Simply Perfect

I wanted to but couldn't!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Season One Review.Ryan Murphy returns to our screens with another anthology series, this one focusing on famous true life historical feuds. This first season looks at the hostility that existed between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis before, during and after the filming of their seminal Oscar winning classic "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane". Murphy's muse, Jessica Lange, is perfectly cast as Joan Crawford. Lange, like Crawford, had won Oscar's earlier in her career only to struggle for better roles later in life but fortunately for Lange, Televisions current golden age has offered a career renaissance that just wasn't available in the seventies. It's a role filled with sadness and desperation, having spent her youth fighting to get to Hollywood, she's not willing to accept her marginalisation and is desperate for "Baby Jane" to be the hit that keeps her relevant. But it's a rounded portrayal, the series shows her as being as petty and devious as her co-star and never asks you to pick between them. Susan Sarandon is also perfectly cast as Bette Davies, the more legitimate actress of the two, witty and outspoken. The cast is rounded off by Alfred Molina, as "Baby Jane" director Robert Aldrich, Catharine Zeta-Jones as Olivia De Haviland and Stanley Tucci as Jack Warner. The performances are universally excellent and it's a testament to Murphy's drawing power that he can put together a cast like this. The plot is best described as loose biography. It attempts to capture the spirit of the feud if not the exact events that took place. They rightly choose the most entertaining version of the mythos that they can provide and the series is never less than hugely watchable. I felt that the series could have benefitted from slightly more of their careers before "Baby Jane" at the expense of slightly less after it as that occasionally started to repeat the story beats - but this is a minor quibble with an excellent compelling series that I thoroughly enjoyed. (Despite my enjoyment of this series, I can't help but feel that the controversial proposed second series - about the rift between Princess Diana and Prince Charles, prior to her death, is not going to go down anything like as well on this side of the Atlantic, but I'm prepared to wait and see).

**SPOILERS*** One of my favorite scenes in the show is when Joan realizes that she and Bette could have been friends and how they always fantasized about it. It is so heartbreaking which only goes on to show how PERFECT the acting is on the show. UNBELIEVABLE! ******************************************* I recommend this show to anyone who just loves and adores period dramas or stories about Hollywood or even just great acting. If you get through the first episode trust me you will want to watch the ENTIRE THING IN ONE SITTING! It's just that DAMN GOOD and ADDICTIVE! and hey it's already been nominated for 15 deserving EMMY nominations. So see what I am talking about - even the television academy has recognized the sheer brilliance of this show. Don't hesitate go and watch the show!

Sarandon overacted (surprise) and Lange will take home the Emmy and the Globe. I was gladdened to see that Ryan Murphy dispelled some of the wire hanger crap that has hung (oops) over Joan since the "book" was written. I saw Joan in new light and even with all her foibles, she seemed (maybe fictionally) to be more human than I had ever realized before. Brava to all the players and creative genius Ryan.

Superb. The dream, the wish, the thought. Sitting at a table face to face to say, I'm sorry. Thank you to Ryan Murphy and everyone concerned. Jessica Lange gives a performance that will live for ever, so does Susan Sarandon, in the last episode, her Bette Davis is there, totally, absolutely, chillingly there. What a thrill! Jessica Lange has five or six moments that I think will remain as "acting" landmarks. Alfred Molina's Robert Aldrich, devastating, brilliant! And Jack Warner's Stanley Tucci, a repellent delight. Fabulous eight episodes, eight! Enough to keep us wishing for more.