Beauty vs Beast: Grande Dame Guignol
Monday, April 3, 2017 at 3:13PM Jason from MNPP here with a new edition of "Beauty vs Beast" that was so obvious, so "sitting right there and staring me dead in the eyes," that I couldn't believe I hadn't done it already and had to do three searches just to make sure. But no, it's true, we have somehow never used What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? for this series. Perhaps our minds had blocked it off until Ryan Murphy's Feud became a reality? Well much like Emmy nominations for Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon, its moment has come. Of course now it might be tougher than ever to sort through all the extraneous on-set shenanigans to get to the ladies behind the ladies - the Blanche and the Baby Jane behind the Bette and the Joan. It's always about billing, you know. But let's try.
PREVIOUSLY The now classic rom-com My Best Friend's Wedding is celebrating its 20th very soon and you can tell the movie still works because it still has the ability to divide our sympathies among its two extremely charming leading ladies - while the numbers went back and forth over the course of the week in the end it was the pretty woman in the lead who walked away with just over 53% of your vote. Said brookesboy:
"This is one of Julia's best performances. The way she combines ruthlessness with charisma is unique. You realize how awful she is all along, but you still can't help relating to her. That's a pretty nifty trick. And this is a comedy that's actually kind of a tragedy. I hate myself, but I'm Team Jules. GAWD!"
Reader Comments (9)
From what we've seen so far of Feud I believe this time around the winner of the [Emmy] will be Jessica/Joan.
Last night's episode devastated me. I know the Academy is use to the dark reality nominees face when they lose on Oscar night. But the suffocating defeat expressed through Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis is so compelling I forgive her for openly stiffing Clinton publicly and want her so badly to be making good movies with relevant filmmakers.
It was a strong lineup, but I hate that Bette lost the Oscar. I love Joan's subtle work here, though I love Bette's flamboyant performance beyond words. Lol, as Alfred Molina as Robert Aldrich repeats on Feud, "the goddamn acting!" Lol.
I'm Team Baby Jane. Last summer, the art museum here in Portland did a 35mm Bette & Joan restrospective. So all summer long I had "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" stuck in my head in anticipation for the finale.
The film is a miracle.
i had been wondering over the past few weeks why is Sarah Paulson in this movie as Geraldine Page??? Then I remembered why. I was kind of amazed Joan visited Bancroft & and called Page (which I understand is true) - and she had snarky insults for both actresses, even when she was asking for this favor. I am certain Joan did not reach out to Hepburn. I dont think that would have gone over too well. I have seen all the nominees - I too would have gone with Bancroft, then Hepburn. It's still a crying shame, and astounding, that Davis lost in 1950 to Judy Holliday. I think that whole fiasco should be re-visited 67 years later. that was not fair. Worse than Glenda Jackson winning in 1974 over my Barbra.
Bette as Baby Jane is a master act with continuous high-wire moments that never feel absurd or over the top. Her acting shines masterfully when she reveals the broken soul within through tender shifts in her facial expression or voice intonation. The last few minutes are particularly heart-breaking and makes you feel for her. Joan is amazing, but I'm team Baby Jane unflinchingly.
Jimmy: back in 1950, Bette, Gloria Swanson and, to a lesser extent, Anne Baxter split their votes and Judy Holliday ended up winning!
Jackson over Barbra is also a shame, but then again Babs may have split votes with Ellen Burstyn (Exorcist) and Joanne Woodward (she was great in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams).
1962 was such a difficult year for the Best Actress category. I still can't make up my mind between Bancroft and Davis!
Everyone here has seen that wonderful youtube video of the 1973 Best Actress annoucement at the Oscars, right? Burstyn, and to a lesser extent Woodward and Newman, were so raw with their displeasure at the winner! I love it.
I am always Team Bette over Team Joan, so I had to vote for Baby Jane.
This series had hammy acting at its best.
When I was in 5th grade and we had to write a paper on what we wanted to be when we grew up, I said, "Bette Davis in All About Eve when I'm 40 and Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane when I'm 60."
So apart from the fact that my parents showed me both those movies before the age of 10, it's pretty fair to say whose team I've been on for 25+ years.