Ideal documentaries pass three tests. The documentary maker must indicate a point of view toward the subject he is focusing on. He must be fair toward his subject. And he must not make fun of his subject.
"The Eyes of Tammy Faye," though entertaining, is far from ideal. Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato are fair in their treatment of the ex-wife of PTL network owner Jim Baker. They do a good job of documenting her life from birth in Minnesota to a comeback performance at Oral Roberts University. She is shown to be a talented singer, and remarkably supportive of AIDS sufferer Jim J Bullock. We hurt with her as she attempts to pitch shows to a television executive, and is promptly rejected.
But the film-makers use of puppets to introduce each story section (similar to the use of mice in "Babe"--perhaps the filmmakers felt justified because Jim and Tammy Faye started out as puppeteers) is a bit too cute, and an indication that try as they might the documentary makers can't keep from making fun of their subject.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is that the makers don't establish a point of view toward Tammy Faye. Is she a victim, survivor, manipulator or naïve? Perhaps she's a bit of all. But we'd like to know that her biographers think.
"The Eyes of Tammy Faye," though entertaining, is far from ideal. Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato are fair in their treatment of the ex-wife of PTL network owner Jim Baker. They do a good job of documenting her life from birth in Minnesota to a comeback performance at Oral Roberts University. She is shown to be a talented singer, and remarkably supportive of AIDS sufferer Jim J Bullock. We hurt with her as she attempts to pitch shows to a television executive, and is promptly rejected.
But the film-makers use of puppets to introduce each story section (similar to the use of mice in "Babe"--perhaps the filmmakers felt justified because Jim and Tammy Faye started out as puppeteers) is a bit too cute, and an indication that try as they might the documentary makers can't keep from making fun of their subject.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is that the makers don't establish a point of view toward Tammy Faye. Is she a victim, survivor, manipulator or naïve? Perhaps she's a bit of all. But we'd like to know that her biographers think.