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Evangelicals

The Eyes of Tammy Faye – Complex Simplicity

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For many people, Tammy Faye Bakker is probably best known for being the butt of jokes and SNL skits. Her outlandish makeup was a trademark that was easy to satirize, as was her singing and onscreen demeanor. But what of the person behind all that? The Eyes of Tammy Faye, directed by Michael Showalter, gives us a very sympathetic look at this woman who was an icon to televangelism, and who also became a champion of LGBTQ rights. The film is based on an excellent documentary by the same name from 2000 directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. Screenwriter Abe Sylvia has done a masterful job of expanding and transforming that documentary into a narrative film. (Although, there are some small bits of dramatic license, but nothing that really does harm to the story.)

The film follows Tammy Faye’s life from a child in International Falls, Minnesota, where she was somewhat discouraged from going to church because her mother had divorced and remarried. But Tammy Faye (Jessica Chastain) was so attracted to the church that she went anyway, and when she spoke in tongues, she was readily accepted. When at Bible college, she met and fell in love with Jim Bakker (Andrew Garfield), who even then was proclaiming the prosperity gospel. They soon married and set out on the road as traveling evangelists.

Andrew Garfield as “Jim Bakker” and Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

When their travels took them to the area of the fledgling televangelist Pat Robertson, Jim and Tammy Faye started doing a kid’s show for him, which Jim leveraged into “The 700 Club”, the first Christian talk show. Soon, Robertson wanted that show for himself, so Jim and Tammy Faye started their own televangelist network (PTL) which grew rapidly. The vision was always far ahead of resources, and debt was a constant problem, especially after building a theme park that rivaled Disneyland. Through it all the couple lived a luxurious life. In time, Jim Bakker was eventually charged with and convicted of fraud and sent to prison.

While the documentary covered all this history with archival footage, this film takes us behind the curtain to see all this taking place through Tammy Faye’s perspective. And that allows us to see a multi-faceted person who has more to her than we may suspect.

The film opens with a scene (reenacted from the doc) of Tammy Faye at a TV studio having her makeup removed so that more camera-friendly makeup can be put on. While the makeup comes off, she talks about all her makeup. We then discover that some of it is permanent. Tammy Faye concludes, “Yeah, this is who I am.” We are struck by how the real and the persona are blended in such a way that it’s hard to separate one from the other. As the film progresses, we see Tammy Faye as someone who is blended in many ways.

Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

One of those ways is how she seems to be in a constant tension between her stolid Midwestern upbringing (personified in her mother, played by Cherry Jones) and the lavish lifestyle that surrounds her. Certainly, Jim’s messages of prosperity as a sign of faith gives some spiritual cover for that (even if a dubious theology). Even though she’s very comfortable with all the luxury, there is always her mother’s disapproval of it.

The film also makes a point that Tammy Faye was more than just Jim’s wife. (That is truer here than in the documentary.) To be sure, much of her life, its rises and falls, were caused by Jim and his dreams (and lack of solid morals), but there were ways that Tammy Faye had her own sense of power and her own desires. A key illustration is a scene in which Jim, Robertson, and Jerry Falwell are all sitting down at a barbecue to talk business. The women are all left on the periphery. That is, until Tammy Faye, baby in arms, pulls her own chair up to the table to insert herself into the discussion.

Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” and Andrew Garfield as “Jim Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

It should be noted that Chastain is one of the producers of the film as well as the star. When she first saw the documentary, she was moved to make it into a film and bought the rights. There is a certain “Time’s Up” feeling to that place-at-the-table scene. This view of Tammy Faye as one pushing for women’s rights adds another layer to her persona in the film.

Later, Tammy Faye became the first leader among Evangelicals to show great compassion to AIDS sufferers, which led her to be compassionate toward LGBTQ people in general. She understood them to be beloved of God. She may or may not have approved of their lives, but she saw them first and foremost as God’s children. This at a time when many of the other televangelist were referring to AIDS as a plague sent from God to punish gays.

Randy Havens as “Steve Pieters” and Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

After watching this film, I watched the documentary for comparison. While there are some differences in how the stories are told, the films together serve to give a fuller picture of the events and of Tammy Faye. The impression I had of Tammy Faye after watching both films was that the best description of her is “simple”. (By that I mean uncomplicated, not mentally deficient.) The picture this film gives us of Tammy Faye is a woman who is guileless. In spite of her garish makeup, with Tammy Faye, what you see is what you get.

Jessica Chastain as “Tammy Faye Bakker” and Andrew Garfield as “Jim Bakker” in the film THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. Photo by Daniel McFadden. © 2021 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved

That simplicity applies to her gospel message as well. The “Gospel according to Tammy Faye” is “God loves you. He really does.” As one trained in theology, I know that there are volumes written to describe the Gospel and the many nuances that grow out of God’s relationship to the world. Back when the Bakkers were riding the wave of televangelism, I would have likely belittled them for many valid reasons. But I also can say that that simple statement of God’s love is truly a full statement of the Gospel.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye opens in theaters September 17.

38 Years Of Star Wars: A Personal Journey

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Thirty-eight years ago, on Memorial Day, George Lucas changed the course of history with the release of a little film called Star Wars. 

Everything old is new again.

Once you’ve created the wheel, why invent a new one? That’s what big and small screen producers seem to be thinking. Those of us who remember the ’70s and ’80s have been feeling a sense of déjà vu. Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, and even The Muppets are back on the scene.

Often remakes of popular films and television shows pale in comparison to the originals. This is often true of sequels (and prequels), too. Some filmmakers know they can make money by merely appealing to nostalgia. But even the more scrupulous often find it impossible to recapture the nuances which made the original movie great.

When George Lucas released Star Wars, thirty-eight years ago this Memorial Day, I am sure he believed it was a good film. I doubt he thought it would become the icon it would soon become and the influence it still is today. You never quite know what will strike a chord with an audience. By mid-August of 1977, it was clear just how strongly the chord was resonating.

Star Wars was a breath of fresh air in that cynical era. Religion of any kind seemed to be giving way to dry secularism in the culture at large. Many movies of the day were nihilistic, and Obi Wan talking about becoming part of “a larger world” was different.

Luke Skywalker was part of that larger world, and had a close connection to it. However, he had been raised by a cynical uncle who was afraid of the past, fearful Luke would become like his father. It would take mentors outside his family to teach him “the force is strong” in his family. As Yoda would tell him in The Empire Strikes Back, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Life is (or should be) about relearning. We are all in a very real sense a product of our history. But we don’t have to be trapped inside the falsehoods we have been told. The problem is we often continue to believe the lies even when the truth is right in front of us. And, as the scripture teaches early in Genesis, knowledge does not necessarily keep us from the dark side.

star wars 2Luke needed intervention in his life, and the implication is something bigger than him was moving him toward those who could help him. But he had to trust his mentors and cooperate with what he was being taught.

When Star Wars was hitting its biggest box office numbers in August of 1977, I was beginning a significant relearning phase of my life. I had enrolled at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I would only be there one year, but the classes, the classmates, and the whole atmosphere in general made a big imprint on my life. I was unlearning and relearning things about myself and my God, while picking up some ideas that I would later, for better or worse, abandon. And the mandatory English class was honing my writing skills enough that I would later be able to write posts on the internet which are somewhat intelligible.

I am from a very conservative background. I was raised in churches which were part of an Association with the word “Fundamental” in its name. Attending a movie in a theater was generally frowned upon, although many of the older generation had no problem attending G-rated films, and most of my peers were getting more adventurous. Moody had a policy that students were not allowed to attend theaters, although we were allowed to watch television in the student lounge. (It was there I viewed the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit for the first time.) But I was getting some reports from back home about how great this new science fiction film was.

I was able to see Star Wars for the first time in the summer of 1978. I remember rather vividly coming in late to the discount theater where it was playing. The droids were already making their way through the Tatooine desert. It was obvious the copy being shown had seen better days, with the familiar white dots on the screen from the projector shining through holes in the cellulose. But the quality of the film did not deter me. I was hooked.

Unfortunately, by the end of the decade, many evangelical “fundamentalists” were speaking out against the Star Wars movies. They were too blind to see how God was using the films to cause people to think about spiritual things. There was even a backlash against Tolkien, who was seen by some as occultic.

star wars1Obviously I disagree with the extremists who see Star Wars as a back door to Satan. I have abandoned some of the more extreme views of those I grew up under. But I have not abandoned my belief that there is Something bigger than myself, and that belief should make a difference in how I live my life. The films by George Lucas are definitely not a religious rock I stand upon, but I am thankful for those who have considered the “larger world” because the movies exist.

In the coming months I hope to post reviews of the six Star Wars movies in anticipation of the upcoming Episode VII: The Force Awakens. There are most definitely themes which run through the movies which relate to my faith. And, I dare say, there are still some redeemable elements in the “prequels” despite the often poor dialogue and storylines.