Mommie Dearest 1981 Faye Dunaway/Joan Crawford Bluray! *Paramount*

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

Are you serious? It's high camp—without any intention to be so! Faye Dunaway"s performance is over-the-top and hysterical. There is nothing award-worthy about that film. But it's definitely a fun film to watch, no doubt. It would be a terrific double bill with "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

Her performance wasn't comical at all! Some people just have a weird, macabre sense of humor, and will laugh at anything. People laughed at The Exorcist and Carrie (1977) now what does that tell you.

[hockeyshark91]

Originally Posted by slimdude

Her performance wasn't comical at all! Some people just have a weird, macabre sense of humor, and will laugh at anything. People laughed at The Exorcist and Carrie (1977) now what does that tell you.

Nervous laughter.

[MiracleandWonder]

Originally Posted by slimdude

Her performance wasn't comical at all! Some people just have a weird, macabre sense of humor, and will laugh at anything. People laughed at The Exorcist and Carrie (1977) now what does that tell you.

Faye plays the part like a drag impersonation

[AaronSCH]

Originally Posted by MiracleandWonder

Faye plays the part like a drag impersonation

You nailed it... Nobody I know EVER took that film seriously. People were laughing in the theater when it was first released—and I mean nearly everyone. The line "no more wire hangers" was repeated endlessly followed by raucous laughter. This isn't a handful of people with a macabre sense of humor. Most people find it to be so over-the top that its funny. Put it on Blu and its in my collection on release day and I'll throw a viewing party—cross
dressing optional.

[MiracleandWonder]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

You nailed it... Nobody I know EVER took that film seriously. People were laughing in the theater when it was first released—and I mean nearly everyone. The line "no more wire hangers" was repeated endlessly followed by raucous laughter. This isn't a handful of people with a macabre sense of humor. Most people find it to be so over-the top that its funny. Put it on Blu and its in my collection on release day and I'll throw a viewing party—cross
dressing optional.

Very true. Faye was channeling Divine in it... and that is part of the appeal

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by AaronSCH

You nailed it... Nobody I know EVER took that film seriously. People were laughing in the theater when it was first released—and I mean nearly everyone. The line "no more wire hangers" was repeated endlessly followed by raucous laughter. This isn't a handful of people with a macabre sense of humor. Most people find it to be so over-the top that its funny. Put it on Blu and its in my collection on release day and I'll throw a viewing party—cross
dressing optional.

I said some people will laugh at anything, didn't I? Especially when they're intoxicated, high on drugs or both.

[MiracleandWonder]

Originally Posted by slimdude

I said some people will laugh at anything, didn't I? Especially when they're intoxicated, high on drugs or both.

lemme guess, you probably also think its horrible people find Showgirls to be a riotous comedy, right?

You either appreciate camp or you don't.... if you don't understand the comedic value of Mommie Dearest, you obviously don't. Even Paramount realizes Mommie Dearest is camp to the extent that they had John Waters, one of the all time camp directors, to do the commentary on the DVD.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by MiracleandWonder

lemme guess, you probably also think its horrible people find Showgirls to be a riotous comedy, right?

You either appreciate camp or you don't.... if you don't understand the comedic value of Mommie Dearest, you obviously don't. Even Paramount realizes Mommie Dearest is camp to the extent that they had John Waters, one of the all time camp directors, to do the commentary on the DVD.

That's because I'm mature enough to know a drama when I see one! Besides, If you look for the DVD at a local retailer or online, it will be categorized in Drama genre. And speaking of John Waters....Please! He didn't have anything else better to do with his time, than to do a commentary for Mommie Dearest? He must have a lot of time on his hands, a person who is supposed to be in show business.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by slimdude

That's because I'm mature enough to know a drama when I see one! Besides, If you look for the DVD at a local retailer or online, it will be categorized in Drama genre. And speaking of John Waters....Please! He didn't have anything else better to do with his time, than to do a commentary for Mommie Dearest? He must have a lot of time on his hands, a person who is supposed to be in show business.

Have you listened to his commentary? Because if you had, you'd know he spends time defending her performance as being fantastic, which it is.

As a drama, the movie is atrocious, but as a showcase for Dunaway, it succeeds in spades. Pauline Kael's review of the movie has the most accurate assessment of her performance by far.

[MiracleandWonder]

Originally Posted by slimdude

That's because I'm mature enough to know a drama when I see one! Besides, If you look for the DVD at a local retailer or online, it will be categorized in Drama genre. And speaking of John Waters....Please! He didn't have anything else better to do with his time, than to do a commentary for Mommie Dearest? He must have a lot of time on his hands, a person who is supposed to be in show business.

Your paragraph proves you don't understand camp at all. Camp works best when it was intended to be one genre but ended up becoming another. This is why The Room (which was supposed to be a melodrama but only became well-known once it was reappraised as a poorly made movie that was unintentionally hilariouys) works better as camp than Sharknado does. This is why Showgirls took on a second life as an over the top trashfest when it originally failed as a seedy drama. I actually prefer unintended camp to a lot of stuff that is INTENDED to be funny.

From the direction to the over the top performances by Faye Dunaway and Diana Scarwid (who hams up everything she appears in), Mommie Dearest became a camp classic when it was still in first run theaters because of how hammy, over the top it was. Drag queens emulated Faye in this movie for years.

[Starman22]

Good movie and I own it "Hollywood Royalty Edition" DVD and bring it to Blu-ray!

No Wire Hanger!

[DeanDean1990]

Where's it at?!?!? People are willing to pay for it, yet nothing. The transfer would be amazing, it would be more cash for Paramount, what is the deal? Meanwhile...****ing Ishtar gets a Blu Ray release....��

[murphywmm]

Still waiting for this Blu-ray release. I actually contemplated once that I should speak in nothing but Mommie Dearest quotes. This masterpiece needs to be in HD ASAP. Faye Dunaway's performance is one of the all-time greats. Nobody else could have pulled off the role the way she did.

"I should've known you'd know where to find the boys.... AND the booze!"

[arnie]

I would pay good money if this thing ever comes out.

[ccinsf]

If the TV show Feud is successful maybe that will prompt them to release this.

[MiracleandWonder]

I hope Feud will be able to draw attention to get this out on Blu

[OneWayFilms]

Regardless if it's considered CAMP or played seriously.....it still has a cult following that love and appreciate this film and would purchase it DAY ONE if released.

I personally see nothing funny with it, as a victim of child abuse myself, I cringe at watching it because it brings back so many painful memories of my own mother.

I'll spend Mother's Day watching this as a warped way of honoring mom.

[MiracleandWonder]

Originally Posted by OneWayFilms

Regardless if it's considered CAMP or played seriously.....it still has a cult following that love and appreciate this film and would purchase it DAY ONE if released.

I personally see nothing funny with it, as a victim of child abuse myself, I cringe at watching it because it brings back so many painful memories of my own mother.

I'll spend Mother's Day watching this as a warped way of honoring mom.

I don't think it's the subject matter that people find funny as much as the ridiculous over the top performances between Dunaway and Scarwid (who hammed up basically everything she appeared in). In another movie, "no wire hangers" would've been seen as a dark and disturbing scene, but Dunaway's tackling of the material along with her get-up in the scene made it look like something out of a John Waters movie. And then of course Christina grows up to be Scarwid and then it only gets campier with her matching Faye in the department of overacting and scenery chewing. Faye and Diana played it like it was a black comedy instead of a serious drama.

[travisbickle]

Does Warner still have this? Where is the Warner Archive Blu?!!!

And port over that Waters commentary!

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

I never found anything funny about Mommy Dearest. I found it to be a truly horrific film about child abuse. Someone like JC (if this is really the way she was in real life) should never have been allowed to adopt these kids. This is a really depressing, heart-breaking film.

That being said, I wouldn't mind seeing it on Blu - though I would only see it once.