Grey Gardens (1975)

I was first introduced to Grey Gardens when watching Jinkx Monsoon portray Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

I was first introduced to Grey Gardens (1975) when watching Jinkx Monsoon portray Edith “Little Edie” Bouvier Beale on RuPaul’s Drag Race. With a nod to Edie’s scarved head, Jinkx played a strange character that was all over the place and required more examination. I finally saw the documentary starring Edie and her mom Edith Bouvier Beale—a cousin and aunt of Jackie Kennedy, respectively—about life in their dilapidated East Hampton mansion last week. The film explores the crumbling world of a mother and daughter with vibes more similar to Miss Havisham than the Kennedys. When not singing old war songs, dancing to show tunes unprompted, or feeding Wonder Bread to the raccoon in the attic, Edie complains about all the men her mother shooed away from her. Edith spends most of her time in bed, eating ice cream or boiling and buttering cobs of corn. Like the drawer in Edie’s vanity she hasn’t cleaned out in ages, this film has a lot to unpack. At least now I know what I’m watching next: Grey Gardens (2009), a TV movie remake starring forever faves Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. Watch Grey Gardens on HBO Max.