Word: crawfords
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BEFORE JOAN CRAWFORD died in 1976, she cut both of her adopted children out of her will. One of these children, Christina Crawford, vowed to take revenge on her mother. So she wrote a book called Mommie Dearest, which explains what a drag it was to grow up as the daughter of one of America's all-time favorite movie stars. Revenge in this case must have been particularly sweet, for not only was the book a bestseller, but Paramount Pictures also decided to make a movie...
...movie is concerned, though, Christina's revenge comes at the audience's expense. Mommie Dearest is a ridiculous, insulting and ultimately boring film. Perhaps Joan Crawford was not a good mother; maybe she did take out a lot of her frustrations on her daughter, and she no doubt drank too much. But do we really want this mess laid out in graphic detail? Do we want to see Joan spanking Christina? Do we want to witness petty family squabbles? Mommie Dearest comes off as little more than the private vendetta...
There is no real plot to this travelogue of the Crawfords' ups and downs during Joan's career. The problem is, we rarely get out of the family's house. We never see Joan filming a movie or interacting with other movie stars. Instead, we sit around the living room watching Christina get yelled at. A history of Joan's career might have been worthwhile; she was an interesting character. Her daughter is not. But since Christina wrote the book, she's what we get. The other Crawford child, Christopher, is something of a non-character in Mommie Dearest...
FAYE DUNAWAY, who plays Joan, cannot be blamed for the failure of this film. She is a fine actress, and the work she invested to perfect her Joan Crawford imitation is evident throughout. Her recreation of Crawford's seductive, almost sneer-like frown is remarkable. And the make-up artists deserve credit, too, for Dunaway looks as well as acts the part. Both Diana Scarwid and Mara Hobel, who play Christina as a child and as an adult, respectively, turn in good performances. There is no problem with the acting in Mommie Dearest. The flaw is the absolute lack...
...mother-especially if your boss happens to be Louis B. Mayer and your job category is movie star. It is especially not easy if one of your adopted children turns out to be the spoiled and charmless brat portrayed in this silly movie about the domestic life of Joan Crawford. The sympathy one is supposed to feel for the poor little rich waif (played at different ages by Mara Hobel and Diana Scarwid) slides away from her and onto the fashionably padded shoulders of the actress, whom Faye Dunaway's makeup artist, Lee C. Harman, gets just right...