"Mommie Dearest"- those two words send me (and countless others) into a fit of giggles. When I initially saw this movie as a high school junior, it really disturbed me. I was genuinely troubled by the abusive scenes in the earlier part of the film. However, even as a 17 year-old, I found a lot of unintentional humor in the movie- so much so that I was compelled to reenact several scenes for my friends (who thought the movie sounded hilarious). By the time college rolled around, I was introducing my friends to this movie whenever they came to my house. With a couple of years of drama school under my belt, I knew the necessary ingredients for good acting and good storytelling. The more I saw "MD", the more I realized that this movie contains very few- if any- of those ingredients. What it does contain is a plethora of priceless one-liners and glares delivered in moments of high melodrama. And thank heaven those moments never stop! How can you seriously be frightened by a woman who willingly screams "Tear down that BITCH of a bearing wall, and put a window where it OUGHT to be!"? And wouldn't you think twice about the mental condition of a 60-something woman who tries to play a 28 year-old bride-to-be in a soap opera("Mom loves every minute of it!")? And you gotta love a woman who can effectively emasculate every man in an executive boardroom with such fiery quips as "You drove Al Steele to his grave, and now you're trying to stab ME in the back- well FORGET IT!" and the rightfully famous "Dont' f*** with me fellas! This ain't my first time at the rodeo!". The movie never leaves me empathizing with Christina. Instead, I end up wishing that I could travel back in time to see the real behind-the-scenes Joan Crawford in action! Unfortunately for the real Christina, the movie failed at successfully exploring her anguish and frustrations in her relationship with her mother that were presented in the book. And while some of the scenes are effectively and truthfully played, the majority of the movie relies on over-the-top acting for its entertainment value due to a script and director that were shoddy at best. Fortunately for us, we were left with delightfully entertaining results.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Mommie Dearest
(1981)
"I can handle the socks"- Can you handle the laughs?
17 June 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Trog
(1970)
More priceless than "Showgirls"!
3 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
"Trog!"... Just thinking of Joan Crawford yelling that to a man in a shabby ape costume makes me laugh! There are way too many things about this movie that are laughable, so I won't go into detail. BUT if you love pure camp, dialogue that was written by a studio exec on crack, plot details that make no sense, generalized characters, and seeing a half man-half ape get fed with rubber lizards and put on a pretty pink scarf, then this is the movie for you. Please note: this is best seen with a group of friends and your favorite drink in hand. The first ten minutes are boring (despite the unintentional homoerotic dialogue), but if you make it through that, a veritable buffet of laughs, bad acting and random explosions will be your reward. Rent, buy, borrow, Netflix or Tivo it today!
Imitation of Life
(1934)
Remake is better than original
3 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I've seen the remake of this story, of which I'm a big fan, countless times, and I finally saw the original version over the weekend. Overall, the remake to is more believable and much more entertaining. The story is about two sets of moms and daughters; in the original they are Delilah and Peola (the black mom and daughter) and Bea and Jessie (white mom and daughter); in the remake they are renamed Annie and Sarah Jane (black) and Lora and Suzy (white). As a black man, the original left me angered in its depiction of black people; as an actor, it left me bored due to the painfully slow pace, bad acting, unnecessary dialogue, pointless camera shots and ludicrousness.
In the original, Delilah (black mom) is not a real person. Yes, blacks in the 1930's had to be subservient to whites, but Delilah takes her servant status too far. She forgoes financial independence in favor of continuing to be a maid and mammy to her white employers! In reality, blacks of the 30's would have jumped at the option of financial independence and stability over a lifetime of voluntary servitude. As other comments have stated, the original shows the black mom (Delilah) speaking in broken English, which portrays her as charmingly ignorant. Thankfully in the remake, the black mom (Annie) is smarter and more dignified as she uses mostly correct grammar and different tactics to get Sarah Jane (her daughter) to embrace her racial identity; in the original Delilah kept using the same weak excuse to force her daughter Peola to embrace her identity.
In the original version, the both daughters are poorly fleshed out. All we really know about them is that Peola doesn't want to be black, and that Jessie is on vacation from school and gets a crush on mom's boyfriend (who says he's 37, but is clearly at least 50). In the remake, we get to see beneath the surface of the daughters; we learn that Suzy feels unloved by her mother, and that Sarah Jane is willing to endure lies and heartbreak in order to have more opportunities in life. The remake also depicts the daughters as friends, while in the original, Jessie (white daughter) seems to care less about Peola's (black daughter's) situation or feelings.
The original's only advantage over the remake is the friendship between the mothers; it shows a greater arc of the women's relationship over time. To the original's credit, Bea is considerate of Delilah when she offers Delilah a small cut of the business profits; very few white women would have acknowledged a black woman with a business deal in the 30's. Bea and Delilah frankly and intimately discuss very personal issues, considering the era and their racial difference. Bea also repeatedly takes a sincere and active interest in helping Delilah through her difficulties with her daughter. In the remake, the mothers' relationship mostly remains on the maid/boss level, with Lora (white mom) showing occasional interest in Annie's (black mom) plight when it's convenient for Lora.
The remake has a higher entertainment value because it is in color, has a heightened sense of melodrama (gotta love Lana Turner's over the top acting), and is generally more glamorous (prettier actors, nicer costumes, the tried-and-true story of a struggling actress who makes it big, and the very elegant opening credits).
In the original, Delilah (black mom) is not a real person. Yes, blacks in the 1930's had to be subservient to whites, but Delilah takes her servant status too far. She forgoes financial independence in favor of continuing to be a maid and mammy to her white employers! In reality, blacks of the 30's would have jumped at the option of financial independence and stability over a lifetime of voluntary servitude. As other comments have stated, the original shows the black mom (Delilah) speaking in broken English, which portrays her as charmingly ignorant. Thankfully in the remake, the black mom (Annie) is smarter and more dignified as she uses mostly correct grammar and different tactics to get Sarah Jane (her daughter) to embrace her racial identity; in the original Delilah kept using the same weak excuse to force her daughter Peola to embrace her identity.
In the original version, the both daughters are poorly fleshed out. All we really know about them is that Peola doesn't want to be black, and that Jessie is on vacation from school and gets a crush on mom's boyfriend (who says he's 37, but is clearly at least 50). In the remake, we get to see beneath the surface of the daughters; we learn that Suzy feels unloved by her mother, and that Sarah Jane is willing to endure lies and heartbreak in order to have more opportunities in life. The remake also depicts the daughters as friends, while in the original, Jessie (white daughter) seems to care less about Peola's (black daughter's) situation or feelings.
The original's only advantage over the remake is the friendship between the mothers; it shows a greater arc of the women's relationship over time. To the original's credit, Bea is considerate of Delilah when she offers Delilah a small cut of the business profits; very few white women would have acknowledged a black woman with a business deal in the 30's. Bea and Delilah frankly and intimately discuss very personal issues, considering the era and their racial difference. Bea also repeatedly takes a sincere and active interest in helping Delilah through her difficulties with her daughter. In the remake, the mothers' relationship mostly remains on the maid/boss level, with Lora (white mom) showing occasional interest in Annie's (black mom) plight when it's convenient for Lora.
The remake has a higher entertainment value because it is in color, has a heightened sense of melodrama (gotta love Lana Turner's over the top acting), and is generally more glamorous (prettier actors, nicer costumes, the tried-and-true story of a struggling actress who makes it big, and the very elegant opening credits).
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