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Mommy Dearest
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
What can one say about Faye Dunaway's performance in Mommie Dearest (1981)? Based on Christina Crawford's memoir of her struggles with her adoptive mother, Hollywood superstar Joan Crawford, the film wallows in a vicious character assassination that's shocking even in the land of spotlights and scandals. Whether or not Crawford actually behaved the way Christina remembers and Dunaway portrays is beside the point. Her life and her work will forever be remembered as an extraordinary camp hoot, an insane set of fits and nervous breakdowns that left lives in ruin. How does Dunaway inhabit this screen legend? She seems like an evil monster as a drag queen. Her face is painted on in thick makeup, her eyebrows drawn on severely and her lipstick blood red. Her behavior is so completely neurotic and obsessive compulsive that after a while no tantrum or whooping comes as a surprise. While it seems impossible to believe that anyone could act this way it does make for compelling viewing. Dunaway might as well be playing Grendel's mother. With her kabuki makeup and endless arsenal of physical and psychological weapons she is like an unstoppable torture machine. In light of this much madness none of the characters are ever really developed beyond what's needed. Mara Hobel as the young Christina is just too cute, but the indignities she suffers make her a martyr to true Hollywood trauma. Diana Scarwid has less screentime in the more rushed second half as the teenage Christina. In fact, some characters disappear entirely: An adopted son spends the first half inexplicably strapped to his bed (there's that domestic torture again!) and then goes unmentioned for almost an hour only to reappear briefly in the final scenes. Still, this sort of choppiness only helps Mommie Dearest achieve the atmosphere of weirdness that has helped cement its legend. VIDEO:
The anamorphic video looks good. Colors are muted at times and the vibrant and attention-grabbing when Joan sports a particularly intriguing outfit or makeup style. The sets are as sumptuous as Douglas Sirk's and only help remind that the drama that occurs in them is so tawdry. There is some dirt on the print but nothing unforgivable. AUDIO:
The soundtrack is presented in 5.1 surround and in a restored version of the original mono. Not exactly a tour de force of sound design, either track is fine. The 5.1 gives a little extra punch to Dunaway's tirades. The film is also available in French mono and with English subtitles.EXTRAS:
A trailer and a photo gallery are included. FINAL THOUGHTS:
Few movies are as known for being as trashy as Momm ie Dearest. It holds endless fascinations: The destruction of a Hollywood icon, crazy dialog and images, Faye Dunaway trashing her perfectly good career. In other words, a must see.
What can one say about Faye Dunaway's performance in Mommie Dearest (1981)? Based on Christina Crawford's memoir of her struggles with her adoptive mother, Hollywood superstar Joan Crawford, the film wallows in a vicious character assassination that's shocking even in the land of spotlights and scandals. Whether or not Crawford actually behaved the way Christina remembers and Dunaway portrays is beside the point. Her life and her work will forever be remembered as an extraordinary camp hoot, an insane set of fits and nervous breakdowns that left lives in ruin. How does Dunaway inhabit this screen legend? She seems like an evil monster as a drag queen. Her face is painted on in thick makeup, her eyebrows drawn on severely and her lipstick blood red. Her behavior is so completely neurotic and obsessive compulsive that after a while no tantrum or whooping comes as a surprise. While it seems impossible to believe that anyone could act this way it does make for compelling viewing. Dunaway might as well be playing Grendel's mother. With her kabuki makeup and endless arsenal of physical and psychological weapons she is like an unstoppable torture machine. In light of this much madness none of the characters are ever really developed beyond what's needed. Mara Hobel as the young Christina is just too cute, but the indignities she suffers make her a martyr to true Hollywood trauma. Diana Scarwid has less screentime in the more rushed second half as the teenage Christina. In fact, some characters disappear entirely: An adopted son spends the first half inexplicably strapped to his bed (there's that domestic torture again!) and then goes unmentioned for almost an hour only to reappear briefly in the final scenes. Still, this sort of choppiness only helps Mommie Dearest achieve the atmosphere of weirdness that has helped cement its legend. VIDEO:
The anamorphic video looks good. Colors are muted at times and the vibrant and attention-grabbing when Joan sports a particularly intriguing outfit or makeup style. The sets are as sumptuous as Douglas Sirk's and only help remind that the drama that occurs in them is so tawdry. There is some dirt on the print but nothing unforgivable. AUDIO:
The soundtrack is presented in 5.1 surround and in a restored version of the original mono. Not exactly a tour de force of sound design, either track is fine. The 5.1 gives a little extra punch to Dunaway's tirades. The film is also available in French mono and with English subtitles.EXTRAS:
A trailer and a photo gallery are included. FINAL THOUGHTS:
Few movies are as known for being as trashy as Momm ie Dearest. It holds endless fascinations: The destruction of a Hollywood icon, crazy dialog and images, Faye Dunaway trashing her perfectly good career. In other words, a must see.
Gil Jawetz is a graphic designer, video director, and t-shirt designer. He lives in Brooklyn.
E-mail Gil at [email protected]
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