Word: dearest
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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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...
...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. He appears briefly in the beginning as a little kid, only to disappear until his mother's funeral...
...tragedy, or even good melodrama. Yes, she occasionally raised her hand to her daughter. But thousands of children suffer far more terrible abuse every day-and don't have backyard swimming pools to soothe their feelings. Or get to write vindictive autobiographies that become bestsellers because Mommie Dearest was also Mommie Famous...
Lacking psychological intelligence or, for that matter, awareness of Hollywood sociology, Mommie Dearest is just a collection of screechy scenes further distanced by convictionless direction. Confronted by a movie without narrative tension or human interest, one is finally reduced to watching the paint dry-on Dunaway's face...