The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic
March 15, 2024
The making of a notorious movie. Drawing on published sources and personal interviews, Hollywood historian Hoff offers a thorough account of the creation and reception of Mommie Dearest (1981), a critical flop now seen as a classic. Producer Frank Yablans felt certain that Christina Crawford's memoir of life with her abusive mother would translate well to the screen, and he convinced Christina to sell him film rights by giving her a chance to write the screenplay--a job that ultimately went to Tracy Hotchner. Finding a director and star proved complicated. Christina nixed director Franco Zeffirelli because he was focused on the psychology of a diva rather than child abuse; she finally agreed to Frank Perry. Anne Bancroft was to play Crawford, until she dropped out, and Faye Dunaway--with a reputation for being mercurial--lobbied hard for the role. Hoff tells all: about costumes, wigs, jewels, makeup; scenes cut and scenes kept; the crew's hostility to Dunaway; the re-creation of Crawford's palatial house; the three actors cast to play Christina at different ages; and tensions on and off the set. He sees the movie as a milestone in entertainment history, "a myth-busting story spilling the beans that Hollywood magic was all smoke and mirrors and diffusion lenses, exposing the ordinary human frailties possessed by movie stars camouflaged by flattering angles and good lighting." Christina, though, hoped it would have been a milestone for another reason: "the very first film to delve into the problem of family violence from the point of view of a child. It could have explained the complex personal interactions of the mother and daughter, giving insights into the larger problem of child abuse. But it didn't," she said, regretfully. "It was a series of hysterical scenes without explanation or relationship development." A brisk, gossipy Hollywood story.
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Starred review from May 1, 2024
Hoff's (Match Game 101: A Backstage History of "Match Game") book about Mommie Dearest--both the tell-all memoir penned by Joan Crawford's daughter Christina, and the 1981 film that starred Faye Dunaway as Crawford--is well-researched, highly detailed, and a breeze to read, especially with its juicy, scandalous behind-the-scenes stories. His book includes a balance of source material from Christina's memoir and well-described nuances of Dunaway's portrayal of Crawford as an abusive mother. The reception of the film was unprecedented; the movie was a commercial success, despite viewers laughing at how some of these scenes played out on screen, and critics didn't love it. The book shows how and why the movie has had a lasting effect on film and pop culture nonetheless. VERDICT Moving, definitive, and entertaining. This title about both the Mommie Dearest book and film might surprise even the most diligent movie-trivia lovers and will also captivate readers who don't normally gravitate toward nonfiction.--Emily Kubincanek
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