The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: September 17, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 48 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
25
Negative:
4

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
ABC NewsPeter TraversSep 24, 2021
Firing up the Oscar race for Best Actress, a virtuoso Jessica Chastain raises up this formula biopic about televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker by redeeming her reputation as a cultural joke in clown makeup and finding the soul beneath the sparkle. Read full review
70
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 13, 2021
Ultimately it’s a sympathetic portrayal. Yes, people called her a clown, but The Eyes of Tammy Faye shows her as someone more complicated and much more interesting. Read full review
65
CNNBrian LowrySep 16, 2021
The stars outshine the movie in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a dazzling showcase for Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield as Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker in a dutiful, somewhat disjointed chronicle of how the televangelists amassed great wealth before his disgraced fall. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattSep 12, 2021
Comes drawn in bold, broad strokes — a fond treatment of a flawed but fascinating American icon whose revelations feel mostly cosmetic in the end. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenSep 14, 2021
By its bombastic (and somewhat abrupt) final scene, you have to imagine that The Eyes of Tammy Faye accurately captures how Tammy Faye saw herself. Read full review
70
Little White LiesCharles BramescoFeb 4, 2022
No matter what we might think of her, it’s clear that Tammy Faye was one of a kind. Chastain’s mannered plague of tics does right by her in that respect, but she’s been inserted into a template now worn from overuse. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreSep 14, 2021
Chastain is perfect. Forget the prosthetics and the “clown makeup” mimicry. She gets under the character’s skin, sings in her own voice and never lets an insincere moment flicker by on the screen. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedSep 20, 2021
Still, in spite of its flaws, I liked The Eyes of Tammy Faye a lot—mainly because of its dedication to period accuracy in every visual detail, and Jessica Chastain’s baptism by fire in the complex leading role. Read full review
80
Screen RantSarah Bea MilnerSep 20, 2021
Ultimately, The Eyes of Tammy Faye has to compromise its story with real events, and at least it gives Tammy Faye a celebratory note to end on. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeSep 12, 2021
If Showalter resists a cartoon takedown of Tammy Faye Bakker, he also hasn’t made a very deep look at her life, either. Read full review
63
The Associated PressLindsey BahrSep 14, 2021
Although “Tammy Faye” may be imperfect, it does succeed in at least one significant way: We’re not just looking at her makeup anymore. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Johanna SchnellerSep 13, 2021
The director, Michael Showalter (The Big Sick), and the screenwriters Abe Sylvia, along with Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato who made the 2000 documentary of the same name, either can’t or don’t want to confine themselves to a consistent tone. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneSep 20, 2021
Jones is as formidable as ever, and Vincent D’Onofrio gives a sombre and riveting portrayal of Jerry Falwell, the Baptist Savonarola, who doesn’t hesitate to scythe down the Bakkers for their sins. But this is Chastain’s movie, through and through. Read full review
70
TheWrapRobert AbeleSep 12, 2021
That blend of tones is not always smoothly handled, but there’s enough heart in its express train of ambition, flaws and fallout to allow its leading lady wide berth for a wonderfully committed, soulful, even sexual turn admirably devoid of caricature. Read full review
88
USA TodayBrian TruittSep 12, 2021
Entertaining and surprisingly funny given the subject matter, the movie’s also an exquisitely acted affair paced by Chastain (who also produces), turning in a career-best effort as the complex Tammy Faye. Read full review
70
Vanity FairRichard LawsonSep 17, 2021
It would be easy to get lost in all that technical detail, to figure the impression—both physical and vocal—is enough. But Chastain digs deeper than the aesthetics, and locates something crucial in Tammy Faye. It’s a genuine, deep-seated, perhaps ruinously naive compassion, which Chastain illustrates with great care. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanSep 12, 2021
Chastain and Garfield give performances that are brashly entertaining but also canny and layered, as the characters get caught up in something far bigger than themselves. The Bakkers were hucksters of a grand order, and the film uses their spectacular greedhead soap opera to tell the larger American story of how Christianity got turned into showbiz. Read full review
70
VoxAlissa WilkinsonOct 5, 2021
This exceptionally well-cast version of Tammy Faye’s story does manage to tap into a cultural moment with reverberations we continue to feel today. Read full review
75
Washington PostAnn HornadaySep 15, 2021
The Eyes of Tammy Faye gives viewers an absorbing, amusing and provocative chance to rethink yet another train wreck who turned out to be, of all things, human. Read full review
More From This Movie

55 Critic Reviews

5.8 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL