Mansfield 66/67

source: Mansfield 66/67

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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,

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.