Tamara "Tammy" Faye LaValley falls in love with
Jim Bakker while studying at North Central Bible College in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two marry despite disapproval from Tammy's mother Rachel, dropping out of college to preach and inspire Christian communities across the United States. Their preaching gets the attention of
Pat Robertson's
Christian Broadcasting Network, who hires them as hosts of children's show Jim and Tammy. Jim later becomes the first host of CBN's The 700 Club while the two welcome daughter Tammy Sue.
Tammy and Jim meet conservative pastor
Jerry Falwell during a party, with Jerry expressing interest in working with CBN. Following an argument with Falwell in which Tammy dismisses the politicization of faith, she encourages Jim to create their own television network so that they can have control over their own programs. The two leave CBN and create the
PTL Satellite Network, with their flagship show The PTL Club becoming popular over the years. Tammy invites Rachel and stepfather Fred to move in with them at their
Tega Cay, South Carolina compound, after which Rachel expresses her growing suspicions over how PTL gets its money.
As the press becomes more skeptical and critical of PTL's handling of its finances, Tammy becomes flirtatious with music producer
Gary S. Paxton, whom Jim fires following the birth of their son Jay. In the 1980s, Jim then focuses his attention on building a
Christian theme park while Tammy becomes addicted to pills and discouraged by Falwell's political oversight. Falwell decries the "
gay cancer." She invites
AIDS patient and Christian pastor Steve Pieters for an interview about supporting the
gay community, much to Falwell's disapproval.[3]
After collapsing during a taping, Tammy argues with Jim over their strained relationship. Falwell takes control of PTL following news scandals about PTL's financial debt and Jim's extramarital affairs, including speculations about sexual relationships with men. Jim is ultimately imprisoned for fraud.
By 1994, Tammy and Jim have officially divorced, Rachel has died, and Tammy is struggling to revive her career and find television gigs. She gets an offer to be the special guest for a Christian concert at
Oral Roberts University, which she hesitantly accepts. She preaches before performing a moving rendition of
Battle Hymn of the Republic, during which she imagines a rousing gospel choir performing with her.
A textual epilogue reveals Falwell died in 2007, Jim returned to televangelism for a revived PTL after being released from prison, and Tammy continued to support
LGBTQ+ communities until she died in July 20, 2007 at her home in Loch Lloyd, near Kansas City, Missouri, after an eleven-year bout with cancer at the age of 65.
Chastain stated in interviews that the makeup for the film took between 4–7 hours in the makeup chair having prosthetics added to her face. Chastain also wore false teeth in certain scenes to match the way Tammy Faye smiled.[13] Chastain performs several songs from Bakker's musical catalog in the film. Tammy Sue Bakker-Chapman, the daughter of Jim and Tammy, performed on the film's soundtrack with a cover of "Don't Give Up (On the Brink of a Miracle)".[14]
Music
The film's soundtrack was released on September 17, 2021, by
Hollywood Records. The score for the film by
Theodore Shapiro was also released as a separate album.[15] Chastain worked with music producer
Dave Cobb to record the soundtrack.[16]
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
The film was released on
Blu-ray on November 16, 2021.[22] The film was later made available to stream on
HBO Max in February 2022 in the US.[23]
Reception
Box office
The Eyes of Tammy Faye debuted in 450 theaters and grossed $675,000 in its opening weekend (an average of $1,500 per venue). Deadline Hollywood wrote that outside of Los Angeles, New York City, and Austin, Texas the grosses "weren't good", and an indication that "older arthouse crowds are [not] back" to theaters due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[24]
Critical response
On the
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes, 68% of 244 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Eyes of Tammy Faye might have focused more sharply on its subject's story, but Jessica Chastain's starring performance makes it hard to look away."[25]Metacritic assigned the film an average weighted score of 55 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[26] Audiences polled by
CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[24]
Despite the mixed reviews for the film, Jessica Chastain ended up winning the Academy Award, along with a SAG and Critics Choice Awards for Best Actress.
^Nordyke, Kimberly; Strause, Jackie; Lewis, Hilary (February 8, 2022).
"Oscars: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter.
Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.