Fall from Grace (1990 film)

Last updated
Fall from Grace
GenreDrama
Written byKen Trevey
Directed by Karen Arthur
Starring Kevin Spacey
Bernadette Peters
Music by Charles Bernstein
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Jeff Franklin
ProducersRichard L. O'Connor
Ken Trevey (supervising producer)
CinematographyTom Neuwirth
EditorDann Cahn
Running time100 minutes
Production company NBC Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseApril 29, 1990 (1990-04-29)

Fall from Grace is an American television film about the lives of Jim Bakker and his then-wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, during the 1980s, starring Kevin Spacey and Bernadette Peters in the lead roles. The film, which depicts the events that led to the PTL scandal and the Bakkers' subsequent downfall, aired on NBC on April 29, 1990, as well as during occasional reruns in later years on the Lifetime Movie Network.

Contents

Plot

In the 1980s, televangelist and PTL Club founder Jim Bakker (Spacey) and his wife Tammy (Peters) decide to expand their PTL television ministry to include a village resort with an amusement park, which they christen Heritage USA.

However, during this time, the Bakkers are being investigated for various acts of scandalous behavior, beginning with Jim's 1980 affair with then-church secretary Jessica Hahn. They are also investigated for fraud (specifically, using followers' donated funds to support an upscale lifestyle as well as finance the Heritage USA project). These investigations ultimately led to a highly publicized scandal involving the Bakkers and the PTL ministry in March 1987, which gained national attention. The Bakkers are defrocked and the PTL ministry and Heritage USA are then taken over by another televangelist, Rev. Jerry Falwell. Jim is later sentenced to prison on fraud and conspiracy charges (but this is not depicted in the movie).

Subplots in the film deal with Jim and Tammy's constant bickering, as well as Tammy's drug abuse that led to rehabilitation at the Betty Ford Center.

Bernadette Peters, as Tammy, sings several gospel songs throughout the movie, including "Mercy Rewrote My Life", "Amazing Grace", "God Rides on the Wings of Love", and "His Eye Is on the Sparrow". Peter Matz arranged the music. [1] [2]

Cast

Production

The rights to the Bakkers' story were sold to NBC Productions in 1987. After Ken Trevey was hired to write the movie, his assistant interviewed the Bakkers. After the bankruptcy trial in 1989, the script was rewritten. Spacey at first declined the role, but finally decided to take it, because of "Jim's complexity — and a 3½-hour phone conversation with director Arthur." Because Tammy's weight fluctuated, Peters sometimes had to have extra padding; she wears false nails and five wigs. The movie cost $3-million-plus to make. [3]

A Los Angeles Times article noted that both Peters and Spacey said "they had doubts about taking part in the show because of the caricature, Saturday Night Live aspect of their characters", but were assured that they would not play caricatures. [4]

Response

The Entertainment Weekly reviewer wrote that "Kevin Spacey as Jim and Bernadette Peters as Tammy are absolutely fabulous" but that, in a "miscalculation", the "movie they're in is so petrified of offending religious viewers that it pulls back." [5]

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

Related Research Articles

James Orsen Bakker is an American televangelist. Between 1974 and 1987, Bakker hosted the television program The PTL Club and its cable television platform, the PTL Satellite Network, with his then wife, Tammy Faye. He also developed Heritage USA, a now-defunct Christian theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Falwell</span> American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist (1933–2007)

Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. was an American Independent Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia. He founded Lynchburg Christian Academy in 1967, founded Liberty University in 1971, and co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Televangelism</span> Use of radio and television to preach religion

Televangelism, also sometimes called radio evangelism or teleministry, is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to preach religion, and most prominently Christianity.

<i>The 700 Club</i> Television show

The 700 Club is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, political opinion commentary, contemporary music, testimonies, and Christian ministry. Celebrities and other guests are often interviewed, and Christian lifestyle issues are presented. The program additionally features world news stories plus investigative reporting by the CBN News team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tammy Faye Messner</span> American evangelical and singer (1942–2007)

Tamara Faye Messner was an American evangelist. She co-founded the televangelist program, The PTL Club with her husband Jim Bakker in 1974. They had hosted their own puppet-show series for local programming in the early 1960s; Messner also had a career as a recording artist. In 1978, she and Bakker built Heritage USA, a Christian theme park.

Ronald Roe Messner is an American building contractor who has built more than 1,700 churches, including several megachurches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heritage USA</span> Biblical theme park

Heritage USA was an American Christian-themed water park, theme park and residential complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina, built by televangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye Bakker, founders of The PTL Club.

Jessica Hahn is an American model and actress. She frequently appeared on The Howard Stern Show throughout the late 1980s and into the 2000s.

John Ankerberg is an American Christian television host, author, and speaker. He is an ordained Baptist minister and has authored or coauthored more than 150 books and study guides. He is the producer and host of the internationally televised weekly program The John Ankerberg Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regent Park-Carolinas</span>

Regent Park is the new name given to a portion the former Heritage USA property in Fort Mill, South Carolina, just south of Charlotte, North Carolina that was originally developed by evangelist Jim Bakker and his then wife Tammy Faye Bakker Messner, founders of the PTL Ministry. The property was purchased out of bankruptcy by MUI Corporation and redeveloped largely as a residential community. MUI's subsidiary, Regent Carolina Corporation added a golf course and golf academy and subdivided much of the undeveloped property for single-family homes and townhouses. In late 2004 Regent Carolina Corporation sold the remaining properties to area builders and developers and in February 2007 they sold their interest in the golf course and academy to a private corporation. In the year 2016, the golf course was sold and planned to be residentially developed in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">INSP (TV network)</span> American digital cable and satellite TV channel

INSP is an American digital cable television network that features primarily westerns and is headquartered in Indian Land, South Carolina - a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Michael Dean Murdock is an American Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, televangelist and pastor of The Wisdom Center ministry based in Haltom City, Texas. Murdock preaches around the world and is best known for his promotion of prosperity theology. He hosts the School of Wisdom with Mike Murdock television program.

The PTL Club, also known as The Jim and Tammy Show, was a Christian television program that was first hosted by evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, running from 1974 to 1989. The program was later known as PTL Today and as Heritage Today. During its final years, The PTL Club, which adopted a talk show format, was the flagship television program of the Bakkers' PTL Satellite Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jay Bakker</span> American pastor, author and speaker (born 1975)

Jamie Charles "Jay" Bakker is an American pastor, author, and speaker. He is the son of televangelists Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Paul</span> American actor (1940-1998)

Richard Paul was an American television and film actor. In addition to starring in the 1970s television sitcom Carter Country, he had recurring roles on the later series Murder, She Wroteand Full House. He portrayed Jerry Falwell Sr. in two separate productions after having played a character based on Falwell for an episode of WKRP in Cincinnati.

The PTL Television Network, often referred to as simply PTL, is an American evangelical Christian television network originally located in Fort Mill, South Carolina, founded by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in 1974 and dedicated in April 1977. During PTL's fourteen-year history, the Bakkers, as hosts of the network's flagship talk show, The PTL Club, became two of the most recognizable and highly-rated televangelists in the U.S. However, PTL collapsed in 1987 after a former church secretary, Jessica Hahn, accused the evangelist of rape, while later financial scandals revealed that the couple had used the nonprofit PTL's donations to fund an opulent personal lifestyle. Bakker went to prison for embezzlement in 1989.

Benjamin Cerullo is an American evangelist, Christian television show host and producer. He is also the son and first child born to The Inspiration Networks CEO and American televangelist David and his wife Barbara Cerullo. He is also the grandson of the controversial international televangelist and TV show host Morris Cerullo.

John Wesley Fletcher was an American defrocked Assemblies of God pastor, known for his role in the PTL scandal involving Tammy Faye Bakker and Jim Bakker.

<i>The Eyes of Tammy Faye</i> (2021 film) 2021 film by Michael Showalter

The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a 2021 American biographical drama film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay by Abe Sylvia, based on the 2000 documentary of the same name by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato of World of Wonder. The film tells the story of Tammy Faye Bakker, from her humble beginnings growing up in International Falls, Minnesota, through the rise and fall of her televangelism career and marriage to Jim Bakker. Cherry Jones and Vincent D'Onofrio also star. The film is produced by Chastain's production company, Freckle Films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freckle Films</span> American film and television production company

Freckle Films is an American film and television production company. It was founded by Jessica Chastain in 2016. The company's projects include the biopics The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) and George & Tammy (2022), both starring Chastain.

References

  1. ↑ O'Connor,John.TV Weekend; A Time for Ratings, and Biographies New York Times, April 27, 1990
  2. ↑ "'Fall from Grace listing'" tv.yahoo.com, retrieved March 19, 2010
  3. ↑ Dougherty, Margaret.Holy Roles Entertainment Weekly, April 27, 1990
  4. ↑ Hanauer, Joan.Stars of 'Fall From Grace' Go Beyond Caricature in Portrayal of the Bakkers" Los Angeles Times, April 23, 1990
  5. ↑ Tucker, Ken."TV Review, 'Fall From Grace'" Entertainment Weekly, April 27, 1990
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.