This movie takes a look at the iconic legend from two sides of her persona. Norma Jean Dougherty (Ashley Judd) is the ambitious small town girl and Marilyn Monroe (Mira Sorvino) is the construct after the plastic surgery. She had an unstable mother and an absent father. Her aunt left her in the orphanage after her uncle made a pass. In Hollywood, the married model Norma Jean dates actor Eddie Jordan (Josh Charles) and uses his connections. She vows to be the biggest star ever. Despite the good news of her divorce, she is angrily jealous of Eddie signing a studio contract. She's willing to sleep around including Eddie's uncle Ted to get ahead. Through Ted, she gets to big Hollywood agent Johnny Hyde (Ron Rifkin).This has the feel of an unauthorized sensationalized TV biopic. Ashley Judd is acting for all her worth in this one. She also gets really naked. It seems desperate. Norma Jean had a desperate drive and I can't separate the story from the sense of movie-making. Nevertheless, it probably has more reality than fiction. This is not some high brow affair despite the high brow concept of two actresses playing the same role. The concept functions well. Mira Sorvino does a fine Monroe imitation although it doesn't feel real. This does try to do a psychological conflict between the two personalities although I like more the Monroe as a smart calculating performer rather than a tragic mental case. Everybody wants the tragic flaw. In the end, this is a functional TV biopic but it seems to be trying too hard for my taste.

at first Mira sorvino and Ashley Judd aren't as beautiful as Marlyn Monroe. they are really bad and there was many wrong things about Marlyn in this movie. i don't want to reckon because it takes me so long.Ashley Judd plays the icon in her younger days as unknown Norma jean. Mira sorvino takes over when Hollywood transforms Norma jean into Marlyn Monroe.Ashley Judd and Mira sorvino are so different from each other. they are looking different. this is really bad.i must say that this movie was very interesting and a little disturbing. this is horrible portrayal of the legendary Marlyn Monroe. if Marlyn Monroe was as dumb as this movie made her out to be. we wouldn't be celebrating her legacy as we are today. Marlyn Monroe was a brilliant woman. she had a heart but this movie made her cold and without a soul..and last i think Michelle Williams more successful Ashley Judd and Mira sorvino and she must play this film.

For years, the 1996 HBO movie NORMA JEAN AND MARILYN has been maligned and skewered by critics and viewers alike because it was not an accurate biography of Marilyn Monroe. Frankly, if you're looking for an accurate film biography of Marilyn Monroe, there is no such animal (though the ABC-TV movie with Catherine Hicks is pretty close). NORMA JEAN AND MARILYN is not supposed to be a biography of Marilyn. So much has been written about Marilyn over the past 50 years, how can there be anything that people don't know at this point? That's why this movie took a different tack and presented a probing psychological drama that speculates about the inner demons that tormented Marilyn from her childhood as Norma Jean throughout her adult life as Marilyn. Ashley Judd lights up the screen as a young Norma Jean, the young woman determined to forget a loveless marriage to Jim Dougherty and carve out a career for herself as a movie star, even if she has to sleep her way to the top to do it. Norma Jean makes no bones about what she wants, even if it means using and abusing good friend Eddie Jordan (Josh Charles)to get to his famous uncle as an "in" to the Hollywood crowd. The screenplay splices together fantasies and inner dialogues with some actual events in Norma Jean's life in order to give us a look into Marilyn's psyche. Once Norma Jean gets signed to Fox and she changes her name to Marilyn Monroe, Mira Sorvino takes over the role in an uncanny reincarnation of the screen's greatest sex symbol. Sorvino is warm and heartbreaking as Marilyn, recreating some of Marilyn's greatest on screen moments with frightening accuracy while at the same time beautifully conveying the decay of Marilyn's mind, thanks to booze, pills, men, and the treatment she received from studio heads, acting coaches, and others who tried to help her. What makes this film unique and indicates that it is not just a typical biopic is that after Sorvino takes over the role, Ashley Judd still appears as the inner Norma Jean, coaching and encouraging Marilyn to do the right thing and ridiculing her when she does the wrong thing. This movie is an examination of the inner Marilyn who lived in constant mental anguish and was never satisfied with anything she ever did or any relationship she had. The movie is well-written with flashbacks and flash forwards that require close attention in order to stay with the story but it is well worth it. Sorvino and Judd receive solid support from David Dukes as Arthur Miller, Peter Dobsono as Joe DiMaggio, Ron Rifkin as Johnny Hyde, and Lindsay Crouse as Natasha, Marilyn's acting coach who, according to this film,was in love with her. This is a haunting and disturbing film that will not answer all your questions about her, but might help you to understand what a tormented soul she was. If you're looking for a biography of Marilyn, go to a library and check out a book on Marilyn. If you're looking for a unique film experience about a side of Marilyn we rarely saw, then give NORMA JEAN AND MARILYN a look.

The only redeeming factor of this film is the early sequence, wherein Mary Haney (veteran actor, ""Little Girl Fly Away"".....and others), plays one of the foster mothers to Marilyn. We can see some of the history and abuse; which is probably never going to be completely analyzed, which led Marilyn to the profession she chose.Ashley Judd is passable as young Norma Jean, but becomes the strident alter ego, which, tritely enough, is part of how the writer of this movie portrays Marilyn's untimely death. The film divides Marilyn into her past and present; with no real compassion or realistic explanation.For the caricature of Marilyn in her superstar era, Mira Sorvino is not a good choice. She is too affected, and at one point you will get a few laughs when she throws spaghetti at former husband Joe DiMaggio. The casting director might have chosen someone less over the top; maybe Joanna Kerns or someone with a more intelligent persona. Although Marilyn, in real life, made it to the top by being a sex symbol; I don't think she was a blithering idiot, as she is portrayed here.One performance which deserves mention is Lindsay Crouse, as Natasha Lytess, the venerable drama coach. She adds some class and talent to this film.As for Marilyn's demise, we will probably never be told the truth, since there were too many unsavory characters taking advantage of her, and she was quite a lonely person, it seems. Read Anthony Summers book about Marilyn, which will give you the real information.At any rate, watch the early part if you are interested in the real Marilyn. Then read the biography by Mr. Summers, or a few other recent books which utilize FACTS. Marilyn's life was sad, but it is even more tragic that she is still portrayed in such a way. She was obviously a woman with some talent and intelligence, especially to have been a successful actress in the era of the 50's and 60's.