Delayed Reaction: Mommie Dearest

The Pitch: Joan Crawford lived such a boring life. Might as well make it a little more interesting.

This movie was almost destined to be a disappointment. It's one of the more infamous movies around. It's a camp classic with an unhinged actress playing and unhinged actress. It almost pulled off a full Razzie sweep.

You know what, though? I thought it was ok. Overall, it was a biopic that can't resist histrionics. While Faye Dunaway's performance is as big as it could be, it kind of feels like it's everyone else, especially Diana Scarwid, who doesn't understand what the movie is. In the quieter moments, when Dunaway has things at a low boil, it's a standard biopic or story about a strict mother. The wilder moments are what people remember. The movie is about Joan and Christina is only the POV character (like Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby). Later on, there are attempts to make me care about Christina's story independently, and that's the only time I found the movie tedious.

Don't misunderstanding me. This isn't a good movie. Anything I say has an implied "It's not very good, but" before it. All I'm saying is that it doesn't really deserve the legacy is has. It's a miscalculation, not The Room.

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend