FX's "FEUD: Bette and Joan" starring JESSICA LANGE and SUSAN SARANDON (March 5th @ 10PM)

[Mark-Alexis]

[B]The New Yorker[/B]

[QUOTE]As Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, we get Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange, casting that’s also sly meta-commentary. Two A-list movie stars, who were sex symbols in their youth, play two A-list movie stars, who were sex symbols in their youth, as they grasp for the kinds of roles—not dirty-talking grannies or fading beauties but star parts, with prize-winning potential—that Sarandon and Lange find in “Feud.” The price is that they must be willing to play their aging bodies for shock and for laughs, an act the world condescends to—at least, when women perform it—as “brave.”

Sarandon seems to get the sweeter deal here. Popping her huge eyes and chain-smoking Lucky Strikes, she plays two equally fun Bette Davises: the saucy, pants-clad actress, a radical clown who smears crazy makeup all over her face, then struts out with her arms in the air like an M.M.A. champion; and the legendary villainess Baby Jane, an old lady who is also a cruel, spoiled little girl. Sarandon’s apprehensive look, as Davis, when she watches the dailies of herself, as Baby Jane, is one of many mirror-within-mirrors moments. Davis knows that putting on gargoyle drag is an artist’s choice, but it’s a gamble, too. The joke might be on her.

For several years, on “American Horror Story,” Murphy has reimagined Jessica Lange’s doelike vulnerability as steely theatre. For the “Asylum” season, she wore a nun’s habit and carried a switch; on “Freak Show,” she sang “Life on Mars” as a Weimar German ringmaster/amputee, blue glitter smeared from her lashes to her brows. Joan Crawford is equally larger than life, but hers is a tougher role—she’s a big-shouldered beauty whose stiff intensity is hard to translate to a modern era. In “Feud,” Lange is forever rubbing lemons on her elbows or doing jittery calisthenics, haughty with overcompensation. It’s a performance that makes the viewer anxious, too, but that queasiness becomes its power. “Feud” is Crawford’s tragedy, and, by the final episodes, when she’s trashing her prospects in a mad quest to punish her co-star, Lange finds something wriggling and alive inside Crawford’s hunger to be seen, her lipsticked rictus as amused as it is seductive. Spraying herself silver before attending the Academy Awards, she’s a kamikaze of femininity, determined to look her absolute best even as she flies straight into the Hollywood sign.[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/20/feud-a-bittersweet-beauty[/url]

[Mr. Nowack]

[Mr. Nowack]

Ooof there was some pretty abysmal dialogue in tonight's episode, the Kathy Bates/Zeta-Jones and Jack Warner bits especially. Cliche after cliche after cliche!

I still don't really see Crawford or Davis in either of the leads' portrayals, but then again I am not intimately familiar with both ladies.

[javero]

I watched last night's episode as well as Faye Dunaway in the camp classic Mommie Dearest for probably the 10th time.  Totally forgot that Xander Berkeley portrayed her adult son Christopher.

Sarandon is giving me 85% Davis visually while Lange is giving me Libby Dole & Melanie Griffith's love child.  That aside, in last night's episode Lange justified her trophy case being full of statuettes.  The show is growing on me.

[Petralicious]

I just saw WEHTBJ and MD as well! such enjoyment! I have Mildred Pierce and All about Eve next on my list.

I thought both ladies were fantastic.  Not normally a fan of SS but she has Bettes attitude spot on! PJ I truly hope you can see past your election rage and just look at her artistry

[Blue_Lotus]

In hindsight I got to thinking that who was I to begrudge Sarandon her right as an American citizen to voice her opinion. It's a free country and she was exercising her freedom of speech. 

While I won't ever agree on some of the things she has said she had every right to say them. I do agree with her on issues regarding the environment including the Dakota Pipeline and fracking. She's shown concern and compassion on many issues.

At the end of the day when sitting down to watch her in this I had to put all of that aside and just judge her on the performance and she is doing an excellent job.

[carnzee]

I watched the pilot for the third time and watched the second episode. I decided to just watch the show without being so critical of the performances and I enjoyed it more. Once I accepted the fact Lange isn't going to sound like Crawford, I could appreciate what she is doing. The scene where she throws her lover out was classic Joan and the bitchy fun we expect from Murphy.

I am loving Jack Warner! What a hoot! 

But of course, everything I hate about Ryan Murphy would sooner or later rear its ugly head, and it did in the DeHaviland/Blondell scene. That ham fisted dialogue about feminism is not something I can even imagine either one of them saying. 

[Blue_Lotus]

I missed last night's episode, I will watch it tonight On Demand.

[PalJoey]

 

Lange continues to elevate the material. Sarandon continues to miss.

 

[javero]

Has anyone read Betty Marvin's book Tales of a Hollywood Housewife?  I haven't.  She claims that just before her fateful encounter with the man who would become her first husband, late actor Lee Marvin, she quit her job as Joan Crawford's nanny.

Tales of a Hollywood Housewife by Betty Marvin

[Luscious]

PalJoey said: "Lange continues to elevate the material. Sarandon continues to miss."

PalJoey, I thought you weren't going to watch.  

I agree with you more times than not, but I disagree with you completely about Sarandon's performance. After watching the teasers, I was concerned that she wasn't even trying to sound like Davis. But the voice inflections are there, albeit subtle and understated, and I appreciate that. Although I love Lange, based on the first two episodes, I actually think Sarandon is giving the better performance. In my opinion, Sarandon is more convincing as Davis than Lange is as Crawford. But both are chewing up the scenery and having a lot of fun! As is Davis as Hopper! She steals every scene she's in!

[PalJoey]

 

A recap by the always-informative Dan Callahan on nylon.com:

 

'Feud: Bette And Joan’ Recap Episode 2: The Other Woman

 

[Blue_Lotus]

Luscious said: "PalJoey said: "Lange continues to elevate the material. Sarandon continues to miss."

PalJoey, I thought you weren't going to watch.  

I agree with you more times than not, but I disagree with you completely about Sarandon's performance. After watching the teasers, I was concerned that she wasn't even trying to sound like Davis. But the voice inflections are there, albeit subtle and understated, and I appreciate that. Although I love Lange, based on the first two episodes, I actually think Sarandon is giving the better performance. In my opinion, Sarandon is more convincing as Davis than Lange is as Crawford. But both are chewing up the scenery and having a lot of fun! As is Davis as Hopper! She steals every scene she's in!

 

I also disagree that Sarandon is coming up short. In my opinion she is more than holding her own with Lange. They are both doing a great job - - - I'm happy they both chose to approach their roles first as human beings, then as icons and incorporated just enough of those two women that you do get a sense of who they were and not having it border on camp or worse, a drag performance.

 

[henrikegerman]

"But of course, everything I hate about Ryan Murphy would sooner or later rear its ugly head, and it did in the DeHaviland/Blondell scene. That ham fisted dialogue about feminism is not something I can even imagine either one of them saying."

Disagree.  "That ham fisted" dialogue is exactly what I'd expect from them in the context of their scenes, i.e. an interview for a glossy 1978 Hollywood documentary.   There's a very good reason their quips are forced and stylized.

[carnzee]

I'm having the exact same experience with the show that your having, Luscious.

I can't believe they dared have Jessica and Susan play Crawford and Davis in their thirties /forties! But it was delightful  seeing Crawford in Louis B. Mayers' office demanding to play "that egg -head dame " Madame Curie. Or Susan in Beyond the Forest. This should have been ridiculous, but I ate it up! ????

[Blue_Lotus]

henrikegerman said: ""But of course, everything I hate about Ryan Murphy would sooner or later rear its ugly head, and it did in the DeHaviland/Blondell scene. That ham fisted dialogue about feminism is not something I can even imagine either one of them saying."

Disagree.  "That ham fisted" dialogue is exactly what I'd expect from them in the context of their scenes, i.e. an interview for a glossy 1978 Hollywood documentary.   There's a very good reason their quips are forced and stylized.

 

Does this 1978 Hollywood documentary exist or was it created as a plot device?

[artscallion]

Blue_Lotus said: "Does this 1978 Hollywood documentary exist or was it created as a plot device?"

I'm guessing it's this THE MOVIE CRAZY YEARS

since its relatively small cast includes Joan Blondell, Olivia De Havilland and Bette Davis.

[carnzee]

henrikegerman said: ""But of course, everything I hate about Ryan Murphy would sooner or later rear its ugly head, and it did in the DeHaviland/Blondell scene. That ham fisted dialogue about feminism is not something I can even imagine either one of them saying."

Disagree.  "That ham fisted" dialogue is exactly what I'd expect from them in the context of their scenes, i.e. an interview for a glossy 1978 Hollywood documentary.   There's a very good reason their quips are forced and stylized.

 

It would be more accurate to say that I found the dialogue anachronistic. But I'm mostly digging both Catherine ZJ and Kathy Bates in this show. 

 

[Petralicious]

"Looks like Sarandons near unanimous praise as Bette has earned her another high profile role !!

Susan Sarandon Joins ‘Ray Donovan’ for Season 5

Susan Sarandon is sticking with TV. The Oscar-winning actress will follow up her performance on FX’s “Feud: Bette and Joan” with a season-long arc on Showtime’s “Ray Donovan,” Variety has learned.

Sarandon will play Samantha Winslow, the strong, focused head of a motion picture studio.

http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/susan-sarandon-ray-donovan-season-5-1202007647/

 

[Blue_Lotus]

Think about this: here we are seeing Jessica Lange (now 67 - film debut: 1976) and Susan Sarandon (now 70 - film debut: 1970) playing Hollywood icons Joan Crawford and Bette Davis who were 57 and 53 respectively when they co-starred in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

They were considered over-the-hill and has-beens.

That Lange and Sarandon are still at their ages relevant and very much in demand for high profile projects is fascinating and shows us just how much times have changed! 

 

[PalJoey]

 

Sarandon is SO boring.

It shoulda been Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and PATTI LuPONE as Bette Davis.

 

[CarlosAlberto]

PalJoey said: " 

Sarandon is SO boring.

It shoulda been Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and PATTI LuPONE as Bette Davis.

 

B!tch you are so damned petty. Get over yourself. She is getting great reviews, Hilary lost. Get over it and get on with your life. You sound pathetic.

"

 

[uncageg]

PalJoey said: " 

No interest in watching Susan Sarandon ever again, in anything, including this.
 

I have the same thought. However I found myself watching the first 2 episodes last night and they were pretty good. Still cringed when Sarandon was onscreen but I watched because of Jackie Hoffman. I had no clue she  was in it and I love her. And she is good in this.
 

 

 

"

 

[SmoothLover]

The second installment played better for some reason...Stanley was very funny.

[javero]

Blue_Lotus said: "That Lange and Sarandon are still at their ages relevant and very much in demand for high profile projects is fascinating and shows us just how much times have changed! "

I attribute that more to the rise of premium coaxial cable channels, satellite TV and streaming video services than anything else.  There are still many senior actors who request the make-me-an-alien package just to land roles during their Indian summers.  Advances in plastic surgery and the increase in digital outlets are permitting them to catch a second wind although HDTV is not always their friend.  I'm happy that both Lange and Sarandon are still able to catch the wave.

Netflix Sees Jump In Subscribers Thanks To Original Video On Demand Content

[Mark-Alexis]

[B]The Boston Globe[/B]

[QUOTE]By Matthew Gilbert
GLOBE STAFF  MARCH 14, 2017

Team Lange. To the death.

I’m noticing a split in opinion regarding “Feud: Bette and Joan.” The entertaining FX series is about the struggles between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford on the set of “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” — struggles often sparked and fueled by publicists and studio honchos who liked the “catfight” press attention.

Some viewers tell me Susan Sarandon captures the essence of Bette Davis, that she has just the precise amount of snark, that she delivers both the tough-broad exterior and the more compassionate heart, that she has the exact right eyes for the part. What can I say? I don’t see it — except for the eyes. Sarandon doesn’t detract from the series, but I don’t feel as though she has found her Bette Davis. She seems to be playing herself, with a few strange pronunciations to affect the way Davis spoke.

Lange, on the other hand, seems possessed by Joan Crawford. She seems to be in the acting zone in a big way, delivering to us a creature whose every look and word is the result of deep insecurity. The raging vanity, the competition, the drama-queenliness — Lange makes them all a function of Crawford’s bottomless hunger for approval. Lange is riveting and, at times, hard to watch. According to show creator Ryan Murphy, the actresses “could not have loved each other more,” and I believe him; so many of the warring-costars stories we read are fraudulent, invented to stoke interest in the project. But that makes Lange’s intensity in revealing Crawford’s animosity toward Davis even more of an actor’s coup.


When the Emmys come around next fall, I’m assuming both actresses will be nominated. And I’m throwing my support behind Lange. And this has nothing to do with Sarandon’s political rantings of late, as a few letter-writers have suggested. Her comments about the election have absolutely nothing to do with her performance in “Feud.”

Lange is having a remarkable TV career, after her decades of movie work, with “American Horror Story,” “Grey Gardens,” “Horace and Pete,” and, now, best of all, “Feud.”[/QUOTE]

[url]https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/television/2017/03/13/let-praise-feud-series-entertains-thanks-mostly-jessica-lange/vlAkICvDrj0lp0rpmjDRDN/story.html[/url]