powermandan 'Mommie Dearest' is a memoir by Joan Crawford's adoptive daughter, Christina. Apparently behind closed doors, Joan was an absolute nutcase. I am not sure how much of it is real, fake or embellished, but this film adaptation is a definite embellishment.This is by no means an easy film to sit through. It is full of rage, screaming, crying, and torment. Oddly enough, the physical stuff does not happen as much as you'd think. 'Mommie Dearest' is nothing compared to other insane films released this day in age, but this still has its moments that are difficult to sit through. Child abuse will always be a tough pill to swallow, but over-the-top cheesy acting makes this even harder. Often, movies about child abuse are well done. Not here.Faye Dunaway certainly gained notoriety as the late silver screen actress. Some say she was excellent, others say she was unintentionally funny. I am part of the latter. The problem with her portrayal is that she plays Crawford like someone on Saturday Night Live would play her. Joan Crawford in 'Mildred Pierce' was Joan Crawford playing Mildred Pierce. This movie treats Crawford as is her characters in the movies was how she was in real life. Then there's some bits where Dunaway plays Crawford like other actresses at the time. A few times I expected Dunaway to say "Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my closeup."So the movie starts with Joan Crawford's celebrity status on the rise and her wanting to have children. She cannot, so she adopts. The first she adopts is Christina. Surrounding her with money and glam, the only price to pay was her adoptive mother's wrath. Joan is a hard-ass under pressure to be Hollywood's top star. She also does not want her children to be spoiled brats. But Joan definitely crosses the line. The abuse happens sporadically, maybe two or three scenes' worth. But when it does it stays in your mind, completely clouding everything that happens afterwards. The abuse seems like a lot, but actually is not. The biggest stomach-turner is when Christina is just a little girl and Joan finds a wire hanger. Joan goes completely berserk and beats her with it before making a mess in the washroom and making her clean it. The next stomach-turner happens awhile later with Christina as a young woman. A brief interaction gets escalated into Joan choking Christina. An interview with the real Christina says that if the people didn't intervene, she would be dead. The performances by Joan and Christina are pretty bad, but get saved by the last act. After the near-fatal choke scene, Faye begins to play Joan Crawford like Joan Crawford. She plays her like a real person and not a Saturday night Live character. I liked that. The girl that plays Christina simply did a better job just because. it's weird considering how bad she was in the choking scene. While they may do better jobs in their portrayals, the script really lazes out. The one thing that was needed was more explanations of "why?" Joan realizes how awful she has been and the bond between the two grows. Despite the abuse, Joan and Christina have always loved each other. And we are expected to believe that? When Joan goes bat-****-crazy over the metal hangers, why is she flipping out that badly? I get that we are not supposed to sympathize greatly with Joan, but giving any form of insight on the reasons of these wacky situations would have really increased the overall value of the film. As for Christina, she's just there. Getting an insight on the victim would have increased the overall value too. Even when the two of them start to perform better, none of the quintessential questions are ever answered. Not sure how much is real or not, but the final verdict of the movie is an uneven laze. The acting is bad (except the last 20 minutes or so) and the writing is awful. Just skip this and watch Joan Crawford's real films.

TheLittleSongbird 'Mommie Dearest' has to be one of the most difficult to rate and controversial films there is. It has its admirers but also its detractors. To me, it has a good deal to admire but just as much to criticise, but can also say safely that there are far worse films out there and that it didn't deserve to sweep the Razzie Awards (the script and directing wins are understandable, but actress and supporting actress were to me undeserved) or be on worst-film lists.Despite her Razzie win, count me as one of those who thought that Faye Dunaway was incredible. She clearly did her homework, and sounds, looks and walks like Joan Crawford, and it is a performance that's frightening and compelling. One can understand the criticisms of excessive scenery chewing, admittedly it is not a subtle performance by any stretch of the imagination but the acting style fit with how Crawford was written (one-dimensional in the first place and there was always going to be the trap of over-acting).In support, a brilliant Mara Hobel is the standout as child Christina, she throws herself into the role and one does feel sorry for her. The costumes and sets are evocative and beautifully designed, the film as far as biopics go is pretty accurate and the music score is suitably unsettling and bubbly, typical Henry Mancini.However, Diana Scarvid is wooden and looks like her heart wasn't in it and the rest of the cast are rather too restrained. Even for melodrama the dialogue is far too overwrought and the campiness gets truly bizarre and not in a good way. The story may be pretty accurate to the facts and source material, but a lot of it feels very glossed over rather than meaty and the campiness and bizarreness gets too much. A lot of it lacks clarity to the point of incoherence.Editing is also incomprehensible, while the cinematography is relatively flat and the direction is both skippy and rambling.In summary, very difficult to rate, not a particularly good film but nowhere near as bad as its reputation. 5/10 Bethany Cox

revjohnsobiech Mommy Dearest is a movie about Child abuse. It brakes down the wall that only "poor ghetto" people abuse their kids. Faye's performance of Joan Crawford is so real, right on and she nails it. People who are child abuse victims should see this movie. Christina's goal was to reach out to other child abuse victims and to confront child abuse head on as a victim.I have read the book Mommy Dearest . The film seems right on. Christina lives to tell her story. Some child abuse victims never make it out of their childhood alive. Ms Dunaway depiction of Joan Crawford is very believable . Child abusers are psychopaths,, cruel, evil monsters. Child abusers are in every economic class; even among the wealthy. Some Movie stars have publicly admitted to being an abusive alcoholic parent. And other stars have come out as child abuse victims. Christina was an anti child abuse advocate in LA CA . And now works with Native Americans. To read and see Christiana's story about her child abuse, has empowered many and will continue to empower child abuse victims to get help and get healing and to tell their story too. See this movie alone on DVD. I think you will be horrified. And see this movie in a totally different light.

dla_one Based on Christina Crawford's tell-all memoir of the same name dealing with her abusive relationship with her mother: Joan Crawford. Faye Dunaway as Joan, gives one of the most dreadfully over-acted performances in history. Instead of trying to give an accurate portrayal of child abuse, or making any attempt at giving a screen legend a fair and balanced portrait, showing her accomplishments along with her faults, what we get is this controversy baiting picture with very little resemblance to the actual subject. People familiar with Crawford's movies won't find much to recognize of the iconic actress here. Dunaway's Crawford is a grotesque cartoon more similar to Cruella de Vil than any real person. Her over-acting is so absurd it succeeds in making a joke of something that should be no laughing matter, the serious subject of child abuse. The validity of the claims of the memoir become irrelevant in the face of such an unbelievably over the top performance. I defy you not to bust out laughing at some of the scenes of this movie. Not surprisingly this has rendered the movie a significant cult hit because like a train-wreck it can be difficult to look away.