Biopic “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” was released in theaters on Sept. 17 — Abe Sylvia’s adaption of a 2000 documentary with the same title. While the movie debuted to mixed ratings, most reviews praised the performances. The film, while muddled in storytelling and editing, provides an entertaining experience at the movie theater, if you have two hours to spare.
The movie follows televangelist Tammy Faye (Jessica Chastain) as she is sucked into the spotlight of American television with her husband, Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield). The two founded the PTL, or Praise the Lord/People That Love Club. They reached millions of viewers with their cloying songs and sermons about God’s love, and the pair became exceedingly wealthy.
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” made for an entertaining and emotional watch. It hit hilarious, heartfelt and emotional beats to create a satisfying moviegoing experience. However, the ending dragged on and muddled the actual scandals of the PTL Club. The exposition montages failed to make the plot clearer or progress the story effectively.
Despite the poor pacing, the plot did an excellent job focusing on Tammy Faye as a human being. The film captured loneliness and claustrophobia in a surprisingly emotional and reflective way, making it easy to forgive some of the other issues in the movie.
Over the years, Tammy Faye became an American punchline, but the movie works against that to present her as a real woman instead of a tabloid villain. The audience better understands her motivations throughout the movie, as she deals with a lonely childhood, pressures of the spotlight and an absent husband. Tammy Faye receives a similar biopic treatment as Tonya Harding in the 2017 film “I, Tonya.” Both flicks create narratives for infamously mocked women in American media and turn them into sympathetic people manipulated by larger systems.
Of course, Chastain aids greatly in the humanization of Tammy Faye. Her performance is vulnerable and never cynical. She hits all the emotional points, making Tammy Faye seem innocent, lonely and desperate. Her naivety and empathy also shine — it was difficult not to sympathize with her at every turn of the film, and she delivered some grin-inducing lines with a folksy Minnesota accent.
Garfield also delivered an excellent performance. Similarly to Chastain, he allows the audience to sympathize with Bakker throughout the film. He switched between an exceedingly charming persona when meeting Tammy and while on camera, while also portraying a desperation and skeevy side of Jim Bakker. His performance felt immersive and intentional, and while it lacked the transcendence of Chastain’s work, Garfield kept up with her in every scene.
In the film, Tammy Faye’s loneliness coerces her toward religion. She uses her faith to create an entertainment empire, and the camera becomes a new idol. She also relies on her husband, and he becomes a quasi-god to Tammy. Through this plot, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” explores idolatry and the dangers of blindly embracing opportunities, people and ideologies. While it shys away, somewhat unfortunately, from directly criticizing money-making televangelists and manipulative religions, the movie looks at worshipping money, men, parasocial relationships and stardom in a unique and fascinating way … all the way up until the final scene of the film.
While “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is not a must-see, it should be a contender for an evening’s entertainment. The movie contains campy spectacles, excellent leading performances, somewhat thought-provoking ideas and of course, Christian disco music.
Edited by Elise Mulligan, emulligan@themaneater.com