The Eyes of Tammy Faye Movie Review

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is an interesting look at the rise and fall of the Bakkers, a televangelist couple who built an empire and saw it crumble around them. They both have warm Northern Minnesota exteriors that make them seem likable and trustworthy. But the eyes that were fixed on a Heavenly gaze would distract from the money skimmed from the ‘church’ donations. Tammy Faye and her eye make-up made them famous, and the fall from grace gave them both a black eye.

College-age Tammy Faye (played by Jessica Chastain) met and fell in love with her fellow student named Jim Bakker (played by Andrew Garfield). They married and could no longer attend the Minnesota Bible College, so they went back to her parents. Tammy Faye’s mother Rachel (played by Cherry Jones) was not too keen on the young couple being there. But soon, Jim was able to purchase a car and take their preaching out on the road. The travelling couple used music and puppets to entertain kids, and to attract parents to donate to the worthy cause.

One day stranded in a Southern town, Jim and Tammy Faye were stuck. But they happened to meet a man who worked for a Christian broadcasting network run by Pat Robertson (played by Gabriel Olds). Pat found that Jim and Tammy Faye could be an attractive part of his programming. They formed the PTL (Praise The Lord) club TV show with Pat’s help. They used Tammy Faye’s singing and Jim’s powerful preaching to build a huge audience, and a substantial bank account.

Jim and Tammy Faye started their own network and eventually created a satellite-based broadcasting empire. The kept being friends with Pat Robertson and also with the Reverend Jerry Falwell (played by Vincent D’Onofrio). They made pledge drives for all sorts of things, and sometimes some money even went to the projects that they supported. People needed to be saved, and also wallets needed to be lightened. Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker had one child, and then later had another one. Tammy Faye had some rough pain with the pregnancy, and she got hooked on pain medications.

Tammy Faye had gotten the interest of a music producer named Gary Paxton (played by Mark Wystrach). They fooled around a bit, and Jim found out and became enraged. He later worked with his business manager Richard Fletcher (played by Louis Cancelmi) who got Jim Bakker involved with an affair with a secretary. All this time there were Federal investigations into the Bakker’s use of ministry money. These led to more and mores pleas from Jim and Tammy Faye for bigger and better donations.

The Bakker Empire was spun on a web of deceit and lies. Some money went to worthy causes, and Tammy Faye did reach out to many isolated groups, such as AIDS victims. But when the Feds find enough cooked books and people begin to talk, the House of Holy Cards began to tumble. There were charges of fraud and the Bakker’s Empire was turned over to Jerry Falwell as a caretaker. Jim and Tammy Faye asked that they be able to stay in the house they had built, along with the children and her mother – Rachel. Reverend Falwell considered the request, and then saw the couple wanted to still live high off the hog. He told them no way, he was going to take over.

The Bakker’s Jim and Tammy Faye, once had it all. They rose to a peak in the televangelist industry. Fame and fortune followed them. But then greed and loss of faith in each other brought them down hard. The Christian network stars became tabloid stars. Jim Bakker traded a pulpit for a cell. Tammy Faye was kicked out of everything she once held dead. She could not believe her overly made up eyes…

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is a well done review of troubled lives led by the Bakker family. They reached past their own personal goals to find more, but they found personal demons. Tammy Faye could have continued to use her singing to soothe and save souls. Jim could have been preaching strongly from position of power. Yet both of them gave into the desires for wealth and fame and personal glory. The price they paid in the end was steep.

As Tammy Faye, Jessica Chastain does a very good job to show a woman on a mission to make something grand of herself. Chastain does her own vocal when singing as Tammy Faye, and that is a plus. She also acted as one of the Producers of the movie.  Andrew Garfield also does a fine job in the role as Jim Bakker. This is not a flashy as the Tammy Faye character, but that is how it was. Cherry Jones playing the mother of Tammy Faye was a fine use of an actor in a barely-used role.  The movie was entertaining and showed the unfortunate collapse of the Bakker Empire, due to its own greed and hubris.

“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” relies mostly on the talents of Jessica Chastain as the title character. She does such a good job you won’t believe your own heavily made-up eyes.