Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

cnycitylady Not the people who star in this wanton documentary, oh no. They have souls and they pine for their pasts and they regret profoundly, the way that we all do. They simply have the misfortune of having their innermost regrets and thoughts splayed out comically for all the world to see.I felt for these women so acutely. They love each other and fit together like a favorite pair of well worn shoes, but their devotion to each other seems to have robbed them of the vibrancy that they used to posses. They bicker and poke at each other because it's all they have left of the joys of life, a life that was more than enough for the both of them until these movie makers decided to bring up 'what ifs' and 'could have beens' from the past. It just seemed so cruel to put them through it. It was also unkind the way that they present the house as a dump when, from where I'm sitting, it looks like a perfectly comfortable and homey place to live. Just because these women don't adhere to the standard of the one percent doesn't make their home--full of warmth and genuine affection, a squalor shack. I cannot get behind this famed documentary because it cruelly dramatizes the wasted hopes and past dreams of a mother and daughter who lived, by any standards, a full life. Cruelty should not be regarded as art.

Michael_Elliott Grey Gardens (1975) *** (out of 4) Bizarre "documentary" about Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie - cousin and niece of Jacqueline Onassis - living in a dump of a mansion where we get to see their day-to-day lives. I'm really not sure if bizarre really covers everything in this film and I'm really not sure that this should or could be called a documentary. The content has come under attack by many critics. I think most agree that it's a very entertaining movie but at the same time it makes you feel more like a voyeur looking in on a couple obviously sick people. I understand the directors getting attacked for filming these two as it seems clear that there's really no point to it other than to show what wacky behaviors they have and to see how someone with so much money and connections to greatness can be living like bums off the street. The film opens up with newspaper clips of the two about to be kicked out of their mansion because of how dirty it is and then we see that Onassis had to place cleaned so that the could stay. From here we see the mother and daughter talk about their lives, scream and shout and do other things including feed the raccoons that are living in their attack. We also see their countless cats that are constantly running around. It's rather funny watching this film today because of all the connections it has to reality TV and shows like Springer where people just show all their troubles, bad behaviors and other issues that really should be kept private. We see the two women go off on wild subjects ranging from who they should have married to whether or not they've made mistakes in their lives and a strange bit where the daughter talks about a local repairman wanting her sexually. There's really no "direction" to the film or story trying to be told. It really doesn't seem as if the directors are wanting us to get to know these people or understand them. It seems like the main goal is just to show these two rather eccentric people go off on rants, wild off-topic discussions and other bits of weirdness. It's not a masterpiece and one could question showing these two but there's no doubt that it's impossible to turn away.

wes-connors Living in the neighborhood, one did hear about these two old birds, the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. You hardly ever saw them, but heard they resided amongst trash and cat feces. The house looked old and neglected. Nobody mowed the lawn. It would never win first prize in the annual L.V.I.S. (Ladies Village Improvement Society) competition. The place looked deserted whenever you walked by, and the Beales were not spotted around town.In this film, "Little Edie" and mother "Big Edie" are seen sunning on the grounds. Inside, they are quite lively, singing and dancing for the exploitive cameras. Obviously, the Beales are animated for the Maysles brothers. Viewing the inside of the house reveals it wasn't as dirty as legend claimed. There were not dozens of cats in evidence, only a manageable few. They "adopted" our family cat once. Thankfully, he wore a collar listing the name "Scribble" and our telephone number...Mrs. Onassis called, and my mother handed me the phone. Probably, she knew I would get a kick out of talking to Jackie Kennedy. In her distinctive voice Jackie said, "We have your cat, Scribble." Edie Beale has a similar voice. We went over to get the cat. Jackie was not staying at "Grey Gardens", she was in a nicer place on Lily Pond Lane. Periodically, she and sister Lee Radziwill would try to help their eccentric relatives clean up, and return the "adopted" cats to their homes.****** Grey Gardens (9/27/75) David Maysles, Albert Maysles ~ "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale, "Big Edie" Bouvier Beale

angry127 The review title is offensive? Well, you might have the same opinion if you view the film with an analytical mind. I know and have read about all the fans of this film that are fans of the Beale's as well. That is all well and good, but its beside the point.The Mayles Bros are not slouches and have a very good nack for cinematography and documentation (otherwise they would have not been involved in so many major documentaries). This film does itself justice by showing off that gift. What it doesn't do itself justice with is its exploitation of its subjects.I know I won't get a lot of fans for saying such (true) statements, but it has to be said. Perhaps you'll understand my rational and frame of mind for my two controversial statements thus far by considering a few questions.Why did the Maysles take footage of little Edie prancing around the house like a child? Why were these shots often in extreme close ups? Did these shots make you feel uncomfortable? Did the Beales seem in a clear frame of mind? Would you claim the Beales to be in a healthy mental condition? Were there shots of the Beales getting close to undressing or undressing? If the questions didn't get you thinking, my basic point is the Maysles knew better than to exploit a psychologically troubled mother and child. Framing it as an empathetic slice of life is a cover for compassion trolling and humiliation porn.