''Angels in Stardust'' is a 2014 American

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film written and directed by William Robert Carey and starring

Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...

AJ Michalka Amanda Joy Michalka ( ; born April 10, 1991) is an American actress, musician and singer-songwriter who is best known as one half of the musical duo Aly & AJ (briefly 78violet), alongside her older sister Aly Michalka. She has appeared in films ...

and Billy Burke. The film is Carey's

directorial debut This is a list of film directorial debuts in chronological order. The films and dates referred to are a director's first commercial cinematic release. Many filmmakers have directed works which were not commercially released, for example early work ...

, and is based on his own novel ''Jesus in Cowboy Boots'', released in 2013. It was released in theaters and on

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

on February 21, 2014. The film was re-released in 2016 under its original title, ''Jesus in Cowboy Boots''. The "Angels in Stardust" title, invented by the first distributor, was designed to put the film at the beginning of the alphabetical pay-per-view lists. Unfortunately, the title was antithetical to the film's story and themes. In 2021, Carey wrote a memoir, ''How Not to Make a Movie: An Independent Filmmaker in Hollywood Hell'', about his trials and tribulations of making the film.

Plot

Vallie Sue Russell, an imaginative small-town girl, living in a dusty Texas community built on an abandoned drive-in movie lot turns to an

imaginary friend Imaginary friends (also known as pretend friends, invisible friends or made-up friends) are a psychological and a social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than physical reali ...

, The Cowboy, for solace from her self-absorbed mother and the dangerous world around her. A mysterious Native American, Tenkill, and two local lowlifes turn Vallie Sue's world upside down, changing her life forever.

Cast

as Tammy Russell *

as Vallie Sue Russell * Billy Burke as The Cowboy *

Amelia Rose Blaire Amelia Rose Blaire Dechart is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Willa Burrell on the HBO series ''True Blood'' and Piper Shaw on the MTV series ''Scream (TV series), Scream''. Career Blaire studied acting at age 15 when she fi ...

as Loretta *

Michael Spears Michael Spears (born December 28, 1977) is an Indigenous American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wičaša Lakota from the Lower Brulé Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Early life Michael Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota near the Lower ...

as Tenkill *

Jeannetta Arnette Jeannetta Arnette is an American actress. She became known for her television role as Miss Meara on the situation comedy ''Head of the Class''. She has also appeared in numerous films, including 1992's '' Ladybugs'' and 1999's '' Boys Don't Cry'' ...

as Jacqueline Windsor *

Chandler Massey Chandler Abit Massey (born September 10, 1990)"Will & Grace". ''Soap Opera Digest''. October 30, 2017. pg. 44. is an American actor and singer, best known for his portrayal of Will Horton on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. Mass ...

as Angelo *Sierra Fisk as Principal *Dennis Cockrum as Mr. Sunday *Darin Heams as Old Ray * Tyler Riggs as Mickey *Adam Taylor as Pleasant Russell *Kelly Ramel as Francine

References

External links

* * 2014 films 2010s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2014 directorial debut films 2014 independent films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American independent films Films based on American novels Films shot in California Films set in Texas 2010s English-language films 2010s American films English-language comedy-drama films English-language independent films {{2010s-US-drama-film-stub