One of my most favorite things in the world is camp, and I don't mean the place in the woods where you sleep in a tent, kids.
Full of unintentional humor, 'Mommy Dearest' was the movie adaptation of Christina Crawford's unflattering memoir of life with her mother, classic film star Joan Crawford. The 1981 film (starring Faye Dunaway as Joan) chronicled an aging star dealing with life, career, multiple husbands and lovers, and her adopted children.
Apparently, Mama Joan was not the kind of loving, apple pie-baking, maternal archetype that comes to mind when you think of mommies. Obsessed with presenting the image of utter perfection in her career and home, the life she created with her kids was anything but idyllic. Alcoholism and rage were the norm, and fueled many a fire in the Crawford household as she struggled to stay at the top of her game in Hollywood. One notable scene in the movie showed a midnight beating suffered by daughter Christina, who was dragged from her bed for the unforgivable sin of using simple wire hangers to hang her dresses with ("No wire hangers, everrrrrr!!!!" shrieked Dunaway's Crawford, her face luridly smeared with cold cream and contorted with uncontrolled fury).
Photo: Paramount Pictures
But the scene that possibly sent the memory of Crawford forever into campy oblivion was when she discovered how a maid accidentally left a nearly-imperceptable ring of dirt around a potted plant. Crawford - with her obsessive/neurotic hatred of and inability to tolerate even the slightest amount of dust or dirt - flies into a blathering, raging cleaning frenzy to rid the floor of the offending grime, hissing to the terrified servant, "I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at the dirt!"
Chicago, IL-based band The Joans bring rock 'n' roll campiness to the voice and legacy of the hanger-wielding La Crawford, in their hilarious video, entitled "I'm Not Mad at You, I'm Mad at the Dirt!"
Have a wonderful weekend y'all, and remember, Mother's Day is on Sunday, May 9th.
2 comments:
That was fun! Thanks so much for sharing.
Cheers!
I remember that movie, I still think about it sometimes when I see a wire coat hanger. The video is fun.
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