Why is mommie dearest a gay classic

But at what point did the gay community embrace Mommie Dearest and why? It has since become a film parodied on stage, TV, and currently in memes. Three years later, Mommie Dearest hit theaters, starring Oscar winner Faye Dunaway in the leading role with Frank Perry behind the camera.

One of the very first of its kind about any celebrity. Despite its critical failure, Mommie Dearest was actually a modest box office hit. Drag queens had impersonated Joan already for decades. Early on, they were bringing wire hangers to the theater, dressed in bathrobes, and shouting back at the screen, Rocky Horror style.

It became a gay culture institution and touchstone.

Mommie Dearest Cult Classic

Don Horn. The book was a runaway smash hit though and, of course, Hollywood announced a film version right away. Mommie Dearest has been an oft-quoted, queer audience favorite for 40 years. In the case of Mommie Dearest, it seems to be a combination of several things: first it's about Joan Crawford, who was already a gay super-icon in her own right.

We imagine afterlife Joan might regret that endorsement. Especially with caked-on makeupwire hangers, and baby dolls thrown about in front of a drunk crowd. With Love, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic, by A. Ashley Hoff, details the writing and selling of Christina's book and the aftermath of its publication as well as the filming of the motion picture, whose backstage drama almost surpassed what was viewed onscreen.

Well, for starters, the gay community has always loved the glamorous female stars of old Hollywood. But the fuel Mommie Dearest gave the character of Joan, at least as portrayed in the filmwas too much for any self-respecting queen to resist. But the mother of them all, if you can pardon the pun, is Mommie Dearest.

Secondly, film Joan is extremely sassy, witty and has ton of great shady one liners, which is perfect material for drag queens, who have always been initiators of a lot of gay culture. Mainly because Paramount instantly switched the marketing campaign once they realized moviegoers were laughing in theaters.

Which was around the time she hit forty. Since Faye Dunaway is essentially giving a drag performance as Joan Crawford, it was really the drag community that elevated Mommie Dearest from the get-go.

New Book Looks at

After Hollywood legend Joan Crawford died inher doptive daughter Christina wrote a scathing tell-all book. We highly recommend the video essay from Be Kind Rewind on the making of the film for the full story. The making and aftermath of Mommie Dearest was a tangled affair.

It forever damaged the career of Faye Dunawaymainly because the Oscar-winning actress portrayed Joan as if she was some kind of crazed clown. Just as they had other Golden Era Hollywood actresses. And we certainly cared about her long after most straight men had forgotten she even existed.

How ‘Mommie Dearest’ Became Cult Classic and Gay Icon “It’s like Greek tragedy,” says actor Xander Berkeley of Faye Dunaway’s over-the-top performance as the celebrity mom from hell. So any queer person of the era already had a long-standing affinity for the high fashion drama queen that was Joan Crawford.

The following is an excerpt from the new book "With Love, Mommie Dearest: The Making of an Unintentional Camp Classic" by Hollywood historian A. Ashley Hoff, available now through Chicago Review. We dive into why this camp classic is a part of the LGBTQ+ cultural landscape.