Reviews

• 88

  USA Today

  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.

  A review by Brian Truitt for USA Today on 2021-09-12
• 80

  Screen Rant

  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.

  A review by Sarah Bea Milner for Screen Rant on 2021-09-20
• 75

  Observer

  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.

  A review by Rex Reed for Observer on 2021-09-20
• 75

  Washington Post

  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.

  A review by Ann Hornaday for Washington Post on 2021-09-15
• 75

  LarsenOnFilm

  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.

  A review by Josh Larsen for LarsenOnFilm on 2021-09-14
• 75

  The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

  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.

  A review by Johanna Schneller for The Globe and Mail (Toronto) on 2021-09-13
• 75

  The A.V. Club

  If Showalter resists a cartoon takedown of Tammy Faye Bakker, he also hasn’t made a very deep look at her life, either.

  A review by Katie Rife for The A.V. Club on 2021-09-12
• 75

  Entertainment Weekly

  Comes drawn in bold, broad strokes — a fond treatment of a flawed but fascinating American icon whose revelations feel mostly cosmetic in the end.

  A review by Leah Greenblatt for Entertainment Weekly on 2021-09-12
• 70

  The New Yorker

  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.

  A review by Anthony Lane for The New Yorker on 2021-09-20
• 70

  Vanity Fair

  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.

  A review by Richard Lawson for Vanity Fair on 2021-09-17
• 70

  Arizona Republic

  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.

  A review by Bill Goodykoontz for Arizona Republic on 2021-09-13
• 70

  Variety

  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.

  A review by Owen Gleiberman for Variety on 2021-09-12
• 70

  TheWrap

  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.

  A review by Robert Abele for TheWrap on 2021-09-12
• 70

  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.

  A review by Peter Travers for /reviews/publisher:
• 65

  CNN

  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.

  A review by Brian Lowry for CNN on 2021-09-16
• 63

  The Associated Press

  Although “Tammy Faye” may be imperfect, it does succeed in at least one significant way: We’re not just looking at her makeup anymore.

  A review by Lindsey Bahr for The Associated Press on 2021-09-14
• 63

  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.

  A review by Roger Moore for /reviews/publisher:
• 60

  Los Angeles Times

  Unfortunately, [Showalter] is often stymied by a pedestrian script by Abe Sylvia ( TV series “Dead to Me” and “Nurse Jackie”) that lurches from one defining life moment to the next and leans heavily on Chastain’s performance to establish a sense of emotional and psychological continuity.

  A review by Justin Chang for Los Angeles Times on 2021-09-17
• 60

  Slashfilm

  Chastain gets some huge, showstopping moments – her final scene is genuinely terrific, and another scene that recreates Tammy Faye's on-air conversation with gay minister and AIDS activist Steve Pieters is effective and tender – but it would've been nicer if the movie itself was more worthy of her considerable talents.

  A review by Chris Evangelista for Slashfilm on 2021-09-13
• 60

  The Eyes of Tammy Faye’s focus might be all over the place, but our eyes remain trained directly on Chastain.

  A review by Benjamin Lee for /reviews/publisher:
• 58

  Consequence

  It’s genuinely funny at times, but at two hours, it drags on for far too long, and Chastain suffers from having to hold up too much of the film’s weight on her thickly padded shoulders. It’s a killer performance looking for a movie to support it, and it’s just not here.

  A review by Clint Worthington for Consequence on 2021-09-13
• 58

  Showalter made a bright, fun, pleasing film, colorful in both character, tone, and picture. I just wish it had a bit more criticism, a little more outrage, in its bones.

  A review by Michael Frank for /reviews/publisher:
• 58

  For better or worse, we’re on Tammy Faye’s side, but the film often embraces the worst bits of a complicated story in order to make Tammy Faye look better. Why not make her look more real, makeup and all? Chastain is always able to find that humanity, but The Eyes of Tammy Faye too often turns its attention to the wrong places.

  A review by Kate Erbland for /reviews/publisher:
• 54

  Paste Magazine

  The weary and plodding story putters along the redemption arc’s curve, losing faith even in itself along the way.

  A review by Jacob Oller for Paste Magazine on 2021-09-20
• 50

  The New Yorker

  In short, [Showalter] can’t see Tammy Faye as a person, rather than as a character in a media drama. As a result, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, far from getting behind the public image, merely creates another one.

  A review by Richard Brody for The New Yorker on 2021-09-27
• 50

  Time

  This is potentially moving dramatic stuff—or at least bracing melodramatic stuff—but Showalter’s dramatization has a glazed, glassy-eyed surface, like a Pee-wee Herman movie without any of Paul Rubens’ surreptitiously sophisticated kindergarten wit.

  A review by Stephanie Zacharek for Time on 2021-09-17
• 50

  Rolling Stone

  Jessica Chastain isn’t just the reason to seek out The Eyes of Tammy Faye — she’s the only reason to see this curiously tepid biopic at all.

  A review by David Fear for Rolling Stone on 2021-09-17
• 50

  Wall Street Journal

  Jessica Chastain is the only reason, though a good one, to see The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a shrill biopic of the televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.

  A review by Joe Morgenstern for Wall Street Journal on 2021-09-17
• 50

  Slate

  The movie seems to love its main character without bothering to understand her.

  A review by Dana Stevens for Slate on 2021-09-16
• 50

  Austin Chronicle

  Showalter’s film never finds the right tone, leaving its audience with pleasantness in favor of sharp wit.

  A review by Jenny Nulf for Austin Chronicle on 2021-09-16
• 50

  San Francisco Chronicle

  Showalter’s The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which credits the documentary as its inspiration, recreates some of the doc’s scenes almost verbatim. But while imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, Abe Sylvia’s ambitious but shallow script has something spiritually missing — namely, a point to it all.

  A review by G. Allen Johnson for San Francisco Chronicle on 2021-09-15
• 50

  Screen Daily

  The film ultimately feels like a superficial examination of rich subject matter.

  A review by Tim Grierson for Screen Daily on 2021-09-15
• 50

  IGN

  Though Jessica Chastain delivers a heartfelt performance as Tammy Faye, her faith in the filmmakers can’t save this drama from falling flat.

  A review by Kristy Puchko for IGN on 2021-09-13
• 50

  As a performance piece, The Eyes of Tammy Faye connects. But is that enough?

  A review by Brian Tallerico for /reviews/publisher:
• 50

  Despite the oh gee golly wiz Midwestern yokel-isms and the aforementioned cartoonish makeup she wears—historically accurate, yes, but still bordering on the ludicrous in reality— Chastain manages to bring such dignity to the character, really plumbing the depths of her soul for the moments of pathos, heartbreak, and despair. Much of this comes to an incredible crescendo in the third act, when Tammy Faye is tragic, washed-up, but never willing to give up or radiate compassion, even when she’s being mocked.

  A review by Rodrigo Perez for /reviews/publisher:
• 42

  Original-Cin

  There’s not even a useful exploration about the gap between ideologues’ shoddy personal ethics and big picture rationalizations. What’s left is pantomime, a Halloween costume movie about characters who are far too simple-minded to explain the Bakker’s extraordinary, dubious success.

  A review by Liam Lacey for Original-Cin on 2021-09-20
• 40

  New York Magazine (Vulture)

  The Eyes of Tammy Faye, which was written by Abe Sylvia, is unable to decide if it wants to understand its subject or make fun of her, and ends up never really committing to either.

  A review by Alison Willmore for New York Magazine (Vulture) on 2021-09-17
• 38

  Slant Magazine

  The Eyes of Tammy Faye mostly plays out as a showcase for Jessica Chastain to bring as much emotional sturm und drang to the woman as she lurches between various states of turmoil.

  A review by Derek Smith for Slant Magazine on 2021-09-16
• 38

  Boston Globe

  It treats the Bakkers as something between grotesques and simpletons, which does rather limit the biopic angle. Satirizing televangelism is such low-hanging fruit it’s windfall. As for camp, it’s hard to avoid in a movie with Tammy Faye as its title character.

  A review by Mark Feeney for Boston Globe on 2021-09-15
• 30

  The New York Times

  The Bakkers were many things to many people: appalling, inspiring, laughable, sad. This movie succeeds in making them dull.

  A review by A.O. Scott for The New York Times on 2021-09-16
• 30

  The Hollywood Reporter

  The movie, with its numbing overload of pastels and prayer, is too tonally uncertain to yield any fun. It’s a depressing window into the worst excesses of faith racketeering that has little to offer in the way of commentary.

  A review by David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter on 2021-09-12