Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) (TV)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Tim Fywell

Writers (WGA):

Anthony Summers (book)
Jill Isaacs (written by)

Release Date:

18 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Marilyn Monroe was our fantasy. Norma Jean was her reality.

Plot:

This film follows Norma Jean from her simple, ambitious youth to her sex star pinnacle and back down. She moves from lover to lover in order to further her career. She finds fame but never happiness, only knowing seduction but not love. |

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Fame | Convertible | Miscarriage | 1940s

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Ashley Judd	...	Norma Jean Dougherty
Mira Sorvino	...	Marilyn Monroe
Josh Charles	...	Eddie Jordan
Ron Rifkin	...	Johnny Hyde
David Dukes	...	Arthur Miller
Peter Dobson	...	Joe DiMaggio
Taylor Nichols	...	Fred Karger
John Rubinstein	...	Darryl Zanuck
Allan Corduner	...	Billy Wilder
Dana Goldstone	...	Lee Strasberg
Micole Mercurio	...	Mozelle Hyde
Lindsay Crouse	...	Natasha Lytess
John Apicella	...	Milton Krasner
Robert Alan Beuth	...	Commissary Photographer
Frank Birney	...	Preacher

Also Known As:

Norma Jean and Marilyn (USA) (video box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content and nudity, some substance abuse and strong language.

Runtime:

Australia:108 min | Spain:115 min | USA:135 min | USA:139 min | South Korea:91 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R (video rating) | USA:TV-14 | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Spain:13 | South Korea:18 | USA:TV-MA (HBO) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Grauman's Chinese Theater - 6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The underwear underneath Marilyn Monroe's dress while filming The Seven Year Itch (1955) are Victoria's Secret panties. The brand Victoria's Secret was not started until 1978.

Quotes:

Johnny Hyde: How can you be so cold?
Marilyn Monroe: Because you let me.

Movie Connections:

Features The Seven Year Itch (1955)

Soundtrack:

William Tell Overture

Not entirely truthful but reasonably entertaining

If you're looking to see the "true story" of Marilyn Monroe's life you're probably better off skipping this movie. Norma Jean & Marilyn takes great liberties with the facts in trying to spice up the drama. There are plenty of half-truths and flat-out non-truths littered throughout. But if you can get past that you may find that this still manages to be a reasonably worthwhile movie. It's not an accurate biographical account of Marilyn Monroe's life, it's a dramatization. And not a bad dramatization at that.

This is a movie with a gimmick in that there are two Marilyn Monroes. Ashley Judd plays the icon in her younger days as unknown Norma Jean. Mira Sorvino takes over when Hollywood transforms Norma Jean into Marilyn Monroe. But we have not heard the last of Norma Jean as Judd continues to pop up now and again as an inner voice so to speak, sometimes to encourage and sometimes to berate and ridicule Sorvino's Marilyn. The point being that young Norma Jean desperately wanted to be a star and refuses to allow Marilyn to screw things up. Suffice to say these constant appearances by her younger self do not help Marilyn's state of mind as her life begins to spiral out of control towards her inevitable sad end. The two lead actresses perform their roles well. Judd is pitch-perfect as the desperate, driven Norma Jean. Sorvino is pretty much stuck doing a Marilyn Monroe impersonation but she makes the best of what she has to work with. As presented here the character may come off as a bit too much of a dumb blonde bimbo to really ring true. Surely, for all the myriad issues she had, the real Monroe was brighter than she's given credit for here. But it's hard to blame Sorvino, she can only portray the character as it was written. All in all it's a fairly gripping, if not entirely truthful, drama. And having two actresses play the famed icon at different points in her life adds a unique twist. This is clearly no work of genius but if you're looking for a reasonably entertaining movie you could do a lot worse.