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Drew Barrymore, Jessica Lange, Justin Louis

Based on the life stories of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Kennedy (both named Edith Bouvier Beale aka "Big and Little Edie") raised as Park Avenue débutantes but who withdrew from New...( read more  read more... ) York society, taking shelter at their Long Island summer home, "Grey Gardens." As their wealth and contact with the outside world dwindled, so did their grasp on reality. They were reintroduced to the world when international tabloids learned of a health department raid on their home, and Jackie swooped in to save her relatives.

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78% liked it

790 ratings

Unrated

Directed by: Michael Sucsy

Release Date: April 18, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (307)

  • RCCLBC
    July 21, 2009
    RCCLBC
    A film version of a my favorite documentary? Needless to say I had my doubts.

    But what is obvious within minutes of starting this film, is that it was made with love and a deep desire to do justice to these two incredible women (the Edies).

    After many viewings of the origi...( read more)nal documentary by the Maysle brothers, I didn't think it was possible to feel more heartbroken by the story of the Beales. But hearing snippets throughout the documentary, given by two women who's grasp on reality (at that point) is questionable at best...does not prepare you for the heartache of watching it all (or most of it) unfold before your very eyes. It is both beautiful and heartbreaking. And both Lange and Barrymore are simply AMAZING as Big and Little Edie (respectively).

    While both actresses have obviously put their hearts into their roles, I have to say that there are several moments were Lange's performance is indistinquishable from documentary footage of "Big" Edie. It is more then a little erie.

    Aside from suffering from a few "Lifetime Movie Moments" this is a wonderful film, which sheds a little light on the (pre documentary) lives of two of my favorite film heroines.
  • mrpopcorn
    May 15, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "True glamour never fades"

    Based on the life stories of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis (both named Edith Bouvier Beale aka "Big and Little Edie") raised as Park Avenue débutantes but who withdrew from New York society, taking shelter at their Long...( read more) Island summer home, "Grey Gardens."

    REVIEW

    I never knew that Drew Barrymore had it in her. Her performance in "Grey Gardens" is electrifying and inspiring. She is so tragically beautiful in this examination of two women who lose everything. Barrymore's performance is so tragic and desperate. Jessica Lange's character nurtures Barrymore's descent into despair in the role of an over-zealous mother, without much of an idea of what is truly best for her daughter. The bond between Barrymore and Lange is untouchable, stronger than most bonds in on-screen pairings. The pair are quirky, divine, and glamorous, even as their wealth and dignity are forcefully ripped from them. It is truly a struggle to maintain character.

    Jeanne Tripplehorn's turn as Jackie O. is quite notable as well. She plays a wonderful opposite to the decaying Lange and Barrymore. This film is truly beautiful and tragic, but is delightful to watch and will be enjoyed for ages.
  • mwilliams078
    April 25, 2009
    mwilliams078
    Grey Gardens from HBO starring the lovely Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore is a very good quality film. One has to remember that this film is based on real people. Grey Gardens was orginally a documentary with the actual people and then turned into a musical and now a motion pict...( read more)ure, The film is not a musical but a look more towards the documentary itself and how these two lovely ladies got to be in the place there were at in the 70's.

    You should check this movie out on HBO and see that these ladies had a lovely life and were very inspiring. A very good film and well acted by both leading ladies...great job!!!!
  • alush1
    August 8, 2009
    alush1
    Edie Bouvier Beale was an aunt to the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and a member of New York's elite society in the early 1900's through the depression.era. "Little" Edie is her daughter/namesake-a colorfully deluded yet charming young woman in the 1930's who frowns upon her de...( read more)butante ball and the presure to make a proper marital match as she has dreams of becoming a successful actor/singer.

    Big Edie decides to move permanently to the family's East Hampton's summer home near the start of the depression and she and her husband enter into an agreement whereby they "live separate lives". A trust developed by Mr. Beale for his wife to maintain her standard of living eventually expired as did the husband. Eventually (1950's/60's) "Grey Garden's", a once grand testament to the family's name and social status, became a decrepit,run down eyesore and an atrocity to the Hampton's community. Edie and her daughter live in filthy conditions in the once grand house, with cats,racoons and other vermin flourishing and defecating all over... The isolation within which the Edies lived caused them to become increasingly eccentirc and somewhat blinded to their disgusting living conditions while living largely in their recollections (real and imagined) of their affluent past life,social gaity and interest in the arts. They eat pate and ice cream,boiled corn, in the bedroom they both share while the widlife have charge of the rest of the house.

    Following the assssintion of John F. Kennedy, his widow is socially humiliated in the press by front page stories on the squalid living conditions and eccentricities of her aunt and cousin. She intervenes to fix up the house and prevent it from being condemned.

    In the mid 70's the women allowed a team of film-makers to create a documentary of their lives. This current film is a recreation of the making of the documentary starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange.

    WHen I saw the film for the first time-it was followed by the real documentary and the BIG BLACK LINE between cinema and reality was like a psychological smack in the face. The original documentary is far less gay and endearing than the 'remake". In fact it was horrifyingly candid in filming these two women living in their shamelessly filthy conditions. I could'nt help but feel that the film took complete advantage of eccentricity transformed into crazy-particularly "little Edie's delusions of escape; making it big in show business; and this documentary being her "comeback" to a career that had never started.

    4 stars for the performances and 20 Xanex recommended if you watch the real McCoy which is disturbing and gratuitous taking advantage of 2 women not in touch with reality.
  • shutterbug99
    July 31, 2009
    shutterbug99
    Thoroughly enjoyed this. Funny, touching and moving, it is a wonderful portrait of the reclusive Bouvier Beale's. Outstanding performances from Lange and Barrymore. You can tell that Drew Barrymore put her heart and soul into this character. It's her best role in a long time....( read more)

    Even if you have no background information on the family or Grey Gardens, this will hold its own, and is totally worth a watch.
  • blackeyedsurfer
    November 8, 2009
    blackeyedsurfer
    Drew Barrymore is adorable and always fun to watch, but who knew she could actually act? Fascinating stuff. Anything involving the Kennedys usually is.
  • ssSMOOTHCRiMiNALLL
    October 23, 2009
    ssSMOOTHCRiMiNALLL
    mah badd i fell asleep during the entire movie
  • jam233
    October 22, 2009
    jam233
    Powerfully acted, especially by Drew Barrymore and Jeanne Tripplehorn. It is a skillfully made film, good art direction and costumes, but I fould it tended to drag a bit. The performances and the fascinating story made up for it.
  • pontxo
    October 14, 2009
    pontxo
    Unexpectedly good performance by Drew Barrymore, but I just don't know about the whole thing here. I believe this movie gives closure to a great documentary. I don't believe in one instance some of the scenarios interpreted, one of those being the conversation at the end when Alb...( read more)ert and David Mayseles leave Grey Gardens after screening the doc, Edith Sr. suddenly gets reconsiders everything? oh, com'on... the documentary shows a much more complexity to things.
  • aiforge
    October 12, 2009
    aiforge
    What a horrible life

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