Susan Granger’s review of “THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE” (Lions Gate Films)
A hit at the Sundance Film Festival, this kitschy and affectionate documentary by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey chronicles the life and times of Tammy Faye Bakker, ex-wife of evangelist Jim Bakker who – in a spectacular and highly publicized free-fall from grace – lost control of the PTL (Praise the Lord) Ministries to manipulative minister Jerry Falwell and wound up in jail. Narrated by “RuPaul” Charles, it delves beneath the public persona of the teary Tammy Faye and into the storybook life of the couple who had the audacity to make Christian fellowship fun, creating a Heritage USA water park that was the ultimate baptismal font and openly welcoming homosexuals into their PTL Club. Tammy Faye grew up as a humble Christian girl who loved puppets and had such strong faith that she claims a wart on her finger was cured during a Sunday communion. When she was in college, she met and married Jim Bakker, whose faith matched hers. Together, they cultivated the electronic pulpit, building three Christian television networks and becoming arguably the most popular Christian force in the United States. Their dreams were expensive and their money-raising schemes extensive. Then, in the 1980s, scandal rocked Tammy Faye’s life, destroying her reputation and her marriage. Nevertheless, Tammy Faye is once again on her feet, the indomitable survivor, back in the limelight where she feels she belongs. Obviously, the filmmakers are sympathetic and their bias propels the narrative. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is an ironic, irreverent, comic 7. I suspect that one of the reasons this film resonates so strongly with audiences is that we live in a very judgmental society and, just perhaps, we were wrong about Tammy Faye.
