What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

"whatever happened to Baby Jane?" remains a stunning,horrific story well ahead of it's time (1962) Joan Crawford and Bette Davis left memorable & nightmarish examples of how to play a role for all it will get you! However, it's 1991 remake with the lovely and talented Redgrave sisters promised to leave viewers with the same creepy chills & thrills! Unfortunately, this simply dosen't happen here!

Don't get me wrong! The 1991 version of "Whatever happened to Baby Jane?" holds up as it's own story: set in modern-day Hollywood with it's all-too-familiar band of groupies,druggies,drag-queens & has-beens,who will forever lurk in the video stores and back streets, hoping to meet aging or ailing celebrities in order to "break-in" to the big-time! This TV movie actually draws the viewer in to a modern version of a hybrid between "Sunset Boulevard" and "Midnight Cowboy"

But, in deference to it's original.I must confess that as the ailing,aging Blanche, Vanessa Redgrave manages to hand in an adequate if not wooded portrayal.AS the nutty Jane,Lynn tries her best to NOT imitate Bette Davis and it does work-at least her portrayal is more remorseful and concerned about her crippled sister! In THIS version we actually FEEL for poor Jane as she's led to believe that SHE had caused the accident! When she finally learns the truth she actually seems to have been "set free" from 20 years of guilt,depressionn & alcoholism! Of course,it's too late now,we realize, as we watch the police chase her on the beach in the final shot!

This film is a masterpiece! Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave show once again why they are both such successful actresses. This version of Baby Jane rivals if not surpasses the original with Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Both actresses give astounding performances, and deserve the accolades of critics and the film industry for such a great movie. This film deserved better coverage and a wider audience.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1991)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Remake of the 1962 cult classic has Lynn Redgrave taking over the role of Jane Hudson from Betty Davis while Vanessa Redgrave takes over the role of Blanche, originally played by Joan Crawford.

There's really no point in going through the plot description because I'm pretty sure you already know if if you've seen the original. If you haven't seen the original then I'd recommend you stop reading this and go do so. While I found the original film to be flawed in certain aspects, there's no question that it was a classic thanks in large part to the wonderful lead performances. I'm very much pro-remakes as I think they can often be quite interesting in the new things they bring to something that is familiar.

With that said, this remake just doesn't work for a number of reasons. The biggest problem I had with the film was the fact that it was incredibly dull. I mean, there wasn't a single ounce of life to be found in this thing as the movie gets off to a very slow start and it just becomes more and more dull as it moves along. Director David Greene doesn't bring any sort of life, tension or atmosphere to the picture and I'd argue that everything that worked in the original film is pretty much watered down here.

Another major issue is the fact that there's just no tension between the sisters. There's not a single frame where you really feel for the Blanche character because her torments just aren't all that shocking and they contain minimum impact. It doesn't help that both characters are extremely dull here and that's especially true for Baby Jane. Trying to match what Davis did would be impossible but Redgrave just doesn't do anything with the part.

I enjoy made-for-television films but this one here falls into some pretty bland traps through. In case you've missed it, I've used the word bland and dull throughout this review. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? has a couple interesting changes including the reason behind Jane's mental breakdown throughout the film. I also liked some of the updated stuff including Blache becoming "known" again thanks to VHS. With that said, turning Jane into a pop star was just painfully bad.

Watchable but unnecessary remake. A vanity project I assume. And a chance for the Redgrave sisters to work together. Missing the suspense of the original.

There goes 90 minutes I'll never get back. I've seen the original too many times to count. I like the Redgrave sisters and was hoping for a good remake. No such luck. This loosely followed the Davis/Crawford original, but updating the movie was a bad idea and made it lose it's appeal.