Review: The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
If you grew up around the Charlotte area or the south, you “lived” the Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker saga. I was working at WRFX with Johnboy & Billy in 1987 when Jim Bakker was on trial and we had Jessica Hahn on the morning show. The Mecklenburg Country Courthouse was a circus of Biblical proportions. Even before that I worked with Murphy In The Morning and one of his most popular bits was “Pass The Loot” Club, a take-off on PTL.
We all know the story…or do we? In 2000 there was a documentary called “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye”. It won critical acclaim. 21 years later it was turned into a movie with the same name starring Jessica Chastain (The Help) and Andrew Garfield (Spiderman) as the two televangelists told from the early days when they met until their empire fell.
The performances by Jessica and Andrew were so good, it didn’t really matter if the movie was good or not. The movie was very good. This movie came out in theaters when no one was going much to theatres. We came across it on HBO/MAX and it’s well worth your time. Do yourself a favor and watch this movie, but you’ll benefit from watching the documentary first. You may have preconceived notions about the story of Jim & Tammy Faye that was incorrect because of the media heat back then. I left feeling that Tammy Faye’s acceptance of people “as they are” was well ahead of her time. She was more judgmental of herself than she was others. Movie trailer is first follow by the 2000 trailer for the documentary.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 16: A general view of atmosphere at “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye” Los Angeles Special Screening on September 16, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Searchlight Pictures)
