Movie Description

Mommie Dearest is a 1981 American biographical drama film directed by Frank Perry. The film depicts Christina Crawford's adoptive mother, actress Joan Crawford, as an abusive and manipulative mother who hurt her adopted children.

Starring Faye Dunaway, Mara Hobel, and Diana Scarwid, the film was adapted for the screen by Robert Getchell, Tracy Hotchner, Frank Perry, and Frank Yablans from Christina's 1978 autobiography of the same name. The executive producers were Christina's husband, David Koontz, and Terry O'Neill, Dunaway's then-boyfriend and soon-to-be husband. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures, the only one of the Big Eight film studios for which Crawford had never appeared in a feature film.

The film was a commercial success, grossing over $19 million in North America from a $10 million budget. Despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics, the film's bizarre script and highly charged acting, particularly Dunaway's, have brought a cult following to the film as an "unintentional comedy". It won the second Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture.