When Bette Met Mae

When Bette Met Mae (2014)

*** (out of 4)

Director-writer Wes Wheadon once had a very lucky moment when he managed to bring legends Bette Davis and Mae West together. This sixty-three minute feature has a couple actresses playing the legends and they pretty much lip-sync to an audio recording of the conversation that was done that night.

The new actors basically re-enact what was heard on the audio recording. This is a pretty interesting idea that also works as a documentary as there are people on hand to discuss the careers of both Davis and West. The documentary stuff really isn't anything we haven't seen before but I will admit that it was good.

The audio recording is what's going to bring film buffs to this movie and for the most part the conversation is good, although you have to wonder if either of them really thought it would be turned into a movie forty years later. The audio recording could have used subtitles at times because it was pretty hard to hear what was going on.

There are some great stories told by the legends and you can tell that Davis is the more vocal of the two with that loud and striking voice. WHEN BETTE MET MAE isn't a masterpiece and how it's presented is a bit strange at times but I must admit that it was still entertaining listening to these legends talk about their careers and disappointments.

This is a 'recreation' of an actual event. One which didn't shake the world (although Ms West was in her, 'shake it up baby note', rock phase at this time), it's about the meeting if 2 very individual, totally opposite women; Bette Davis and Mae West.

Though the acting is complimented by the audio taped voices of the actual speakers, their lip-synching abilities -admirable, are still not a match for the genuine women.

It's very funny for any fan of either (or both) of the women to watch; Ms Davis had an almost professorial-like fascination with all things Mae West. Ms West (who arrives to the dinner, by showing only get feet - which made me laugh even harder as I recalled a description of her from a couple of years later - while making Sextette - as being in these 'towering heels' and 'tottering' on them) is mostly a very good reactor; she's sparse of words, letting Ms Davis (who's very 'fortified' with her...'orange juice' - code for vodka & oh), as she does most of the talking.

It's a lot of fun. Silly, unimportant, but, it's made by people who obviously have affection for these two.

I had no idea this film existed until I came across the DVD at Amoeba records. I was excitedly intrigued by the belief that this was a filmed account of an early 1970's meeting between Hollywood Icons Mae West and Bette Davis. Upon popping the disk in, I was immediately disappointed to learn that it was a reenactment synced to an audio recording of the event. However, I was quickly WON OVER – the performances of Karen Telhia as "Bette" and Victoria Mills as "Mae" caused me to do double– takes. Visually they are AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to their subjects. Their perfect execution of mannerisms and superb lip-syncing absolutely compliment these compelling performances. Don't let the somewhat less- effective still photos of the actresses in character throw you. These women could easily make a few bucks on the side appearing in character. I'd love to have Ms. Telhia come to a party as Bette! And shame on LA Weekly writer Martin Tsai for calling the performances "cringe-worthy" – he's clearly not a big enough fan of Bette and Mae to know how they looked and behaved in the 70's. Everything works – even the soft focus on "Mae" – which is how she preferred to appear on that era's talk shows.

Since this is a review for your benefit, I should share a bit of criticism. The conversation upon which this is all based is somewhat superficial. One wonders if it's worth all the fuss. For the most part, the two women compliment each other throughout, Bette aggressively so. There are no revelations, just general anecdotes about their lives and observations on their industry – the sort of banter one might share with another not personally known. It is interesting to observe that neither woman is particularly familiar with the life and career of the other. By the time Bette briefly speaks of her marriages and the unusual death of second husband Arthur Farnsworth, you may find yourself shouting questions of your own, wishing for elaboration. However, anecdotes provided from both the spoken narrative and interviews with incidental figures nicely flesh out the discussion with background info.

Despite the lack of any real profound gossip, this is a fun watch. Clocking in at just over an hour, it also an easy one. It's quite obviously a passion project, a labor of love that in my opinion, succeeds. It feels like we are witnessing these two legends in a private setting, meeting for the first time, surrounded by apparent yes-men and a star struck bartender. Above all, in an industry that often seems careless as to who they throw into the roles of beloved icons, it is the superb casting and costuming that makes this a "must see".

I was privileged to see this remarkable film as part of a Mae West tribute at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. The casting was so superb that members of the audience thought the actresses in the film were the real film legends they were portraying. The concept is incredible, the execution wonderful, and the design of the film is excellent. This is an incredible peak into the private lives of these great stars. Davis is very familiar, her personal and screen person'as being one in the same. West, however, is a surprise and a pleasure. There is no work comparable to this film. This would have been easy to parlay into parody, but the filmmakers took the high road and let the legends speak for themselves while providing a remarkable vision for the rest of us.

I recommend this to other classic films fans that like Mae West and Bette Davis. A friend of Bette's once taped the actual 1973 first meeting of the two on a cassette. What they do in this production is have actors who look very much like them (especially the one playing Bette) mouth the words to the actually voices of the actresses on the tape. It sounds strange, after a few minutes you get used to it. There are some nice little nuggets of film history included in their conversation and it also includes breaks that show what they are referring to in their conversation. I believe the meeting was for dinner at Bette's home, and she, Bette Davis, was actually a bit star struck by Mae. You get a taste for just how intelligent a business woman Mae West was too. So if you want a real treat give this film a chance, remember the voices are really theirs from the recorded tape.

I give this a 9 out of 10 stars for it's historic film history value