Jim Faye: Last News

John Wirth Guest ColumnistFor Variety‘s Writers on Writers, John Wirth pens a tribute to “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (screenplay by Abe Sylvia; based on the documentary by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato).Abe Sylvia has written a script about two hapless bible students who create with nothing more than a hymn, a bible and a puppet their wildly successful televangelist empire. It’s no small miracle that he’s accomplished this without commenting on the immoral hellscape the story stands upon.

TORONTO — Another title for the movie “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” could be “Behind the Mascara.”Throughout the enlightening biopic about husband-and-wife televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, which premiered Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival, Tammy Faye’s makeup gets thicker and thicker as the years go by.After a while the coverup, rouge and mile-long eyelashes are no longer beauty enhancements, but a protective shield against the reality of her crumbling life.The garish eighties give way to the drab, T-shirt-and-jeans nineties and, in the end, the bronzed woman looks like… well, let’s just say she looks like somebody who’s never cracked the spine of a bible before.Tammy Faye, to say the least, was one of a kind.As

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticIn “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain play Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, the self-styled Christian TV personalities who did more than anyone else to mold televangelism into a game-changing, culture-shaking, credit-card-maxing industry/cult/diversion. The movie, which is a ticklishly fascinating rise-and-fall saga, was directed by Michael Showalter, who almost always makes comedies (“The Big Sick,” “The Lovebirds,” “Wet Hot American Summer”), so you might expect him to treat the Bakker saga as a delicious slice of kitsch — which, in a sense, it was.There’s a bit of that, but Showalter is up to something more sly, and maybe more artful.

Antonio Ferme editorSearchlight Pictures has released the trailer for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” starring Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain as infamous televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.The trailer gives viewers a sneak peek into the brightly-colored world of Jim and Tammy, but things begin to go south when financial improprieties, a sex scandal and rivals break up their marriage — and their empire. As the trailer progresses and the Bakkers grow older, Chastain and Garfield become nearly unrecognizable, showing off the hair and makeup department’s skills.Directed by Michael Showalter and based on a true story, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” details the rise, fall and redemption of Jim and Tammy Faye during the 1970s and ’80s.

One of the most anticipated films arriving this fall is the drama, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” Not only is the real-life story the film is inspired by worthy of attention, but the fact that the feature is led by Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain in the roles of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, respectively, is enough to guarantee a ticket sale for most film fans. And in the first-look photos and interview from People, it’s clear the hype about ‘Eyes’ is real.