User reviews

I love parodies. Even the real bad parodies that have been churned out lately hold a bit of appeal for me, but I do hate walking away disappointed. Baby Jane? does a very good job of parodying and skewering (and skewing) the infamous What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, but it misses the mark in several important places that needed to be hit directly. The biggest miss, in my opinion, was the dreadfully awful timing in the delivery of the most famous line -- "Butcha arrr, Blanche. Ya arrrr in that wheelchair". I got the impression they were trying to do a Rocky Horror-esque type of audience participation routine, but the overly long pauses accompanied by grotesque facial expressions simply ruined what could have been a comedic gold moment, instead of reducing it to a fabled let down. That is not to say that other moments didn't have perfect timing. Jane swinging the hammer for the first time at Elvira (and missing) caught me by total surprise and gave me a true laugh out loud moment. I would have liked to have seen that scene added to a bit, perhaps another swing and a miss, and then Elvira not staying down for the count, but it actually was fine just the way it was.

Another thing that bothered me throughout was the actor portraying Jane was very inconsistent in keeping the Bette Davis voice in place. At times it was non-existent, at other times it was weakly there, and at other times it was an excellent and eerie rendering of the original character.

The actor portraying Blanche played her pretty much straight up. There was an edge lacking in the character, but all in all he pretty much got her right, although just a bit too tepidly. I did love the entire scene with the typewritten notes and the playing with the original scene when everyone wondered why Blanche simply didn't yell out that open window to her neighbor. It was done maddeningly well this time around, and deserves kudos.

The movie had many good points too, and the sudden appearances of off the wall comedic elements (such as the two detectives in the car) were hilarious and a welcome addition to the movie. There seemed to have been a little uneven editing here and there, particularly with Edwin's second appearance, but anyone who knows the original movie can forgive that.

Baby Jane? is a fun way to spend some time, and probably lots of fun if you're in a group of queens smoking weed and drinking mimosas or JD. I watched it alone and had a great time, but I love camp. Don't expect perfection, but do expect some laughs, and even some poignant moments.

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?)

I am not sure what the other two reviewers were talking about when they said this was a good movie. It is not! It started out fun but then turned into some kind of "lets do it straight now" mess that was no longer funny and was down right bad! If they had done a true spoof it would have been great but one cannot do a spoof if they think they are acting in a real movie drama. The actor (I use that term loosely here) who plays Baby Jane seemed to think this was a true movie and not a spoof that was made for fun. The rest of the actors "got it" and were good if not great, but the actor playing Jane really ended any chance of this becoming the camp-fest fun movie it could have been. One bad apple (actor) can spoil the whole thing. To bad considering how hard the others in this movie tried to make something for the fans of Whatever Happened To Baby Jane would have loved to see and laugh with.

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!

One of the worst movies. This isn't a parody but a sad attempt at a drag queen remaking the movie. I should tell you the two small areas of the movie that got a slight giggle so you don't have to waste your time. I love the original movie and anyone could have made a better "parody" than this even if they had never seen the movie. The drag queen did small variations of the original such as instead of "I've Written A Letter To Daddy" it was "Postcard". I want my time back.

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 !

Saw this at the Palm Springs Gay Film Festival. I found BABY JANE? hugely entertaining. It is quite an achievement to sustain camp/parody for 95 minutes. BABY JANE? really delivered. I laughed non-stop. Anyone who is a fan of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, Bette Davis, or Joan Crawford should view this film. William Clift wrote the inventive, hilarious script and also directed. I hope to see more from him - please! (Might I suggest a VALLEY OF THE DOLLS parody?) Most of the female roles were performed by men and hilariously so. Matthew Martin stood out as a devastatingly funny Baby Jane. He was spot on in impersonating Bette Davis' mannerisms and voice. He was born to play that role. I hope this film gets a theatrical release. I'll be looking for the DVD because this is a film I want to see again, and again.

Everyone is so upset by this parody remake. This is hilarious maybe its because im a gen z gay but i love this movie!

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!

Take this parody for what it is... Entertaining and laugh out loud moments. Great care and imagination takes center stage. I'm a fan of all the various movies weaved throughout. Great job girls. Bravo.

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!