Mariska Hargitay
of Law & Order fame goes in search for her mother in this very personal
and emotional documentary. Her mother was of course Jayne Mansfield. She
was three years old when her mother died in that tragic car accident and
Mariska was in the back seat with her siblings. But as a grown up, she had
no memories of her mother. Only the images of her glamor and sexuality. She
felt ashamed of her to some degree. When she was 60, she felt she was ready
to make this film. What she finds is a very complex, complicated human with
lots of flaws. One who loved her children deeply. But made lots of bad relationship
and business decisions.
It is all very sad though by the end, Mariska
has come to terms with her mother, her father Mickey who seems like the father
of the year and the man she found out as an adult was her biological father.
This is her story as much as her mother's. She interviews her siblings, her
sisters from her biological father, her biological father and the woman who
married Mickey and brought up the children. Like I said, very emotional.
Something in Jayne made her want to be a
star from a young age. She was married to Mansfield in Texas with a child
and persuaded him to take her to California. She never went back. She decided
the way to fame was glamor, the sexy blonde bombshell. Monroe was her idol.
But it was an act. She spoke a number of languages, could speak about anything
and could play the violin and piano quite well. For a few years, she was
followed everywhere, on every talk show, had crowds waiting at the airport,
but she wanted to become a serious actress and that never happened and it
crushed her. She was 34 when she died. I am a fan of Mansfield, watching
her on screen is a delight but this almost is too personal to me. It had
to be tough putting it all out there. My family has a few secrets and I plan
to keep them that way.
