Taking the magnificent 1975 documentary and turning it into a dram is a big risk - and I really feel that it payed off.
What was really great was the back-story that you didn't get in the documentary. Ken Howard (Michael Clayton, "Crossing Jordan") played Big Edie's husband, Malcolm Gets ("Caroline in the City") played George "Gould" Strong, and Daniel Baldwin was Julius Krug, all important characters in the 1936 portion of the film.
Drew Barrymore was absolutely magnificent as "Little" Edie, and Jessica Lange was amazing as "Big" Edie. The passive-aggressive attitude displayed made for some super entertainment. The co-dependency made for some outstanding drama. They were an endearing couple.
Things were really in a disgusting state with cats and raccoons all over the place when Jackie Kennedy Onassis (Jeanne Tripplehorn) shows up after numerous stories made the papers outlining the fact that the women were broke.
They were so far gone that they couldn't see how badly they looked in the documentary made about them. Eddie still thought she was destined to be a star.
If Drew Barrymore doesn't get a Golden Globe for this, something is very wrong.
