The movie critique portion of this review was written by my colleague Michele Arbir.
“No more wire hangers” is probably the most quoted line of the 1981 film Mommie Dearest. Based on a controversial memoir of the relationship between Academy Award-winning Hollywood actress Joan Crawford and her adopted daughter Christina. The movie and the book both expose the mother as an alcoholic overbearing control freak whose film career is going down the tubes.
In this biographical film, glamorous star Joan Crawford (Faye Dunaway, Puzzle of a Downfall Child) adopts two orphans, and at first their little atypical family seems happy. Soon after Joan’s attempts at romantic fulfillment go sour and she is fired from her contract with MGM studios. Crawfords heartless and abusive behavior towards her daughter Christina (Diana Scarwid) becomes notably worse and worse. When Christina leaves home and takes her first acting role, she finds her mother’s presence still overshadowing her.
Mommie Dearest was directed by Frank Perry (Ladybug Ladybug, Diary Of A Mad Housewife) and was distributed by Paramount Pictures, the only one of the Big Eight film studios for which Crawford had never done a film. At the box office, the film was a success, grossing over $19 million in North America from a $10 million budget. Even though it received mostly negative reviews from critics, the film’s outlandish script and Faye Dunaway’s extraordinary acting have brought a cult following to the film over the years.
This movie came out my first year of high school when my parents were getting divorced. Honestly, I was a little obsessed with it because in some ways it hit close to home. Rewatching this as an adult and now having children was kind of hard to get through. I’m not gonna lie, I got up and left during the “no more wire hanger” part. Faye Dunaway and Diana Scarwid are phenomenal in this movie. Based on the book that the child wrote as an adult about growing up, a story about child abuse, I felt like I was there when that actually happened. That’s how good the acting was.
The only drawback is the movie could be slow sometimes and it is mostly about her home life. I wish they would have shown a little of Joan Crawford’s Hollywood stardom. I think that might have livened up the tale and shown Joan’s other side, the persona she put on in public. We didn’t really see that but knew her daughter had:
“Joan Crawford: Why can’t you give me the respect that I’m entitled to? Why can’t you treat me like I would be treated by any stranger on the street?
Christina Crawford: Because I am not one of your fans!” BURNNNNN! I will say though this movie has a lot of great quotes.
Mommie Dearest is hard to watch, it’s well-acted, really uncomfortable, but realistic. I would recommend it to people who can relate or are interested in the subject of physical and psychological abuse, and what could come out of all that abuse. It’s a mental health and real-life unjust circumstances story, as of the powerless one in which Christina found herself. You will cry and you may walk out of the room, but most of all once you watch this it will stay with you forever.
Video Quality
Mommie Dearest gets a much-needed Blu-Ray upgrade with a stellar 1080p transfer sourced from a 4K remaster. This presentation is a knockout that preserves the filmic look with proper film grain and texture throughout. The level of clarity and detail on this release is truly something to behold. There are very subtle details in the production design that are visible here for the first time from minute details on outfits to some of the complexities of the environments. The black levels are extremely deep and allow for true detail to come through. There are a lot of bold colors in the film that pop off the screen with an immaculate vibrancy. Skin tones are natural and lend themselves to showcasing an amazing amount of detail. Paramount has done an excellent job of restoring this, as all print damage has been cleaned up without messing with the natural look of the film. Those who have been waiting for this one to be treated with the proper respect on Blu-Ray should feel it was worth the wait.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with both a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and a restored Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack that sonically represents the film perfectly. The activity focuses heavily on the front channels with the thematically evocative score from Henry Mancini filling the room appropriately. Music is used skillfully throughout the presentation, but it never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. The classic dialogue comes through clearly and never falls victim to any digital anomalies. Rear speakers get some occasional activity with ambient sounds, but it is not a standout in that regard. There is next to nothing in the way of low end support for this film. This track accomplishes everything it needs to do really well.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary #1: American Drag Queen Hedda Lettuce provides a commentary track that functions more like an MST3K track than anything truly informative. There are large periods of silence with the occasional amusing line dropped into the story.
- Audio Commentary #2: Filmmaker John Waters somewhat follows the same route, but he has many more substantial insights into the background of the film while having the same amount of silence throughout.
- Filmmaker Focus – Biographer Justin Bozung On Director Frank Perry: Frank Perry biographer Justin Bozung provides a nice encapsulation of the great director, discusses why Perry took on the material, his work with the performers and more.
- The Revival Of Joan: A 14-minute piece in which the creative team discuss the process of adapting the material, the challenge of bringing an icon to life, bringing Frank Perry on to direct, trying to bring authenticity to the casting process and more.
- Life With Joan: A 14-minute featurette which delves a bit deeper into the story of the film in which the cast and crew discuss some of the narrative beats, the performances in some of the scenes, how true-to-life the depictions were and more.
- Joan Lives On: A 16-minute featurette which focuses more on the impact of the film upon its release and how it has seeped into the culture since that time. It is always fun to hear John Waters speak on a subject he is passionate about.
- Photo Gallery: A collection of images from the film are provided here.
- Original Theatrical Trailer: The way-too-long four-minute trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Mommie Dearest is often reduced to a camp classic, and it certainly has those elements, but the movie tackles some thematic elements that are very compelling if not hard to watch. Faye Dunaway delivers a wonderfully over-the-top performance that harnesses the spirit of Joan Crawford, a performer not known for being the most easy-going individual. Frank Perry brings some thoughtfulness to the execution of this story that allows it to flourish. Paramount Home Entertainment has provided this cult favorite with an outstanding Blu-Ray featuring a 5-star A/V presentation and a nice collection of supplements. Fans of the film are in for a real treat with this new release. Recommended
Paramount Presents Mommie Dearest is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.