Review of Mommie Dearest (1981) by Pauline Kael for The New Yorker — 01 Mar 2000
This is Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford and the results are, well, screen history. Dunaway does not chew scenery. Dunaway starts neatly at each corner of the set in every scene and swallows it whole, costars and all.
Much has been written and said pro-and-con about Crawford since daughter Christina wrote the book on which this film is based. Whatever the truth, director Frank Perry’s portrait here is sorry indeed, 129 minutes with a very pathetic and unpleasant individual.
You can read the full review where it was originally posted online.
This review of Mommie Dearest (1981) was written by Pauline Kael and published by The New Yorker on 01 Mar 2000.
Mommie Dearest has generally received positive reviews.
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