The Reel Review
Christina Crawford’s claims of abuse and manipulation at the hands of her adoptive mother, iconic Hollywood actress Joan Crawford, are detailed in this unforgettable 1981 biographical drama starring Faye Dunaway. The film is very loosely based on Christina Crawford’s 1978 autobiography of the same name.
So. Much. Melodrama. Faye Dunaway’s wildly over-the-top performance turns this sad tale of child abuse into an unintentional camp comedy, despite solid performances from Mara Hobel and Diana Scarwid as the child and young adult versions of Christina, and Rutanya Alda as housekeeper and assistant, Carol Ann. The film is further hampered by a bizarre, choppy screenplay that has the pacing of a deranged children’s book.
Despite the film’s terribleness, Mommie Dearest is extremely (and weirdly) entertaining, offering up a lifetime of memorable one-liners – “I’m mad at the dirt… no more wire hangers.” etc. It’s just a shame the story didn’t provide much needed context for Joan Crawford’s alleged bad behavior.
REEL FACTS
• In the years since its release, Mommie Dearest has enjoyed cult status, amidst Faye Dunaway’s claims that the film singlehandedly ruined her career and irretrievably gave people the wrong impression of her. Prior to the film, Dunaway won a Best Actress Oscar for 1977’s Network, and was nominated twice for 1972’s Chinatown and 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde.
• In her 2015 memoir, Rutanya Alda describes the difficulty of working with Faye Dunaway on the set, saying her rude behavior, manipulation of the film’s director and out of control method acting culminated in Dunaway being “out of control” during the scene in which Joan attacks Christina (Diana Scarwid) in front of a reporter. Alda says Dunaway hit her hard in the chest and knocked her over several times.
• Christina Crawford, who says she saw the film only once, alone in a Los Angeles theater shortly after it premiered, had no involvement in the making of the film, denouncing it as a grotesque work of fiction. She says her mother never chopped down a tree with an ax or beat her with a wire hanger as depicted in the film.
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