Review of Beautiful Darling (2010) by Thomas W — 05 Jul 2014

A documentary most-likely for pop culture enthusiasts only as this film is about female impersonator Candy Darling -- a frequent inhabitant of Andy Warhol's The Factory who also featured prominently in some of his "film" work with her most notable work being in two Paul Morrissey-directed films (Warhol-produced), Flesh (1968) and Women in Revolt (1971).

Always dreaming of being a larger-than-life star, Candy Darling wanted to be an acclaimed actress and aspired to find the right role in a mysterious noir film in which Candy's true talent would be recognized and not marginalized as "that cross-dressing actor" many in the mainstream still joked about.

We are so busy judging others based on who we think they should be we oftentimes forget those we chide are also human beings trying to find meaning and understanding themselves. Candy is a sad human being -- not because of who she was -- but because of how others believed it was their right to belittle her as they didn't want to understand her.

Playwright Tennessee Williams wrote a piece for her off-Broadway that brought her some of the success she had so desired and craved; but it was short-lived -- as was she. Darling was diagnosed and died from lymphoma at the age of 29 -- a tragic star was a role to die for! This is an interesting piece as Warhol's celebrity circle prided itself on being different and unusual.