The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Movie: The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Nominated for: Best Actress, Best Make-Up and Hairstyling

How I watched: HBO Max

When I fell asleep: Nope, day screening!

When it had me: Tammy's tragic childhood

When it lost me: Third act drug on a bit

What I have to say:

Michael Showalter is dipping his toe into more dramatic projects and I think it's working. The Eyes of Tammy Faye is NOT a comedy but I still appreciate the differences that happen when someone with a sense of humor is directing a dramatic film. There is a bigger element of the absurd and an invitation to laugh at real life, rather than an emphasis on overdramatizing events.

Tammy Faye was not allowed to go to church and get saved as a child because her mom was embarrassed and scandalized by her presence (she was the daughter of a former marriage and divorce was frowned upon.) This info was delivered with a sort of frankness that simply acknowledged the strangeness of such a stance rather than amped up as a tragic moment. However, I still took it in as unbelievably sad! I can't imagine the pain of being a child raised in a religious family and being denied salvation. That is horrifying! It didn't need to be dramatized for it to have an impact on me and I think that's what I like about Showalter's approach.

So much of this movie was creepy. Both Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield have cheek implants at one point. I couldn't tell if the choice was strictly to make them look like those real life characters or to exaggerate their constant cheerfulness! It was a little off putting but effective nonetheless. The whole battle between religion being about finding a connection with God versus becoming a big profitable business is fraught with so much moral ambiguity (and sometimes depravity) and creates a lot of discomfort for the viewer. 

I never knew much about Tammy Faye, beyond her 15 minutes in the 1980s. It was interesting to learn that she was a very non-judgmental Christian and kind of a progressive hero within her own sect of Christianity. The movie does make her a likable, if totally tragic figure. 

Once the movie got into the scandal territory, I got impatient. I knew more of what had gone on in this era and I wished they would speed it up and manage a quick ending. That is so difficult to do in a bio-pic and this definitely felt like it lingered past any enjoyable dramatic arc.