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The Eyes of Tammy Faye takes a look at the colorful life of Tammy Faye Messner, former wife of disgraced PTL leader Jim Bakker. Missing, however, is anything new.
By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 31, 2000
The face that launched a thousand quips is back in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, as in Bakker or Messner. Take your pick from whatever stage of her spotlighted life you know best.
Or perhaps you prefer to call her the woman who looks like she collided with a Revlon delivery truck. Tammy Faye would probably get a chuckle from that. If anything is learned in this unabashedly sympathetic biography, it's that Tammy Faye does have a sense of humor and an even deeper sense of religious faith.
There isn't much in this film that hasn't been hashed over in news reports and gossip columns. We see the rise and fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's TV satellite ministry, his investment in a Christian amusement park and their stunning fall from grace.
Actually, they were pushed, the movie declares, by a coup masterminded by fellow evangelist Jerry Falwell. Not that the Bakkers were completely innocent, although The Eyes of Tammy Faye tries hard to avoid accusing its bubbly heroine.
Charges that the Bakkers skimmed money from ministry donations are mentioned in passing and refuted by her in full. Jim Bakker's Clearwater Beach tryst with Jessica Hahn is addressed, earning Tammy Faye more sympathy as a wronged woman. Sinners may have surrounded her, but she appears pure.
Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato uncovered juicy footage of the Bakkers' early career, spreading the gospel with makeshift hand puppets and variety-show entertainment. The flashbacks turn pathetic as Tammy Faye becomes addicted to anti-depressants. Hindsight clarifies those dazed expressions and odd behaviors fans probably considered natural for her.
Interviews with key players in these evangelical scandals are included, although several (including Falwell) either declined or refused to answer requests to participate. The Charlotte Observer reporter who led that newspaper's Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the situation even comes across as a Tammy Faye fan, of sorts.
Sort through the fluff and self-serving propaganda, and a fascinating portrait of a natural born celebrity emerges. Tammy Faye seems brave for reaching out to AIDS patients while homosexuality is damned by other ministers. She doesn't act bitter, but deeply hurt. A better film would confront her about her knowledge of her husband's financial schemes (she was never charged with anything).
In the end, it's a comment from entertainer Pat Boone that summarizes the Bakkers' humiliation: "Christian soldiers always kill their wounded" before marching on. Tammy Faye is a survivor. For 79 minutes, you can't avoid liking her, tattooed lip-liner and all.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Grade: B
Directors: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Cast: Tammy Faye Messner, Jim Bakker, Roe Messner, Jessica Hahn
Rating: PG-13; sexual content, mild profanity
Running time: 79 min.
Theaters: Tampa Theatre only.