Chris Shearer Movies

Illeana Douglas delivers a superb performance as Denise Waverly, a fictional singer and songwriter whose life bears more than a passing resemblance to that of real-life pop star Carole King. Edna Buxton, the daughter of a Philadelphia steel tycoon, aspires to a career as a singer, and when against her mother's bidding she sings a sultry version of "Hey There (You With the Stars in Your Eyes)" (instead of Mom's choice, "You'll Never Walk Alone") at a talent contest, she wins a recording contact and moves to New York City. She cuts a record and gains a new stage name, Denise Waverly; however, she soon finds that girl singers are a dime a dozen in the Big Apple and her career as a vocalist goes nowhere. But she has a knack for writing songs, and eccentric producer Joel Milner (John Turturro) asks her to pen some songs for his upcoming projects. Teamed with Howard Caszatt (Eric Stoltz), a hipster songwriter who wants to express his political and social ideals through pop tunes, she finds both a successful collaborator and husband. While her work with Howard gains Denise writing credits on a string of hit records and respect within the industry, their marriage falls apart, and she becomes involved with Jay Phillips (Matt Dillon), the gifted but unstable leader of a popular West Coast surf music combo. Students of pop music history will have a ball with the various characters modeled after real-life rock legends, and the 1960s-style song score includes numbers written by Joni Mitchell and J. Mascis (of the band Dinosaur Jr.), as well as one-time King collaborator Gerry Goffin; a collaboration between Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach, "God Give Me Strength," led to a full album written by the two great tunesmiths. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this semi-improvised look at life along the edges of L.A.'s rock scene, Chris D. (real name Chris Desjardins, leader of the L.A. punk band The Flesh Eaters) plays Jeff, a singer/songwriter who has suddenly gone missing. Two of his friends, bandmate Dean (John Doe, from the group X) and faithful roadie Chris (Chris Shearer), seem anxious to get in touch with him, and with good reason: Jeff and his band were stiffed by a club owner on payment for a recent gig, so they broke into the club's safe and took off with the loot. Now Jeff and the money have vanished, and Dean and Chris are torn between their concern for their friend's safety and their need to get their hands on the cash. Meanwhile, Jeff wanders aimlessly in Mexico, seemingly content after cutting himself off from the turmoil of his life in Los Angeles. Border Radio features members of several important California punk and roots bands in significant roles, including Dave Alvin of The Blasters and Texacala Jones of Tex and the Horseheads; Green on Red are shown playing a club date and The Lazy Cowgirls are featured on the soundtrack. Co-directors Allison Anders, Dean Lent, and Kurt Voss were UCLA film students who met while working on the crew of Wim Wenders's Paris, Texas; Anders went on to make several notable features, including Gas Food Lodging and Grace of My Heart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide