At first glance, William Clift’s Baby Jane? looks like an over-the-top send up of 1962 Grand Guignol/black-comedy classic What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, which united Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Mommie Dearest herself, Joan Crawford. But appearances can be deceiving. It is much more a reimagining of that film, with male actors taking on the roles originally portrayed by women. Sure, there is humor throughout the movie, but much of it is sly and subtle, not the extravagant, flamboyant type often seen in drag cinema.
- 8/27/2010
- by gingold@starloggroup.com (Siobhan Greene)
- Fangoria
HollywoodNews.com: Actor Vincent De Paul, who starred in many independent films and played various roles in several blockbusters including “Poseidon,” “Hitch,” and “Hairspray,” arrived at Frameline 34, San Francisco’s annual international Lgbt film festival, to support the Castro Theater’s packed house screening of the comedy “Baby Jane?” Also in attendance were his co-stars Matthew Martin, J. Conrad Frank, Heklina, Mike Finn, Ethel Merman, Ron Herman Symansky, Drew Todd, Sandy Schlechter, and Jeff Dylan Graham.
Directed by the talented Billy Clift, the drag-studded recreation of the 1962 black-and-white classic “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” drops us back into the wacky depths of sisterly rivalry. De Paul plays the well groomed Mad Men-esque Detective Bill Kovacks who investigates the strange, yet amusing, happenings at the home where former child star Baby Jane Hudson, who was overshadowed by her more famous sister Blanche, now holds the frail wheelchair-bound star prisoner following a mysterious automobile accident.
Directed by the talented Billy Clift, the drag-studded recreation of the 1962 black-and-white classic “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” drops us back into the wacky depths of sisterly rivalry. De Paul plays the well groomed Mad Men-esque Detective Bill Kovacks who investigates the strange, yet amusing, happenings at the home where former child star Baby Jane Hudson, who was overshadowed by her more famous sister Blanche, now holds the frail wheelchair-bound star prisoner following a mysterious automobile accident.
- 7/12/2010
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Directed by Billy Clift
Featuring Billy Clift, Jeff Dylan Graham, Matthew Martin, J. Conrad Frank, Heklina, Mike Finn, Drew Todd, Vincent de Paul
Reviewed by Amanda Rebholz
As a long-time fan of the old movie greats like Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, it was only natural that I would be excited to see a film that was a gay parody/homage to the classic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with more than a handful of “Mommy Dearest” references thrown in for good measure. The film Baby Jane? was set to screen its world premiere in San Francisco in June of 2010, but upon hearing about the charity organization Youth First Texas and the sponsorship event being put on by Doa Bloodbath Entertainment, screenwriter/director Billy Clift decided to allow the Fears for Queers Glbt Film Festival to show the film three days prior in an exclusive premiere. I was a lucky member of that audience,...
Featuring Billy Clift, Jeff Dylan Graham, Matthew Martin, J. Conrad Frank, Heklina, Mike Finn, Drew Todd, Vincent de Paul
Reviewed by Amanda Rebholz
As a long-time fan of the old movie greats like Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, it was only natural that I would be excited to see a film that was a gay parody/homage to the classic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? with more than a handful of “Mommy Dearest” references thrown in for good measure. The film Baby Jane? was set to screen its world premiere in San Francisco in June of 2010, but upon hearing about the charity organization Youth First Texas and the sponsorship event being put on by Doa Bloodbath Entertainment, screenwriter/director Billy Clift decided to allow the Fears for Queers Glbt Film Festival to show the film three days prior in an exclusive premiere. I was a lucky member of that audience,...
- 6/25/2010
- by Superheidi
- Planet Fury
Baby Jane? may be the latest in the long string of recent remakes, but it’s not your typical redux. Written and directed by William Clift, it’s a take-off on the 1962 Gothic classic What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?—only with male actors (Matthew Martin and J. Conrad Frank) camping it up in drag in the roles originally portrayed by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. And it is now ready for its coming-out party.
- 6/12/2010
- by gingold@starloggroup.com (Michael Gingold)
- Fangoria
Baby Jane by Billy Clift (top); Shirley Knight, Liz Jahren in Not Fade Away (middle); Homewrecker by Paul Hart (bottom) Reeling 2009, this year’s edition of the Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival, kicked off on Thu., Nov. 5, with a screening of Casper Andreas‘ The Big Gay Musical. Upcoming feature films include: Billy Clift’s Baby Jane, a recreation of What Ever Happened with Baby Jane? starring real drag queens playing the two female leads — as opposed to Joan Crawford and Bette Davis playing drag queens playing the two female leads. Florencia Manovil’s romantic drama Fiona’s Script, about an insecure bisexual woman who reluctantly enters into a relationship with a ladies’ tomboy. Rob Williams‘ Make the Yuletide Gay, a family Christmas [...]...
- 11/7/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Busy actor Jeff Dylan Graham, whose long genre résumé includes October Moon, Beyond The Dunwich Horror and 100 Tears, dropped us a line to let us know about his new project Baby Jane? Written and directed by William Clift, it’s a take-off on the 1962 Gothic classic What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?—only with male actors (Matthew Martin and J. Conrad Frank) camping it up in drag in the roles originally portrayed by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.
“Being a huge fan of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, I was more than enthusiastic about being involved in this film,” Graham tells Fango. “It was amazing to me that no one had yet attempted to make a feature-length parody of this true cult classic.
“I was amazed by the sheer brilliance of Matthew Martin, who literally channels Bette Davis, but is a strong actor in his own right,” adds Graham,...
“Being a huge fan of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, I was more than enthusiastic about being involved in this film,” Graham tells Fango. “It was amazing to me that no one had yet attempted to make a feature-length parody of this true cult classic.
“I was amazed by the sheer brilliance of Matthew Martin, who literally channels Bette Davis, but is a strong actor in his own right,” adds Graham,...
- 4/20/2009
- Fangoria
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