The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000) on Netflix
PG-1320001h 19mBiographyDocumentary
Tammy Faye Bakker Messner tells her own story of rising as a televangelist beside her husband, Jim Bakker. Their ministry starts with a children's show where she is a puppeteer and singer.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb7.2/102,311 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
The documentary looks at the life of Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, told mostly through her own account. She married Jim Bakker as a teenager, and the two went on to work as popular televangelists. They began with a children's television show, where she performed as a puppeteer and singer. From there they helped found the 700 Club, co-founded the Trinity Broadcast Network and started PTL Network. Her nondenominational version of Christianity reached out to all, and the couple built Heritage USA, a theme park. The film won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Documentary and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Cast
- Roe Messneras Himself
- Jay Bakkeras Self
- Greg Gormanas Self
- Roz Musicas Self - Make-up Artist
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- This documentary later became the basis for a 2021 biographical drama of the same title, with Jessica Chastain playing Tammy Faye and Andrew Garfield as Jim Bakker, and Chastain went on to win the Best Actress Oscar at the 94th Academy Awards for the role.
- Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato directed the documentary and produced it through their own company, World of Wonder, and had it narrated by RuPaul.
- It was followed by a 2005 documentary, Tammy Faye: Death Defying, which follows Bakker's struggle with inoperable stage 4 colon cancer.
- The documentary earned a place on Current TV's list of the 50 Documentaries to See Before You Die, ranking 23rd.
