Rock singer John Mellencamp makes his screen and directorial debut in this story by "Lonesome Dove" author, Larry McMurtry. The story, not too separated from Mellencamp's real life, finds him as a country music star whose meanderings and philandering has thrown his life into turmoil. Returning to his native Indiana to try to reestablish a normal life. Instead he takes up with an old lover (Lenz), ignoring his loving wife (Hemingway), and duplicating the lifestyle of his womanizing father (Akins).
Acting
Claude Akins as the monstrously charming father—steals every scene.
Direction
Mellencamp's surprisingly assured visual eye for rural decay.
Writing
Larry McMurtry's script: brutal, lean, no easy redemption.
Director
John Mellencamp
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mellencamp shot this entirely in his hometown of Seymour, Indiana, casting locals including his actual uncle. Method directing to the extreme.
This flopped so hard it killed Mellencamp's film career, but it's now a cult curiosity for 'musician vanity project' completionists. The 'Gigli' of heartland rock.
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