Why wasn't this movie very recognized?
I mean it had low key actors? Is that it?
It had low key actors but it was BIG on story line and the actors were BIG on talent. So why?
I watched it tonight and I didn't think it was very good. It's a great story, sure, but the writing wasn't very strong and some of the acting came off weak at times. It reminded me of that movie from the 70's "You Light Up My Life".
There's a story there. The Carly Simon/Joni Mitchell/Carole King story but, both movies went the melodramatic route and blew the opportunity to tell it.
I agree strongly with the above poster. I remember "You Light Up My Life" and I know Debbie Boone sang the song in the film but the scene in which she sang the title cut seemed overdubbed as if she was lip syncing.
I got the same feeling with Illeana Douglas musical "performances" in this flick. The piano playing alone was distracting, you don't lift your elbows when you play piano, it looked very unrealistic, and in the final musical scene they show her doing some awkward arm movements with her hands hidden behind the piano, then a shot of someone else's hands actually playing. The vocals sounded "over produced" and it was obvious she was lip syncing.
Imagine if another actress had played the lead in The Rose and was lip syncing the entire time, wow that would've been a complete bummer, which I believe is what held this film back making it mediocre at best.
It's a shame they didn't cast a real singer/song writer who could actual perform and sing the pieces.
Kristen Vigard, who actually voiced all of Edna's songs, is an actress in her own right. However, at the time this film came out she would have been too old for the part by a few years or so and that's why Illeana was cast. Ileanna, for the record, is a great actress who did her Meisner training in NY and has played in several movies since. She comes from Hollywood Royalty as her grandfather was Melvyn Douglas.
The biggest problem with any movie like this is finding a "Sammy Davis" or "Rita Moreno" actor. I mention those two because they were all singing all dancing. In fact, Moreno is one of the few to hold all of the major awards. If they could just have found someone like Moreno who fit the mold of Edna that could act and sing as well as play the piano it would have been awesome. Beyond this, I still love this film and it holds a special place in my heart.
I adore this movie 💟
I love the soundtrack, the time periods, the Edna/Denise character and following the arc of her experiences/life, and I think Illeana Douglas and John Turturro were fabulous in it, especially the scenes that focused mainly on the two of them.
"There's a band playing on the radio ~ With a rhythm of rhyming guitars"