The year was 2007. Cinephiles, with eyes still bleary from the cannabis-induced haze from the day prior, tuned into to watch the April 21st episode of At The Movie With Ebert & Roeper. Eager to hear the late Roger Ebert’s thoughts on the Luke Wilson thriller Vacancy, they met an unfamiliar sight: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp. Perhaps the previous day’s hotboxing hadn’t worn off yet? Nope, that’s singer-songwriter and motion picture director John Mellencamp sitting next to regular co-host Richard Roeper for a round of film reviews.
Though not as professional as Roeper—how could anyone expect that—Mellencamp is a warm presence on the show, giving a “thumbs up” to every movie he reviews, like a father looking for the positives in their child’s artwork. Of course, this defeats the purpose of letting viewers know exactly what they should see that weekend, but we’ll let it slide because, well, he seems so happy to be there. Plus, he picks up on some of the Hitchcockian atmosphere of Vacancy and makes a good point comparing Lonely Hearts’ beautiful, star-studded cast to Bonnie And Clyde.
More importantly, it’s weird as hell seeing Mellencamp in this context. Though, as Roeper points out, he probably has more right to be there than anyone because he’s actually directed a movie: 1992’s Falling From Grace, in which he also starred.
Falling From Grace isn’t just any movie. It’s one that Ebert liked and gave four stars. “Mellencamp turns out to have a real filmmaking gift,” Ebert wrote at the time. “His film is perceptive and subtle, and doesn’t make the mistake of thinking that because something is real, it makes good fiction.” For the record, Roeper wrote a column about the movie, offering a moneyback guarantee if viewers didn’t like it.
But while many were probably missing Ebert’s acerbic jabs at these forgotten titles, Mellencamp leaves viewers with a solid recommendation: Grey Gardens. Hard to argue with that.