-scale fare. The film is pitched to adults, and it's basically a downer. The script, by Larry McMurtry (The Last Picture Show), about a pop singer who goes back to his small hometown and reinvolves himself with relatives and friends (including his married high school sweetheart), is strictly slice-of-life by the numbers. Mellencamp's direction is short on visual style, though he's good with his actors (particularly Claude Akins). But before long, you just don't care about what's bugging any of these people. B-