Tammy Faye Messner

For those of you who have seen the interview of Tammy Faye Messner on Larry King, the sight of this formerly spunky (to say the least) woman weighing in at only 65 pounds, ravaged by cancer may have been jarring. And quite sad. She doesn't have long to live, clearly.

The Wave-inatrix thought this would be a good time to remind Rouge Wavers of a wonderful documentary about Tammy's life, made in 2000, called THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE. I saw it when it was released and I think I expected a lot of laughs at Tammy's expense. I mean, this lady was ridiculous, right? When I came of age in the 80s, Tammy Faye and then husband Jim Bakker were tabloid fodder; truly despised by so many because of the scandals connected to the PTL Club and their right-wing political and Evangelical views. How could Tammy Faye, with her garish makeup, big blonde do and little tiny munchin voice possibly be a person one could have any respect for? She and Bakker deserved absolutely everything they got when it all came apart - the humiliation, the bankruptcy and the shame. That's how I felt going into the documentary.

But I was surprised, when THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE was over, to have a newfound respect for this little dynamo of a woman who crashed, burned and reinvented herself with courage and laughter. She went on to become a gay and hipster icon and there was just something about her crazy makeup and insistent smile that made you want to root for Tammy. One line from the movie I will never forget. It's not profound, it's not even that original, but responding to a question about her rise and fall, Tammy says: You know, we're all made of the same dirt.

Put THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE on your Netflix. You won't regret it.

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