HBO FILM REVIEW BY ROBB BRAWN & LEE ARBOREEN

I was told right after filming of the HBO film wrapped up in the fall of 2007, that I would be blown away at the last scene, where Edie sings Tea For Two at Reno Sweeny, and I was ! I had supplied the film company with the only recording in existence of Edie singing the tune, only this wasn't from her actual performance at the club, but rather her singing it just for me at one of my many visits to Grey Gardens. Drew sang it exactly, phrase for phrase as I have it on tape. Edie and I actually met that night at Reno Sweeny, and my relationship with Grey Gardens has now spanned over 3 decades. You can check out lots of storied about Edie at our main site MyGreyGardens.com

My partner and I were fortunate to have seen an advanced screening of the HBO film. It is very difficult from our perspective to say how the viewer who knows little about the whole story would react to the film, as the overwhelming merit of the film is the portrayal of both big and little Edie by Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lang. For those of us who know the documentary well, I am quite sure we can speak for most of the fans that both actresses performances were spot on ! Incredible ! Inspired ! From someone who knew little Edie personally, I can say that it was like seeing her come to life again.

The film which jumped back and forth between the mid 70's, and the 30's and 40's, filled in a good deal of the missing information most fans have wondered about for years. Knowing the basic facts of the social status the Beales held in the 30's and actually seeing their lifestyle lived out on the screen, makes the deterioration of their finances and parallel deterioration of the condition of the once beautiful house that much more meaningful. Both the interior and exterior sets were unbelievable. The likenesses exact. Much attention was paid to detail, which resulted in an uncanny depiction of the mansion at various phases of it's condition, from the grandiose to squaller.

Drew, who has long been a rather obsessed fan, REALLY wanted this part. She was dedicated to get it perfect, and she did. She also felt she owned it to Edie to get it right. She studied with a voice coach for over a year to get Edie's accent down perfectly. There are hints of Drew that peek out once in a great while, but for the most part, you totally forget who the actress is who is playing Edie, and that's a good thing !

Jessica's portrayal of big Edie is no less inspired. Both actresses had a good deal of leeway with their depiction of the characters, when playing the younger versions of the Edies, as there are only stills to compare with. The real challenge came when they had to play the Edies at the age they were during the filming of the documentary in 1975. We're sure that fans like us, who have probably seen the documentary a hundred times, dissected every last line, every look, and every subtlety of their movement, making sure it was without flaw, like the Maysles film. Obviously, the actresses, make up artists, costume and set designers, and everyone else involved with the production were well aware that they would be put under a microscope by fans as well as reviewers, looking to find fault somewhere. Well 99% of the time, we think everybody really pulled it off, and we can't imagine any credible negative critique. We say "credible", as we have already read one off the wall review that called Drew's Edie voice "A bad Katherine Hephern imitation " Obviously someone with a total lack of aural perceptiveness.

We think Michael Sucsy and his teem met the many challenges in producing this film. If we had one criticism, it would be that the film was too short. Maybe even another 10 minutes to fill in some time periods left out. As much as we would have liked to have seen some footage after the Reno Sweeny scene, it would certainly have been anticlimactic after that sequence. Of course if we had our way, it would have been a 6 hour mini series ! Check back soon, as we will touch on more topics regarding the HBO film. Be sure to check out our new Youtube video ! Coming 4/18/09