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Mommie Dearest
1981
Based on the tell-all book by her adopted daughter Christina, MOMMIE DEAREST is the now-legendary tale of Hollywood superstar Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) and the lengths that she went to in order to maintain her public image. After several screen successes, Crawford's plan to stay on top in Tinseltown includes adopting two .. Read more
| Starring | Faye Dunaway, Steve Forrest, Howard Da Silva, Diana Scarwid |
|---|---|
| Director | Frank Perry |
| Genres | Drama |
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Mommie Dearest
Based on the tell-all book by her adopted daughter Christina, MOMMIE DEAREST is the now-legendary tale of Hollywood superstar Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway) and the lengths that she went to in order to maintain her public image. After several screen successes, Crawford's plan to stay on top in Tinseltown includes adopting two children, Christina and Christopher, whom she plans on spoiling with love and gifts. As her career flags and her lack of success in her relationships with men chip away at her constitution, Crawford's treatment of her children becomes more and more brutal. MOMMIE DEAREST is a subjective vision of life behind the closed doors of the Crawford household--a view into the sordid personal life of a narcissistic and domineering mother. Though this domestic horror tale is so over-the-top it that it is often celebrated as high camp, Dunaway's performance remains nothing short of astounding.
| Starring | Faye Dunaway, Steve Forrest, Howard Da Silva, Diana Scarwid, Mara Hobel, Rutanya Alda, Harry Goaz, Michael Edwards, Jocelyn Brando, Priscilla Pointer |
|---|---|
| Director | Frank Perry |
| Studio | PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 3 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 01 Mar 2004 Production year: 1981 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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This absolutely riveting biographical drama about Joan Crawford is based on her daughter Christina's vengeful memoir. Faye Dunaway is astonishing as Crawford, risen from rags to bitches, who still scrubs the floors, runs rings around studio bosses and creates a living hell for her daughter (brilliantly played by young Mara Hobel and, as she grows up, by Diana Scarwid). When Crawford yells “Tina! Bring me the axe!” because she wants to prune the roses, or when she screams “No wire hangers!”, the movie enters an asylum of its own. This is lavish and pretty accurate as far as Hollywood lore is concerned, but Dunaway makes Norma Desmond look like Doris Day.
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Good intentions to redress the balance of Christina Crawford's vengeful mother-fucker of a bestseller bio are in... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
I am not mad about you...I am mad about the dirt!
To the point : Hollywood thought the film Mommie Dearest might embellish Joan's reputation, but after seeing the film I have more respect for this legendary actress than ever. If the story was true, then one can only say that there was only miscommunication between the actress and the daughter and that Joan was too busy as an actress to be a good mother.
From the film Joan came across as:
(1) a professional actress who cared for work and fans. This should teach some now-a-day actresses a thing or two.
(2) a disciplinary mother (with some of the kids you see these days, you would agree with giving them an old fashion spank on the behind).
(3) a cleaning freak - a bit of Harriet Craig at times, but that's no big deal.
The coat hangers scene was very scary especially with the Baby Jane mask on, but any lover of clothes would agreed that one should respect his or her clothes and have proper hangers for them. Faye Dunaway has done a great job for this under rated film and deserves another Oscar for her performance. -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Too Much and Not Enough...
This mostly flat, movie-of-the-week style Biopic of celebrated Movie Goddess Joan Crawford famously showcases some unforgettably ludicrous and uncomfortable sequences, with an admittedly dead-ringer Faye Dunaway delivering a high-camp performance that flips wildly from moments of vain, child-like desperation to outbursts of obscene violence. The grand guignol excesses of her performance can't save the film from the by-the-numbers direction and the sloppy editing, however - but it's the source material itself here that ensures everything smacks of lazy tabloid journalism; As the final scene unwisely declares, the Story (or Tale) was concieved strictly as a revenge-piece.
It's a lucky girl who can live off the smeared name of her dead mother, and one thing's for sure - If Crawford had left her adopted children the rights to her fortune, this film would never have been made. As it stands, I doubt there has ever been such a drawn-out, hysterical and (predominantly) unprovable character assasination in Cinema history. -
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