HBO’s Grey Gardens Trailer Starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange
In this dubious era of the almighty remake, there are so many remakes happening that you can actually see distinct subcategories of remakes starting to form. There’s the remake of an old classic that needs an update, there’s the remake of a foreign film for people who are scared of subtitles, and of course, there’s the reboot of a recently failed franchise in need of a fresh start. You can also add to that yet another unlikely category: the fictionalized remake of a documentary. I’ve never really understood why someone would want to retell the events of a documentary using actors instead of the real people, but I guess Rescue Dawn is at least one example where it worked well.
This brings me to the upcoming HBO film Grey Gardens, which I had been rather confused about up until now. I knew that the original Grey Gardens was a documentary by The Maysles Brothers about the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis. I also knew that the Maysles had made a follow-up film that came out just a couple years ago called The Beales of Grey Gardens. This is neither of those films. Rather, this is a fictional retelling of their life story starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore as Big and Little Edie respectively, with Jeanne Tripplehorn as Jackie O. I don’t know anything about director Michael Sucsy since this is his first film, but from the promo trailer they’ve released online, it looks a little bit ridiculous. In cases where truth is stranger than fiction, I’d rather just see the truth. Grey Gardens premieres on HBO on Sat. April 18th at 8 pm. For more info and another short video, visit the official HBO site.
Comments (14)
This is hardly “ridiculous” – or fictious, for that matter. This film is based mostly on Little Edie’s journals, along with accounts from people that knew them (including the Maylses).
It’s meant to tell the story of how they arrived at the point the documentary takes off. It’s meant to humanize two people (not “characters”) that have become much cult fodder.
Alex
Posted by Alex on March 11th, 2009*fictitious (sorry, I was a bit excited). I think that’s what bothers me the most about what you’ve said, regarding this film (and that’s considering that you’re not much familiar with the documentary to begin with. Try checking that out first, before making any judgements).
Posted by Alex on March 11th, 2009Doesn’t look too bad to me. I adore Drew Barrymore, and this was shot in Toronto (I believe that beach shot is on the island) … I know nothing of the subject matter, but anything Kennedy-related will certainly be wild.
Another recent doc-to-feature “remake” that was pretty successful: Milk.
Posted by Ashley on March 12th, 2009Absolutely stunning. Amazing. Fascinating. True performance based on an original but with it’s own character and uniqueness. I can’t wait!
Posted by Steven B on March 13th, 2009Maybe you should check your facts better and also study up on the documentary before blogging about it. Also, The Beales of Grey Gardens contains footage left out of the original doc. Nothing about the Edies is ridiculous.
Posted by Connie on March 16th, 2009Maybe I should clarify… I think Drew Barrymore’s performance looks ridiculous in those clips.
Posted by Sean on March 16th, 2009No bother. As long as you say nothing bad about Ms. Lange we’re good
Alex
Posted by Alex on March 16th, 2009it looks great. i can see that both of these fine actors understood – and then found through their craft – the core of these women that i think everyone can relate to: a sense of longing to go back to a moment in one’s life when all seemed perfect yet really wasn’t, of opportunity lost, of what it must feel like to have everything and yet nothing of importance. the movie will only enhance the mystery of these women and put them in the spotlight they always dreamed of being in…
Posted by saNYC on March 16th, 2009I cant wait to see this.. I’ve been looking forward to the release
Posted by Angelina Machado on March 17th, 2009You sir are an idiot! Try making your name in some other field. Journalism is clearly not your forté.
Posted by Brendan on March 19th, 2009I TOO AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO WAS A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT DREW BEING ABLE TO CARRY SUCH A PART.JESSICA LANG HAS PLAYED MANY SERIOUS ROLES SUCH AS THE COMPLICATED AND BRILLIANT FRANCIS FARMER.,BUT DREW IS LIGHT COMEDY AND USUALLY SILLY ‘FEEL GOOD’ HOLLYWOOD MOVIES FOR TEENS.I SAW TWO SHORT PRE-CLIPS OF THIS NEW FILM AND BELIEVE DREW MAY HAVE REALLY CAPTURED THIS WOMAN,I HEARD IT WAS AN INTRIGEING ROLE SHE BECAME VERY ENTRANCED BY,AND THIS WAS PROBOBLY WHY.
Posted by RACHAEL on March 19th, 2009I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN ‘GREY GARDENS’ THE DOCUMENTARY,I HIGHLY RECOMEND IT,ESPECIALLY THOSE WOMEN LIKE MYSELF WHO COME FROM EXTREMELY ARTISTIC,BOHEMIAN,ARISTOCRATIC,NON CONFORMATIVE AND VERY ECCENTRIC WOMEN IN THEIR FAMILIES,YOU WILL ADORE THEM.
I HOPE THIS FILM MANAGED TO CAPTURE THE TRAGIC BUT VERY ENCHANTING SPIRITS OF THESE WONDERFUL WOMEN.
I just saw the trailer and now am really looking forward to this production. I must say I was a bit leary when I heard the casting ( love them both, but in these roles?). I have been fascinated by the documentary for years. It’s very easy to almost fall in love with these women, albeit not in a romantic way. The human condition, the fragility, compassion & empathy. Such sadness, I have such sadness for little Eddie esp. I had the great priviledge of seeing the original broadway production the day before the show closed, met the cast afterwards too. I have to say, Christine Ebersole was BRILLIANT.. so much so, it’s hard to imagine a n y o n e capturing little eddies spirit and becoming the embodiment the way in which she did. It still saddens me that this show closed, far to early IMHO. The soundtrack is wonderful by the way. This trailer looks quite promising, I must admit. I wonder if they will use the music from the musical… if they will include many musical numbers. It sounds odd, I realize this. It’s not the usual material you would expect to see a documentary, musical, or movie about, but that’s part of it’s charm. These women really lived. Thier lives gradually dwindled down to what you see in the documentary. The Awful living conditions. How does this happen? Were there other contributing factors? Social? Familial, Finanicial, Environmental? Emotional health? illness?
Posted by Jody on April 12th, 2009Don’t feel the need to jump on me, no offense meant to anyone. Just felt like sharing a few of my thoughts about a subject I have personally found very moving.
PS- Sean,I also agree, perhaps you should have viewed the documentary and researched this further before jumping to “ridiculus”. It may look that way, but have you seen any of the original films? I cannot believe how much they made them look like the Eddies, it’s amazing. Drew looks pretty on the mark to me.. many would probably consider at least aspects of the Eddies ridiculus. I think thats part of what draws you in, but not to ridicule them, but rather perhaps to understand them. . They were also beautiful when they were younger. As I said, I have been fascinated with this for years. I also believe I read that “alledgedly” there are college courses taught including this documentary. Let’s just say it’s at least thought provoking.
I’m looking forward to it. I’ve always been enamored with how the layers of the past and present intertwined in the original documentary. It seems the producers and actors have nailed exactly what I was looking for in a film version. A wonderful exploration of the bonds of love, beauty, aging, invisibility, power, class, and even the meaning of freedom. All captured in tattered but gorgeous humanity.
It has captured my imagination.
Posted by Jeanine on April 17th, 2009Saw this movie on HBO and it was AMAZING. Drew and Jessica did a FABULULOUS job as Big Edie and Little Edie.
Posted by Katie on May 5th, 2009Leave a Reply