The Eyes of Tammy Faye

PG-13

Released Jan 25, 2000

1h 19m

Documentary

List

87%

39 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Twelve years after the scandalous collapse of the multimillion dollar Christian empire built by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, "The Eyes Of Tammy Faye" tells the fascinating inside story of the rise, fall and resurrection of "the Queen of the Eyelashes." One of the most adored and reviled women of her time, the film follows her amazing tale from her love at first sight encounter with Jim, through the glory days of PTL, to the scandal that brought both their empire and their family tumbling down.

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Critics Consensus

With true queer icon flair, peels off its fake lashes to reveal the quirky essence of this controversial figure in unapologetically campy fashion.

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Cheryl F

I really liked this movie. So many things I didn't know about Tammy Faye. I will never think of her as a joke again. Jessica Chastain does a touching portrayal. No matter what your views of organized religion, I highly recommend this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

Audience Member

I'm not all that interested in this character, but my wife wanted to watch it, so we did. I watched part of the newer film, as well. It seemed like that newer film mostly just dramatized real footage from this film. I would probably watch this film rather than that newer one. I'm not sure what the point of the newer one is. By the way, there's no question that Jerry Falwell lived every bit as lavishly as these guys did. And, frankly, I think Tammy Faye, crazy and tacky as she might be, was a much more decent person then he was. As for Jim Bakker, I can't really say.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Audience Member

Jessica Chastain is Tammy Faye. She is amazing. Not so much for Andrew Garfield. Not a great script but worth watching to see Jessica Chastain.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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georgan g

This icon of female religious leaders had quite a long track record of being far left.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The only thing that The Eyes of Tammy Faye seemed to prove is that she was still in dire need of an internal and external makeover. It is a nauseating pity party, marked by her deep hypocrisies. I gave Tammy Faye credit for one thing only, and that was her acceptance of gays and other religions. Towards the end, she commented that she would be able to hug her husband for the first time in two years without people watching -- and then does it on camera. Even if you wipe out all the past greed -- and indeed, she and Jim were not and are not the only televangelists to live high off the backs of their congregation -- one fact is clear: Tammy was in it for the attention; but she also wanted to control the type of attention she got. Notoriety just doesn't work that way. When you stay in the faces of so many people who have made it clear they don't want any more of you, you're going to get a lot of negative attention. And I was angry at myself for giving her any. In the end, the Bakkers are simply a chapter in the book of parasitic televangelism and were probably no worse or better than their like-minded peers of yesterday or today. There was a lot of blame to go around, but Tammy Faye served up portions of it to everyone but herself. The documentary was well done, but unfortunately, it boiled down to the ultimate gift to a narcissist.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

If you didn't like Tammy Faye before, you really won't like her after watching this movie. Mission accomplished.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

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Fenton Bailey

Director

Randy Barbato

Director

Tammy Faye Messner

Self

Jim Bakker

Self

Pat Boone

Self

Jim J. Bullock

Self

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Brandon Judell

indieWire

Filled with sock puppets, narration by RuPaul, and wads of mascara, this solid piece of reporting goes far behind the media created image of a woman who served as our Clown Princess for quite some time.

Aug 29, 2021

Full Review

Nancy Banks-Smith

Guardian

From the opening shot of Tammy's Mom in her coffin still wearing her spectacles, your jaw swung open for 40 minutes.

Feb 25, 2020

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: A-

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Diane Anderson-Minshall

Curve

Hilariously tragic.

May 18, 2022

Full Review

David Reddish

Queerty

To understand the brilliance of Jessica Chastains performance in the new film The Eyes of Tammy Faye, viewers should take a trip back to the documentary that started it all.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 20, 2022

Full Review

Jim Lane

Sacramento News & Review

Rated: 3/5

Aug 7, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

Twelve years after the scandalous collapse of the multimillion dollar Christian empire built by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, "The Eyes Of Tammy Faye" tells the fascinating inside story of the rise, fall and resurrection of "the Queen of the Eyelashes." One of the most adored and reviled women of her time, the film follows her amazing tale from her love at first sight encounter with Jim, through the glory days of PTL, to the scandal that brought both their empire and their family tumbling down.

Director: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: World of Wonder, FilmFour, Cinemax
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 25, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.0M
Runtime: 1h 19m