The best John Doe’s drama movies

Set in 1977, back when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, idealistic porn producer Jack Horner aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams' rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, "Dirk Diggler". Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams' dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.

Best friends Alice and Darlene take a trip to Thailand after graduating high school. In Thailand, they meet a captivating Australian man, who calls himself Nick Parks. Darlene is particularly smitten with Nick and convinces Alice to take Nick up on his offer to treat the two of them to what amounts to a day trip to Hong Kong. In the airport, the girls are seized by the police and shocked to discover that one of their bags contains heroin.

The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.

A discount store clerk strikes up an affair with a stock boy who considers himself the incarnation of Holden Caulfield.

Four friends search for love and happiness while working at a California sandwich shop.

Neal Cassady is living the beat life during the 1940s, working at The Tire Yard and and philandering around town. However, he has visions of a happy life with kids and a white picket fence. When his girlfried, Joan, tries to kill herself he gets scared and runs away. But when Joan reappears will he take the chance at that happiness, or will he turn his back on it?

When Juvenal, a presumed miracle worker, appears on the scene Bill Hill attempts to exploit him but his plans go astray with the untimely intervention of August Murray and the developing relationship between Juvenal and Lynn Faulkner.

Sadie looks up to her older sister Georgia, a successful folk singer who's happily married with children, but can't break out of the bar-band circuit and hit the big time she desperately covets. It's in part due to her attraction to drugs and booze, and also to her own unwise choice in men. Finally, though, Sadie's Achilles heel is a rough, unlovely voice very different than her sister's crowd-pleasing singing.

A musical version of the classic story set in the modern day.

The story of a desperate young couple on the run, who seek refuge in Kansas City.

Dusty Chandler (Strait) is a super star in the country music world, but his shows have the style of a '70s rock concert. One day he takes a walk - out of his overdone concerts to find his real country roots. He's helped and hindered by friends and staff, but pushes on in his search for a real music style as well as a real romance.

Sid and Nancy screenplay author Abbe Wool makes her directorial debut with this tale of a factory worker name Joe (X front man John Doe) who hits the road on his Harley to scatter the ashes of a co-worker. Joined by wannabe biker Sam (Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys), Joe journeys from Los Angeles to Nevada, meeting all sorts of characters (played by the likes of David Carradine, John Cusack, Timothy Leary and Arlo Guthrie) along the way.

Two young misfits head for New York City to celebrate their idol and muse, Stevie Nicks, at The Night of 1,000 Stevies. Along the road, in order for them to escape their painful pasts, they must discover their strengths and learn self-acceptance.

In 1950s America, teenage rebellion comes easy when something like rock 'n' roll is viewed as sinful. Looking to have a good time while they're young, Susan, Cookie and Tony -- three teenagers from a small town -- start a nightclub where host Danny Klay introduces the newest rock 'n' roll talent, and everyone can dance the night away. Of course, not everyone in town is happy with the new establishment.

“Ring of Fire” recounts June’s meteoric rise to fame with The Carter Family, considered the First Family of country music, before breaking out on her own to perform, when she would become a legend in her own right. Taking a personal look at June’s first two marriages, life with her daughters and touching relationship with her son, the movie showcases her infamous courtship with Cash and June’s heroic role in saving his life during his battles with substance abuse, as well as how her unwavering faith in God, confidence and talent has taught lessons to generations.

Before carving out a niche as one of the most distinct voices in nineties American cinema, Allison Anders made her debut, alongside codirectors and fellow UCLA film school students Kurt Voss and Dean Lent, with 1987’s Border Radio. A low-key, semi-improvised postpunk diary that took four years to complete, Border Radio features legendary rocker Chris D., of the Flesh Eaters, as a singer/songwriter who has stolen loot from a club and gone missing, leaving his wife (Luanna Anders), a no-nonsense rock journalist, to track him down with the help of his friends (John Doe of the band X; Chris Shearer). With its sprawling Southern Californian and Mexican landscapes, captured in evocative 16mm black and white, Border Radio is a singular, DIY memento of the indie film explosion in America.