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Eyes of Tammy Faye, The
Lion's Gate Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some sexual content
Starring
Tammy Faye Bakker,
Roe Messner,
Jim Bakker,
and
Jamie Bakker
A documentary about the life and times of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker Messner.
| GENRE(S): |
Documentary
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Fenton Bailey
Randy Barbato
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: January 30, 2001
Video: January 30, 2001
Theatrical: July 21, 2000
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
79 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA / UK |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
91
Portland Oregonian
Kim Morgan
A hilarious, sad and sometimes-inspiring documentary directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, the film is an all-out Tammy valentine -- campy, dramatic and, of course, makeup-smeared. And better than any melodrama you'll see this year.
91
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
Does the movie, with its sock-puppet intros and narration by RuPaul Charles, mock Tammy Faye, sanctify her, or turn her into a flamboyant image of distressed womanly martyrdom -- the Judy Garland of televangelism? All of the above.
90
Slate
David Edelstein
A hilarious, poignant, lovingly ironic celebration of (Tammy Faye Bakker's) rise and fall and her refusal to be broken.
80
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
It contains nary a dull moment.
80
LA Weekly
Ernest Hardy
It's a testimony to the integrity and poignancy of Tammy Faye herself that she comes off as a cool, even complex, woman.
80
Film.com
Ernest Hardy
It's a testimony to Tammy Faye's own integrity and enormous charisma that the film holds our attention as tightly as it does, and doesn't become an insufferable exercise in weak filmmaking.
75
Baltimore Sun
Ann Hornaday
If The Eyes of Tammy Faye is skimpy, it's still an important correction to the record about this fascinating and misunderstood woman, who turns out to be much more than just her makeup.
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
Fascinating and mostly sympathetic.
75
Chicago Tribune
John Petrakis
If the mark of a successful documentary is its ability to make us examine a tired subject in a fresh way, then Eyes is a rip-roaring success.
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Riveting stuff.
75
Mr. Showbiz
Kevin Maynard
All in all, she comes off as quite a complex creature.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
It's a tale of survival and kitsch that will win you over.
75
San Francisco Chronicle
Edward Guthmann
Demonstrates, if nothing else, that there's a genuine person -- chastened by mistakes and more compassionate, perhaps, for all she's suffered -- beneath the war paint and the stardust.
75
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
A lively and affectionate cross between an infomercial and a genuflection.
75
USA Today
Mike Clark
A largely irresistible puff piece.
75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
She is also, we sense, a woman of great generosity of spirit, and a TV natural: The star she most reminds me of is Lucille Ball.
75
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
Only the most hardhearted would fail to be swayed by Messner's surprising strength, and -- dare I say it -- irresistible charm.
75
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
It's highly entertaining, even if it's almost entirely one-sided.
70
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Whatever the complicated truth about PTL, Tammy Faye's homespun charisma is undeniable; if only the Lord would give her the strength to say, "Get thee behind me, false eyelashes!"
70
Time
Richard Schickel
Maybe this documentary is a bit too enthralled by her, but she emerges from it a game girl, a gay activist and a curiously sympathetic figure.
70
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
(To be) thoroughly enjoyed as a privileged look at one of the loopiest of late 20th century lives.
70
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Eyes sees what it wants to see, but it's a riveting glimpse.
70
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
It's more of a mash note than a formal documentary, and there's nothing wrong with that.
70
TNT RoughCut
Susannah Breslin
As a whole, The Eyes of Tammy Faye funnily and lively serves to show that sometimes the best movie characters are real ones and sometimes the best Christians are ones who look like crack-whores.
63
San Francisco Examiner
Wesley Morris
A runny intimate portrait that doesn't trust Tammy Faye Messner and her story to enthrall you. So they've all but spelled it out: k-i-t-s-c-h.
63
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
But even if the film is short on analysis and skepticism, Tammy makes for a fascinating subject anyway.
50
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
This made-for-cable opus, halfway between documentary and docudrama, is willing to try anything and everything except for a consistent relationship to its material.
50
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
By letting her babble on and become a somewhat risible figure, the filmmakers display a somewhat mean-spirited attitude, despite all their fuss about finally appreciating this put-upon survivor.
30
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
Cannot help but be merely another debacle that Tammy Faye will survive, eyelashes and integrity intact.
 The average user rating for this movie is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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