"Mommy Dead and Dearest" (2017 release; 82 min.) brings the story of Gypsy and her mom DeeDee. As the movie opens, we are told it is "Waukesha, June 15, 2015", and Gypsy is being interviewed by a police officer about her possible involvement in DeeDee's brutal murder. Gypsy denies any involvement. We then go to "Six Years Earlier" as we see Gypsy and DeeDee onstage somewhere, with Gypsy singing a song while in a wheelchair, to wild acclaim from the audience. Gypsy looks strangely different. The documentary then goes to "Springfield, MO" where Gypsy and DeeDee eventually had settled... At this point we're 10 min. into the documentary. You'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this documentary is from director-producer Erin Lee Carr, and in just a matter of a few years, she has been making a name for herself as one of the leading documentarians in this country. (In 2019, she released the top-notch "At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal" as well as the riveting "I Love You, Now Die"). In "Mommy Dead And Dearest", Carr looks at a case of Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy (where a caretaker--usually a mother, makes up health problems of another person--usually a child) that is so wild and so unthinkable that if this weren't a real life case, you simply wouldn't believe it. Gypsy's list of alleged illnesses (including being paralyzed from the waist down) is longer than a grocery list when your kitchen needs restocked. What I kept thinking was: how did these hospitals not see through this? "Everyone failed (Gypsy), literally everyone," comments someone. Please note that the director was able to snag a long one-on-one interview with Gypsy, just watch... And I admit that at the end of the documentary I welled up. Here's hoping that Gypsy eventually will get an opportunity to "live a normal life".
This film originally came out on HBO two yeas ago, and I recently saw it on HBO On Demand. So glad I sis. If you love a investigative documentaries, do yourself a favor, and check out "Mommy Dead and Dearest", and any other work from director Erin Lee Carr. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
