My wife Julie had a speaking role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a new movie based on the story of Jim and Tammy Bakker. We caught the premiere last night in Charlotte. Here, Julie is posing outside the theater. (The picture above, by the way, was made by Ken Garfield, the former religion editor of the Charlotte Observer.)
I thoroughly enjoyed it — and not just because my wife had a scene with Jessica Chastain, who delivered an honest portrayal of the one-of-a-kind Tammy Bakker. The movie is not a parody, but a tribute to a flawed optimist who somehow survived scandal, Jim Bakker, and copious amounts of diet Coke and Ativan.
It’s touching, funny, and dazzling — as this review in USA Today notes:
One of the Ten Commandments states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Considering her knockout, praise-all-her-glory performance in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” however, it’s going to be tough not to worship at the altar of Jessica Chastain throughout this Oscar season.
The movie was selected for special presentation by the Toronto Film Festival, and Jessica Chastain received the Festival’s Tribute Actor Award for her performance. And no wonder — Chastain is powerful and believable in this role. Check it out.
M.C. Tuggle, Writer 
That’s exciting! Congrats to your wife.
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I did. She’s looking for her next part already.
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What an interesting share Mike. 👍👍We are all eager to watch the film.
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Americaoncoffee,
It’s really good. It gives you a whole new understanding of Tammy Faye.
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I always wondered why she cried so much, Jim going to jail and their dog having air conditioning in the dog house. I know the film will address much. Have a good day Mike.
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That is super cool.
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HP,
Thanks!
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Congrats to your wife et al, Mike! Looking forward to seeing this. I briefly met the Bakkers back before everything imploded at PTL, so I have a (tiny) bit of history there.
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mitchteemley,
I have some college friends who became independent journalists. They interviewed the Bakkers and found Tammy very approachable, but didn’t like Jim. In fact, the movie has spurred interest in their work, and they’re getting requests to use many of their images of the Bakkers.
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My comedy group and some musician friends were there to shoot an independent program using their studios (pre-scandal), so we only met them briefly. They seemed very “plastic” to me but, in a sense, I only met their glad-handing personas, not the people they actually were.
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I listened to an interview with Chastain on NPR the other day. I was surprised by her compassion for Bakker. I’ve only really ever heard about the Jim and Tammy story through parodies and comedy sketches. I need to see the movie to get a better understanding.
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Joshua,
It’s an eye-opening story.
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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/118514.Tammy
There was also a video interview of her.
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cindy knoke,
Truly a fascinating and misunderstood person.
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Howdy. Is your wife a professional actress?
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Yeah,
Part-time. She’s done TV spots, PSAs, and theater.
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