Baby Jane?

I saw this last night on Netflix when my partner and I could not decide what to watch. I expected it to be another mediocre drag-fest. Was I wrong! This was lovingly made and acted as a spot-on take of the 1962 classic film. For a film which had a budget of $50,000, the makers managed to give us top production values. The sets, costumes, camera angles, even the construction and opening credits are as close to the original as can be. There are some sly homages to "Mommie Dearest", "Auntie Mame", "Humoresque", "Mildred Pierce", "Cabin in the Cotton" and "All About Eve" that really add to the fun. The cast is uniformly good, with the one playing Jane a real stand out. This man has the voice and mannerisms down perfectly. I did notice that there were some elements from the original which, probably due to rights issues, which could not be used. The surname Hudson is never heard, and is only seen once on a receipt (in an unreadable, scribbled version.) The famous song from the original has been tweaked to sound similar, yet not so similar as to bring a lawsuit. Much of the dialouge has been changed as well, but none of this affects the huge enjoyment that any fan of the original will derive. I agree with one of the other posts here about the producers doing a "Valley of the Dolls" riff. (Maybe "Mommie Dearest" as well?)

This is a bit of A curio. The directing is good,the acting excellent,the feel tense BUT the parody element falls flat. The jokes are obvious and not funny. The humor broad. With a better script this could be a classic. I've given it Ten simply because the rest of it is so damn good!

If you have never seen the original What Ever Happened to Baby Jane this parody will never make sense to you.

But for those who have seen WEHTBJ original will get a blast from this movie. It is truly a must see for camp and parody!

Perfect !

I saw this film last night at the Community Arts Cinema in Huntington, NY. As it starts, you almost feel like you are watching the original film, "Whatever Happened to Betty Jane". However, you soon realize that this version is a brilliant satire of the original, with the starring roles portrayed by two highly gifted female impersonators. Bette Davis' mannerisms and inflection are perfectly captured and the spoof pokes fun at the original with just the right touches of over-the-top humor. It's filmed in glorious black & white with sets that seem so close to the originals that they almost feel like the actors were superimposed into the original film. Much attention is paid to details in sets, costumes, photography, and script lines. I need to get a copy of this for my home collection as it's one of the funniest films I've seen in quite a while. Loved it!

I'm not a big fan of movie parodies. Very few of them are funny and consequently fail to hold my interest. However, Billy Clift's 'Baby Jane?' is an exception. Clift and his team have successfully put together an uproarious take off of the 1962 Davis-Crawford epic, 'What Ever Happened To Baby Jane'. Much of the success of this film is the wonderful cast of characters who have been assembled to hysterically portray many of the original characters. Matthew Martin does an exceptional job as Jane, batting her long eye lashes and being the dominant sister of the beleaguered Blanche, played very well by J Conrad Frank. Heklina as the nosy neighbor, Mrs Bates is spot on as he embellishes her original character. Mike Finn as Edwin and Alotta Boutee as Elvira add to this excellent parody. There are some jokes that are derived from the original, as well as other Crawford and Davis pictures. I laughed throughout much of this picture and highly recommend it. Good job Billy!