Movie · 2021 · Drama, History · 2h 6m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 3.3/10 (192.7K ratings)
Sometimes in life, you have to take your lashes.
Overview
From the 1960s to the 1980s, evangelist Jim Baker and his ambitious wife, Tammy Faye, rose from humble beginnings to build an empire based on big-time evangelical Christianity--only for the couple to fall from grace because of some all-too-human sins.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.3/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.32/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Metacritic: 55
TMDB: 6.4/10
Director
Michael Showalter
Production
Freckle Films, MWM Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Semi-Formal Productions, Talent One
Cast
Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Cherry Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Mark Wystrach, Sam Jaeger, Louis Cancelmi, Gabriel Olds, Fredric Lehne, Chandler Head, Jay Huguley, Dan Johnson, Michael MacCauley, Grant Owens, Coley Campany, Craig Newkirk, Wes Jetton, Jess Weixler, Maurie Speed, Lindsay Ayliffe
Where to watch
fuboTV
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, empathetic rise-and-fall biopic with strong performances and a clear affection for its subject, but it plays more like a polished awards vehicle than a fully sharp or surprising character study. The movie is most compelling when it leans into Tammy Faye’s contradictions, faith, and public image; it’s less effective when it smooths over the messier edges of the story.
Best for
viewers interested in religious America, televangelism, and 20th-century pop culture
fans of performance-driven biopics
people who like campy, emotionally sincere drama
audiences drawn to redemption, scandal, and media spectacle
Skip if
you want a hard-edged satire or deeply critical takedown
you’re not interested in faith-based power politics
you prefer biopics with a more experimental or formally daring style
you dislike melodrama or makeup-heavy transformation performances
Overview
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is built around a fascinating contradiction: a woman who was both a product of televangelist spectacle and, at times, one of its more humane faces. Michael Showalter keeps the film accessible and brisk, and Jessica Chastain gives the role a vivid, lived-in warmth that makes Tammy Faye feel larger than the tabloid version of her life.
Worth noting
The movie works best as a character portrait and a period piece. It captures the garish optimism of 1970s and 1980s evangelical celebrity culture, the money, the TV-ready smiles, and the moral rot underneath. Andrew Garfield is effective as Jim Bakker, though the film’s emotional center is clearly Tammy Faye’s need to be loved, seen, and forgiven.
Bottom line
Still, the film can feel a little too tidy for a story this strange and ugly. It wants to be compassionate rather than ruthless, which makes it appealing, but also limits its bite. If you’re in the mood for a human-scale biopic with strong craft and a memorable lead performance, it’s worth a look; if you want something sharper or more unsettling, it may leave you wanting more.
Top Letterboxd reviews
bre (3★) · 3388 likes
rip tammy faye you would have loved coke zero and eyelash extensions
Ethan Ethan (3★) · 2877 likes
We should just give up on trying to make Andrew Garfield look old
Amanda the Jedi (3.5★) · 2875 likes
Never forget that Jim Bakker went on to try and sell people colloidal silver as a covid cure and is a genuine menace to the world. Hallelujah.
jourdain searles (3★) · 2120 likes
tale as old as time—fun, cool lady marries a loser
2013 · Crime, Drama, Comedy · 3h · R · Curator 7.9/10 (5.7M ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, AMC+, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A brash rise-and-fall story about charisma, excess, and moral collapse in public view.