Why is mommie dearest gay

Mainly because Paramount instantly switched the marketing campaign once they realized moviegoers were laughing in theaters. It has since become a film parodied on stage, TV, and currently in memes. The book was a runaway smash hit though and, of course, Hollywood announced a film version right away.

Early on, they were bringing wire hangers to the theater, dressed in bathrobes, and shouting back at the screen, Rocky Horror style. Since Faye Dunaway is essentially giving a drag performance as Joan Crawford, it was really the drag community that elevated Mommie Dearest from the get-go.

We highly recommend the video essay from Be Kind Rewind on the making of the film for the full story. The making and aftermath of Mommie Dearest was a tangled affair. And we certainly cared about her long after most straight men had forgotten she even existed.

Indeed, With Love, Mommie Dearest contains many interviews and anecdotes from people involved in the movie’s production. 43 votes, 19 comments. It forever damaged the career of Faye Dunawaymainly because the Oscar-winning actress portrayed Joan as if she was some kind of crazed clown.

Drag queens had impersonated Joan already for decades. We dive into why this camp classic is a part of the LGBTQ+ cultural landscape. But the fuel Mommie Dearest gave the character of Joan, at least as portrayed in the filmwas too much for any self-respecting queen to resist.

Just as they had other Golden Era Hollywood actresses. Secondly, film Joan is extremely sassy, witty and has ton of great shady one liners. After Hollywood legend Joan Crawford died inher doptive daughter Christina wrote a scathing tell-all book. We imagine afterlife Joan might regret that endorsement.

Three years later, Mommie Dearest hit theaters, starring Oscar winner Faye Dunaway in the leading role with Frank Perry behind the camera. But at what point did the gay community embrace Mommie Dearest and why? Despite its critical failure, Mommie Dearest was actually a modest box office hit.

Serving camp this Mother’s

One of the very first of its kind about any celebrity. It lampooned all of old Hollywood, eventually taking its performances worldwide and running for decades with a recent showing in Mommie Dearest has been an oft-quoted, queer audience favorite for 40 years.

It became a gay culture institution and touchstone. Which was around the time she hit forty. Readers will learn that, shortly after her book was published, Christina was approached by producer Frank Yablans for the movie rights.

Don Horn. Well, for starters, the gay community has always loved the glamorous female stars of old Hollywood. This is when the satirical stage show Christmas with the Crawfords opened in San Francisco in The play humorously satirizes one particular scene from the filmwhere Joan trots her kids out to perform for a Christmas radio show.

But the mother of them all, if you can pardon the pun, is Mommie Dearest. trueit's always hard to explain or understand why some things reach cult status and even more so when it's gay cult status In the case of Mommie Dearest, it seems to be a combination of several things: first it's about Joan Crawford, who was already a gay super-icon in her own right.

So any queer person of the era already had a long-standing affinity for the high fashion drama queen that was Joan Crawford. The following is an excerpt from the new book "With Love, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic" by Hollywood historian A.

Ashley Hoff, available now through Chicago Review. Especially with caked-on makeupwire hangers, and baby dolls thrown about in front of a drunken crowd. The gay male community loves old-time Hollywood glamour, and the film is quite lavishly produced.

Mommie Dearest Trailer Watch on Cathartic cinema Hoff explained why gay men are such a big part of the "Mommie Dearest" phenomenon.