By Lawrence Ferber
Diana Scarwid earned herself a special place in queer pop culture by playing Joan Crawford's daughter, Christina, in the cult masterpiece "Mommie Dearest." Since its theatrical release 25 years ago, the mother of all camp films has mesmerized a generation or two of impressionable gay men, especially as some of the more over-the-top scenes have long been staples at video bars throughout the country. This exposure has earned her a special place at her gay friends' parties – she admits that they often urge her to recreate her lines from the movie during the course of an evening. "Or it just comes out in reaction to something somebody says," she laughs. "Out of the blue. 'I'm not one of your fans'!"
Thanks to the June 6th release of Mommie Dearest: The Hollywood Royalty Edition DVD (Paramount Home Entertainment), we all get a chance to revisit Christina, Faye Dunaway's all-out performance as Joan, late night garden-pruning antics, mother-and-daughter catfights, and more quotable dialogue than you can pack into a game of Gay Trivial Pursuit. To boot, the DVD is souped-up with extremely queer-centric extras (they certainly seem to connect to the film's core audience!) including three documentaries, one of which includes interviews with camp director John Waters, gender illusionist Lypsinka (who counts Joan among her many impersonations), and Scarwid, as well as a feature commentary by Waters (who speculates, during the infamous "No more wire hangers!" sequence, that this film probably damaged the wire hanger industry).
Scarwid herself doesn't need a new DVD release for Christina or "Mommie Dearest" to come up in her life, however. "It's perpetual, it's everywhere," she says. "I was in Wal-Mart a few months back looking at dental floss and I sensed someone down the aisle looking at me. I turned and this woman was staring and walking slowly toward me with this emotion on her face. She put out her hand and said, 'You were that girl from Mommie Dearest.' I said 'Yes, ma'am,' and we hugged each other, we were both crying, and that's all that was said."
Raised in Savannah, Georgia – where she still resides – Scarwid made her big-screen debut in "Pretty Baby," Louis Malle's controversial 1978 film about a pre-teen prostitute. But it was 1982's "Mommie Dearest" that really put her on the map. Scarwid was cast as the "adult" Christina, while Mara Hobel (who since appeared on numerous TV series) was cast as the child counterpart. Both actresses met the real Christina Crawford to prepare, and Scarwid studied Hobel's dailies to pick up the younger actress's mannerisms. "She established Christina, so there are little nuances and things that she did," Scarwid recalls. "It was rather uncanny how much we resembled each other, too."
One of Scarwid's most famous (and drag queen-friendly) scenes is the "Why did you adopt me?" confrontation between Christina and Joan. She describes the mini-catfight that transpires with Dunaway as "intense and frightening. And I like to blur the lines to get to those places of reality emotionally," Scarwid says. "Those scenes take a lot of preparation and forethought."
This scene has since developed a deeper meaning for Scarwid as well. "Little Christina was like a Joan of Arc; she stood up for injustice and you have to herald that," she notes. "And Christina knew that lots of slaps and vindictive retribution was due her…maybe not the choking! – but something for saying what she said. Evil survives only when good people do nothing about it."
Alas, Dunaway has disavowed herself of further involvement with or discussion of "Mommie Dearest" (as evident on a recent, searing answering machine message she allegedly left that's currently making the internet rounds) – a fact Scarwid and many others can't account for since they all laud her performance. The role has certainly become synonymous with Dunaway over the years.
"Yeah, I think people think of her as Joan Crawford," Scarwid admits. "The new generation that wasn't really aware of her films." However, Scarwid has no problem discussing the film and celebrating their respective performances. At one point during the interview, she even plays a recent mix of Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama" that incorporates samples of Christina and Joan's dialogue from Mommie Dearest. "It's really great!" Scarwid enthuses. "DJs down in Florida did it."
Since "Mommie Dearest," Scarwid went on to endear herself further to gay audiences by playing Cher's girlfriend in 1983's "Silkwood" and club kid killer Michael Alig's mother in 2003's "Party Monster."
Having played the daughter of a monster and mother of a monster, does this indicate that Scarwid has a thing for monsters? "Well, we have to face them," she laughs. "Yeah, it's true. It's that challenge, by going to those places – that's how we advance. 'Mommie Dearest' is a very entertaining film, with also a great many lessons in it and it forces us to look at ourselves. To be a true perpetuator of peace you have to know the dark."
