Something about the cover of this movie drew me in, (no pun intended). Grey Gardens stars Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange as the relatives of Jackie O. Interestingly enough, very little is made of that connection and the main emphasis of the film is really the uniqueness of these 2 characters in their own right and the complexity of the relationship that existed between them and the place they called home for the majority of their lives. The movie is a partial recreation of a documentary produced in the 70’s of the same name that filmed these women living in the decrepit filth of their formerly elegeant summer home. What I liked about this film in particular was the flashbacks to times not covered in the original documentary, happier days before the wealth and the wellbeing of these rather eccentric ladies was taxed beyond limit. I also enjoyed the development of the nuances of their relationship, the symbiotic quality of mother living off daughter and daughter avoiding her responsibility to be an independent individual by hiding in the folds of mother’s skirt for years beyond childhood. The film was also made in such a way that what could have become cloyingly nostalgic or depressingly claustrophobic instead came across as simply humanly flawed. Their story may be on a more exaggerated scale than others, but it remains within the same human realm that we all inhabit, instead of some otherwordly academic plane that only those handicapped by their own intelligence make occasional visits to.
I also have to applaud Drew Barrymore especially for her performance. No one is surprised when Jessica Lange turns out an excellent performance. She is a very gifted actress. Drew, on the other hand, as much as I adore her bubbliness and upbeat attitude, often is only capable of very limited believability. She shines in romantic comedy and that’s usually the extent, but she nailed the character in this film; accent, mannerisms, expressions, the whole package.
Watch this movie when you have the time to focus on it because it deserves your attention.

I thought Drew Barrymore was amazing in this. I loved the eccentricity of Big and Little Eddie and marveled at how two women who were the very embodiment of NY City High Society became so isolated, living in a house of trash and animal feces. Totally crazy but I really enjoyed it.