Mommie Dearest

A childhood as told by Christina, Joan Crawford's adopted daughter. The woman who is a flawless star in front of a camera is, at home, obsessed with control and given to violence. The wire hanger scene is the best known passage and that line lodged itself in American popular culture. The subject is not stardom but control. Crawford arranges everything in the house, from the rose garden to the inside of a wardrobe, like a set, and the children are performers on it. The most honest scenes are her fights with the studio, because there you can see she is right. The form was designed as melodrama and the tone does not hold: the scenes are pitched so high that audiences laugh. It was presented as serious drama on release, the reception turned quickly into laughter, and the distributor changed the marketing to match. The source is Christina Crawford's memoir. When the book appeared, some people close to Crawford rejected the account, and the argument has never closed. Faye Dunaway later said the role damaged her career and avoided discussing the film for a long time. Frank Perry directs. Diana Scarwid plays the grown Christina. Who it is for: viewers who like Hollywood mythology and films that became cult through excess. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a real biography; the film rests on a single source and gives no room to the other side.