The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Taking a page from its flamboyant title character’s playbook, The Eyes of Tammy Faye tries a cosmetic approach to covering up a life’s worth of wrinkles.

This embellished biopic of disgraced televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, known for her turbulent marriage and love of mascara, goes out of its way to make her a target for sympathy, rather than a complicit figure in a scheme to defraud followers for personal gain.

That’s simpler when you position her as a misunderstood would-be martyr victimized by ingrained belief systems and patriarchal oppression among her evangelical colleagues and competitors.

The intermittently amusing portrait finds some redemption through its performances, most notably Jessica Chastain as the conniving feminist firecracker who wasn’t exactly the perky airhead she played on television.

The film chronicles Tammy Faye from her small-town Minnesota upbringing to her whirlwind romance to fellow student Jim (Andrew Garfield) at a seminary. While he’s insecure and reserved, she’s outgoing and charismatic.

After getting married and debuting on television as Christian puppeteers, their rise to fame is swift as they peddle a message of faith and trust. However, once donations start rolling in, Tammy Faye’s conservative mother (Cherry Jones) remains skeptical. “Serving God don’t feel like it should be a money-making opportunity,” she explains.

As their network expands, the couple becomes addicted to money and power, only to see their partnership collapse along with their corrupt empire amid high-profile series of scandals in the late 1980s.

Chastain’s immersive portrayal digs deeper than merely mimicking Tammy Faye’s speech and mannerisms, playing a woman whose primary sin apparently is indulging in superficial luxuries.

However, unlike the more even-handed 2000 documentary of the same name upon which his film is based, director Michael Showalter (The Big Sick) struggles to balance camp with compassion.

The film finds an agreeable tone in the first hour, poking fun at its subjects without resorting to outright mockery — although faith-healing cohorts such as Pat Robertson and especially Jerry Falwell (Vincent D’Onofrio) endure a well-deserved ribbing.

Alongside the nostalgic appeal of the source material, the screenplay seeks a contemporary resonance with talks of witch hunts by the secular press. Yet its speculative attempts to fill in the narrative gaps and challenge preconceived notions generally lack conviction.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a conflicted cautionary tale about blind faith and religious zealotry, with moviegoers joining brainwashed believers caught in the middle.

Rated PG-13, 126 minutes.