I just didn't think it was all that good. I don't think it examined the psychology of the two women in a very illuminating way. I felt that it fell back on moments from the documentary a little bit too much, and several scenes that weren't based on the doc, such as the one where the ladies accept the offer to do it, just came off as awkward. I do, however, think that Jessica Lange's performance was exquisite.
Dave Poland expresses some of the same feelings I had about the film:
"Simply, there is about 20 missing years of deterioration and whether by design or because there is no better answer, it is missing in this film as it is in the doc and musical, but somehow, because the film is a straight drama, you feel the hole as an audience.
And while I hate to tell a filmmaker what I would have liked him or her to do, I wonder whether there was a better answer in a more raw portrayal? Both the doc and the musical address the idea of sexual jealousy between mother and daughter. Not so much this film. What the film does offer that the other versions do not is an actual affair for Little Edie. Yet, the film doesn?t really dig into its raw power, just the idea that Edie gets hurt by a married man acting like a married man.
What I wanted to know, to be frank, is whether Little Edie, who****teases the boys in another scene, likes sex. Does she see it as a means to an end? Is it something she truly experiences with passion?
I guess that issue circles around the bigger issue for the film? what are these women passionate about? Anything? Nothing? Are they dead of heart? dead of loins? If so, why? Is it really just as simple as confusion and missed opportunity?"
http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/archives/2009/04/review_hbos_gre.html
"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter