For those who do not know, Grey Gardens is about Jackie Kennedy's aunt and first cousin, both named Edie, who lived a lavish life in their Hampton's estate Grey Gardens, before life caught up to the both of them and through various circumstances ended up recluses, alone in the house with only each other. Because of their limited funds (Big Edie ended up divorcing her daughter's father) and their refusal to leave the house, it became in major disrepair--all sorts of animals inhabited it, trash was everywhere, the health department eventually intervened and forced them to clean up the place that had no modern plumbing. So goes the story of the crazy mother and daughter, living alone in what was once a beautiful mansion.
A documentary in the 70s was made of the mother/daughter team, featuring their deepest thoughts and many song and dance performances, because both of them never quite gave up the notion that they were going to be famous some day for a singing or acting career.
I rented the documentary a few years ago, and although it is very dry, it does give an inside look into what these two, somewhat crazy people, thought they were doing with their lives. It is so sad: they were literally just degrading in that house, refusing to leave it.
The documentary was adapted into a Broadway musical a few years ago, and I got the opportunity to see it when my family and I went to New York. Christine Ebersole, who played Little Edie, was absolutely fabulous! She won the Tony for her role and had the perfect New York accent to play the part. It was a very good musical, but, as musicals go, it is not an easy task to get everything correct when performing with such limited means. It is amazing about how well is was adapted to music, as its score was also divine.
Now, over 30 years after the documentary appeared, we have HBO doing a straight movie about them, going back and forth from the life of luxury the Edie's led in the 20s and 30s, to the desolate state of Grey Gardens in the 1970s. It was a very good film, and I recommend it for renting. Drew Barrymore was amazing as Little Edie. She said she took voice lessons to get her voice and accent just right, and it sure paid off! Jessica Lange was also very good as Big Edie. It is amazing how much the two of them acted so much like the real people in the documentary.
Historical accuracy is something that always interests/concerns me after seeing a historical film. I have to say that the HBO movie did do a good job of staying true to the original story line. It added a lot in that the documentary and musical did not cover, which I think added a lot to the story as a whole.
Jackie Kennedy was the one who eventually intervened in the situation and payed over $30,000 to clean up the mansion. It was quite a tabloid scandal in those days: the elegant Jackie Kennedy and her not-so-elegant, crazy relatives. Jackie (played by the fabulous Jeanne Tripplehorn of Big Love) is also in the HBO film portraying her visit to her aunt and cousin, but I am not so sure the visit happened in real life.
The story itself, I think, can be emotional and relatable to anyone. Here are two strong women who once had it all and through a series of small steps, they lost everything they had and ended up living not that great of a life. They isolated themselves from everyone and lived in a dump. It really is such a social commentary.
Anyway, I would definitely recommend any one of the pieces discussed. They are a great piece of history.
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