The Eyes of Tammy Faye
★ ★★ ½
Even though the Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker scandal happened when I was a little kid, I'm a product (for better or worse) of the Baptist church, so I have always been familiar with the story. But like most headlines, I really didn't know the details of the story. Biopic films of this nature have been an enticing lure for audiences of late and you always have to take it with a grain of salt. There are two sides to every story, which makes me more fascinated to see the documentary that this film is based on. But it's hard not to leave this movie feeling more empathy for Tammy Faye. I don't think she should be completely let off the hook, which I think this film fairly portrays, but it will certainly make you perceive her in a different light. Tammy Faye was trolled in pop culture before there ever was a term and no person should face that scrutiny. Jessica Chastain does an amazing job of transforming into Tammy and helps make her into more of a person than a caricature.
There is a darkness that I think director Michael Showalter still avoids. If you think politics is bad, I don't think you have truly seen how dark politics in the church system can be. This film has a gloss to it that still seems to downplay the corruption and the adultery that occurred. It makes the material seem like a fever dream but that is probably how most people in the 80s must have felt. I found the material a little more fascinating because of my Christian upbringing, but I don't know if the material is compelling enough for those who weren't brought up in the church. I enjoyed the movie overall and I think it's worth somebody's time, but it's hard not to see a better movie that could have come out of the source material. Especially with such a strong performance from Chastain.
