For awhile I used to see in Best Buy this very odd DVD entitled “Grey Gardens” with a strange woman wearing a fur coat & silk head scarf on the cover. My interest about the film wasn’t peaked  again until last year when an HBO movie was released with the same title starring Drew Barrymore & Faye Dunaway. So what better time to catch up on movies then while on vacation? I loaded up mans best friend NetFlix and got comfortable. For about 150 minutes I sat here and watched the most entertaining, intriguing, unbelievable and depressing documentary ever. Shot in 1975 by the Maysle brothers the film shows the bizzare & inhumane conditions in which “Big” Edith Bouvier Beale and “Little” Edie Beale lived in. The women were aunt and cousin of the infamous “Jackie O”. The documentary shows the everyday going on’s of the mother & daughter duo which basically revolved around them arguing, feeding their litter of cats, reminiscing about the days when they belonged to the upper echelon of New York society, and performing songs from decades pass. Naturally after seeing the short documentary I HAD to see more so I went on a quest to find the updated version that HBO produced. I must admit I was quite impressed. The film version delve into the actual history of the Beale women and gave insight as to why they most likely ended up two reclusive women living on a dilapidated estate with little or no contact with the outside world. The film left me feeling sad. I couldn’t understand how two people who had been so high on the food chain (so to speak) at one point could end up being filmed walking around in a house filled with raccoons & animal feces wearing nothing more than pieced together “costumes” of lace & swimsuits. I don’t wanna spoil it for anyone interested but I recommend the documentary & film combo for a nite when your mind can handle some heavy entertainment

GREYGARDENS THEN

GREYGARDENS NOW

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