This film has become a cult classic. Generations of gay men quote lines and even straight people know the line "No Wire Hangers". In this film we learn the story of Joan Crawford told from the eyes of her daughter Christina. Christina and her brother claimed that Joan was a very abusive mother and that is shown here. What is also told in this story is how "Hollywood" treated their stars after they had a couple of box office failures. The one thing nobody can argue about in this film is that Faye Dunaway was great in this film. She however will never talk about this film. That is too bad. She has lost out on work because if she would just embrace this film for what it is then maybe she might become a happier person. Watch this film but be prepared to laugh when you really don't want too!

Have heard and watched a lot about screen legend Joan Crawford of late and just checked out this classic biography picture from 1981 in which Faye Dunaway(in a far out and well done take)portrayed Joan at her wicked and ego type best! Based on a book by Christina's Joan's adopted daughter the viewer sees the verbal and mental abuse that little Chris takes from Joan a lady with ego and fame problems as the alcohol and men relationships, and pressure for stardom took it's toll and it clearly caused Joan to take it out on her little girl in a mean and sadistic manner. It's like she's a she monster! From the scenes of beatings with coat hangers to cutting up dresses to choking incidents this Joan was one wicked old woman! The classic Dunaway is memorable as she nails it as Joan it's a wicked and cruel picture to watch, yet it's a view if you want to see what the real wicked witch Crawford was like.

The movie may be a camp classic, ("Christina, bring me the axe"; "No wire hangers...EVER!"), and it is terrible but who can deny Faye Dunaway's tour-de-force. She may not always look that much like Crawford, (Dunaway never looked like anyone other than Dunaway), but her performance goes way beyond mimicry. I have no idea how true any of it is; we have to take Christina's word for it but we don't have to rely on this to know just how tough a cookie, (and how big a bitch?), Joan actually was and Joan certainly gets into her skin. Unfortunately the movie never aims high enough and we are very much in "Valley of the Dolls" territory here. Four writers may have been two or three too many and the director Frank Perry was probably not the right man for this kind of material. Still, he managed to get a couple of remarkable performances from his two Christinas, (Diana Scarwid and 10 year old Mara Hobel), though the men, especially Steve Forrest, are mostly terrible. It certainly enjoyable both as a piece of over-the-top trash and as an example of a very fine actress going a long way to making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It's also a classic cult movie.

Due to all the negativity surrounding this film, I did not know what to expect, but wow this was really good! Faye Dunaway is extremely over-the-top and absolutely explosive to the point that you never notice anyone else but her on screen, and so is unbelievably entertaining. The film was entertaining to watch, it gave us this idea of what can go in inside the houses of even the richest of people. However, this is certainly not an accurate depiction of the events, and is extremely exaggerated, but nevertheless, I loved it! It was hilarious, without intending to be so. Crawford was a very complicated woman, and a great disciplinarian, but there was something else going on with her that caused her to crack. The "NO WIRE HANGERS" sequence was hilarious and creepy, and I can see why this film and this scene became camp, with Joan screaming like a madwoman over and over again and spanking her daughter with the hanger. The ending was sad; Joan watching her daughter honor her on television. This film definitely has to be one of the most quotable films ever, because several of the lines have been memorized and cherished (still not in the way intended, because the film can never be taken seriously). All in all, a deliciously entertaining (even if historically inaccurate and unevenly directed) underrated classic!