Mansfield 66/67

Tongue-in-cheek documentary on late actress Jayne Mansfield, bombshell of the 1950s, popular for her curves, eye-popping bust and platinum blonde hair. A would-be heir to Marilyn's throne, Jayne's career was sidetracked in the early '60s after she married bodybuilder/actor Mickey Hargitay and started having children. Twentieth Century-Fox dropped her contract, she supposedly turned down the role of Ginger on "Gilligan's Island", and wound up in rank B-movies before her tragic death in 1967. Interviews with historians, writers, actors and cult figures reestablish all the rumors movie-buffs have already heard a dozen times over, including how she died, her connection to Satan worshipper Anton LeVey, her high IQ, and the number of languages she spoke. It's a colorful, movie magazine-styled gossip-fest but not likely to be of much interest outside of Mansfield's devotees. ** from ****

As that was when I decided to switch it off. I wanted a Jayne Mansfield documentary, not a pretentious art student project,

Pros: The story and discussion therein about Mansfield and LaVey is incredible, especially with this diverse cast of speakers, ranging from in-depth scholars to contemporaries of the period. A great story that deserves to be told.

Cons: While the actual meat of the film is great, the rest is less than stellar. The entirety of the film is interspersed with numerous vignettes, dance sequences, cartoons, and recreations of the events depicted, which range from tone-deaf to absolutely cringe-worthy. It looks cheap, it feels forced, it adds nothing of interest to the film, it's poorly timed and janky, the acting is terrible, the editing is abysmal, the subject matter is often in poor taste, and it ultimately destroys the pacing of an otherwise really entertaining story. I would much rather have more footage of Mansfield and LaVey than watch a bunch of after-school actors in wigs stumble through an improv freestyle dance in an empty studio.

The straightforward documentary stuff is fine and does a good job illuminating Jayne, but all the little flourishes i.e.) the dance numbers etc are awful and take you right out. It's like watching bad community theatre actors playing dress up and should have been cut right out. That stuff just doesn't work and takes away from the whole.

To like or not to like, THAT is the question!

For what this is, it's very good- so I like it, cause it kept me quite enthralled. So, in that sense, this documentary is very likable, but at the same time, it's not a likable story. So, I am torn about "liking" this, but it's like a good horror film.

Jayne's story is one of the most interesting of any Hollywood star, and it's so fascinating the way things happened in her life, giving everything a supernatural, eerie, and frankly, scary quality to it. Hers was a real-life horror story- not the morbid, ugly ones of the nightly news, but the fantastical, creepy, theatrical, macabre kind that all the best movie chillers are made of.

Who knew that a documentary on sex kitten/blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield would be perfect for the Halloween season?! But it sure is!

Oh, how I wish I had a time machine to go back and save her and the others with her on that fateful night from such horrific ends, but alas.

Anyone interested in movie stars of the 1950s and 1960s may enjoy this, as well as, oddly enough, anyone interested in the occult, theories, and conspiracy.

The creepiness factor is high with this one!

R. I. P., dear Jayne,