Close-up of Tammy Faye: Minks, makeup and Diet Coke | Regional News

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

The Myrna Loy

(PG-13)

Grade: C

Air grows skinny at excessive altitude, and the highly effective usually have hassle respiration on the peak of energy.

We’ve got a seemingly unquenchable thirst for tales of such climbs, and the inevitable falls.

Inevitably, such tales contain indiscretions, secrets and techniques and temptation. The stuff of juicy gossip.

However additionally they can function illuminating case research of how energy corrupts the soul.

I relished the chance to vicariously comply with the ascent and decline of evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.

The prospect of seeing Jessica Chastain play Tammy Faye promised to be not less than curious if not fascinating. Possibly each?

Alas, I discovered “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” to be a hallelujah-sized disappointment. Chastain might snare an Oscar nomination just because the efficiency is screaming out for one. But it surely is not going to be deserved.

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” believes caricatures seize characters. The movie is filled with lookalikes starting from Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and, in fact, Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker themselves.

It’s as if editorial cartoonists had been drawing the characters.

By no means is an unforgiving phrase, however I by no means linked with anybody.

Least of all, Jim Bakker. Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of the evangelist appeared compelled, shallow.

Movie can painting preachers with energy. I considered Robert Duvall’s efficiency of a fiery preacher in “The Apostle,” a mesmerizing research of a flawed man hiding behind a pulpit.

We’ve additionally seen girls of religion captured authentically, such because the inside struggles of nuns in “Novitiate” and “Ida.”

Such movies present how perilous winds the trail to the pulpit and pew.

We get no such illumination in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”

The most effective moments are the portrayal of Tammy’s childhood during which she develops her religion fairly on her personal, with a patented contact of melodramatic aptitude. She’s an interesting pupil at a Bible faculty, too.

However then she meets Jim Bakker and the movie descends into one-dimensional portraits of multi-layered individuals. No one doubts that Jim and Tammy Faye began out constructing their religion upon a rock, so we’re curious to grasp how they slipped off their boulders.

No clues right here, actually – besides that they favored dwelling in fancy homes with good views.

The script struggles to color Tammy Faye in feminist tones as she crashes a desk reserved for highly effective patriarchal preachers and brazenly challenges a homophobic pastor.

However such scenes aren’t any extra insightful than the plentiful closeups of Food plan Coke, Tammy’s most popular thirst-quencher.

At one level Tammy’s husband Jim objects to all of the “goopy stuff” on her face.

That’s how I felt about the entire movie – slathered over with goopy stuff.

No offense, Revlon, however pure is extra lovely.