The Movie guysL A lot to consider in ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’

Friday, Aug. 18, 2000 | 9:32 a.m.

The Movie Guys, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun. They can also be seen on the 11 a.m. Friday newscast on KVVU Channel 5. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/ movies and themovieguys.com.

Grade: Jeff, B Dave, C+

Starring: Tammy Faye Bakker.

Director: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.

Rated: Not Rated.

Running time: 87 minutes.

Playing at: Regal Cinemas Village Square 18.

Synopsis: Twelve years after the scandal of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, media scapegoats of the 1980's, the untold story is finally revealed by those individuals who lived it. Touching upon the relationship between Tammy Faye and Jim, through the glory days of PTL (Praise the Lord) network, to the disgrace that brought both their empire and their family tumbling down, and their recent days as everyday people, this documentary reveals the calamity that resulted from the conspiracy.

Jeff: I have tremendous firsthand knowledge of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, their power and influence during the years that PTL spread its word to 20 million viewers over 2,500 television stations. My grandmother was from a deeply religious family and in her last remaining years she looked to PTL for inspiration, guidance, and took every word as gospel. I would arrive for a visit and before even entering the room, I would hear from the television at high volume, "It's time to praise the Lord!"

The Bakkers, amid all the scandal and controversy (in my opinion), have done a great deal of good for a lot people. Now in the documentary "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," I am able to learn how a penniless couple rose to power with a talk show to become one of the most powerful and successful media empires ever -- and to think it all began with simple hand puppets.

Dave: Yeah, simple and disturbing hand puppets. That description alone seems to fit this interesting take behind the unfortunate events that led to one of the biggest media scandals of the past century. In elementary fashion, the film chronicles the early evangelist days in the mid-'70s when Tammy Faye and her charismatic husband, Jim, produced a low-budget Christian show that had a viewing range of one mile.

Their sincere faith and devotion got the attention of Pat Robertson, founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), and in the coming months Jim Bakker created the program "The 700 Club." Here we learn the first of many unjust events to come, including Robertson replacing Jim Bakker as host of the popular show. However, the Bakkers learned that their popularity carried a legitimate weight, which led to the creation of PTL and to the fruition of a multimillion dollar empire.

Jeff: Filmmakers Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey have provided the accounts of the saga with personal testimony by none other than the celebrities themselves. I find the Bakkers (now divorced and remarried to others) to be survivors and of strong character. Tammy Faye (wearing her trademark eyelashes and thick mascara) opens her heart and soul to the camera, a place she knows all too well after spending countless hours broadcasting her message.

Jim doesn't come across as noble as Tammy Faye, who had to deal with financial troubles and her husband's public affair with Jessica Hahn. I think they both got a raw deal, and the devil himself -- better known as Jerry Falwell -- is responsible for most of the greed and corruption involving PTL and the downfall of the Heritage USA Christian theme park. Presenting himself as a father figure, he manipulated the couple and PTL with his sights on obtaining the television network for his own greed. Falwell is a man of pure evil and this film will shed the true light.

In this battle of the airwaves, Christian forces schemed to discredit and shame the Bakkers and, using the media, turned their family and vision into objects of ridicule. This is their story in their own words, and with all documentaries, the viewers are the judge and jury and must make the final decision on the entire ordeal. A fascinating film.

Dave: As my colleague, Jeff, takes a minute to step off his soap box, I must acknowledge that I took a more skeptical point of view when looking at "The Eyes of Tammy Faye."

The filmmakers, who followed the unfolding drama behind Ellen DeGeneres' real and on-screen life in "The Real Ellen Story," arguably take a sympathetic approach, and position the film for our titular persona in a positive light. Each event that is pried open seems to lack a significant amount of depth, and gives a minute bit of information that requires more than what is actually presented. Even the brief interviews with family members, Christian entertainer Pat Boone, gay comedian and one-time Tammy Faye co-host Jim J. Bullock and other familiar names, are chopped down to a favorable slant for "the Queen of the Eyelashes." The only one who is allowed to truly come across as real -- is Tammy Faye herself. "My trademark are my eyes," she so openly expresses. I'm certainly not stating that the Bakkers deserved the black eyes that both the media and the Chris tian Coalition gave them in the '80s, but I'd venture to say there is more behind "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" than this silly ! presentation cares to share.