Review of The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000) by Lisa D — 13 Apr 2011

If a filmmaker were looking for an easy target, could a better one be chosen than Tammy Faye Bakker? This documentary is advertised as tongue-in-cheek. In keeping with that apparent approach, RuPaul handles the voice-over narration.

What I expected was an unsympathetic, cartoonish portrayal of Tammy Faye. Instead, what I found--though there were plenty of poking fun moments--was a good-hearted woman (who clearly wasn't beyond greed and avarice), who displayed more genuine kindness and compassion than I expected.

With the stage lights down, Tammy Faye is shown as a flawed, but real human being. We admire her spunk. Despite hardship, much of which were self-inflicted, she perseveres with vigor and good humor. Tammy Faye was apparently the first to reach out to the gay community (when AIDS was brand new and reaching out to the gay community wasn't "cool"), which is routinely one of the pet sins of an evangelical community which is quick to condemn, but often slow to administer compassion and love.

For all her faults and far out, demented ideas, Tammy Faye dared to be herself. And while the filmmakers may have started with the idea of lambasting this shoot-fish-in-the-barrel target, they ultimately constructed a film that despite snipes and heckles, is largely a sympathetically understanding and warm-hearted look at an incredibly tragic figure.

Indeed, Tammy Faye Bakker was culpable and at times seemed downright mentally ill. But she was also a victim. And while she left behind (Tammy Faye died of cancer in 2007) a legacy of large eyelashes, tears, and goofball pronouncements, she was also compassionate, kind, and full of courage.