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IMDb > Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) (TV)

Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.0/10   1,205 votes
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Up 3% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Tim Fywell
Writers (WGA):
Anthony Summers (book)
Jill Isaacs (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Norma Jean & Marilyn on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 May 1996 (USA) more
Genre:
Biography | Drama more
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. | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 nominations more
User Comments:
Not entirely truthful but reasonably entertaining more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Norma Jean and Marilyn (USA) (video box title)
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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
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby

Fun Stuff

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. more
Quotes:
Johnny Hyde: How can you be so cold?
Marilyn Monroe: Because you let me.
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Movie Connections:
Features The Seven Year Itch (1955) more
Soundtrack:
William Tell Overture more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful:-
Not entirely truthful but reasonably entertaining, 23 July 2007
7/10
Author: hall895 from New Jersey

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.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Crap jimbojone22
Wrong Facts Monztra
How many of you have been waiting for this to finally come out on DVD? Jezabella
A great movie to see... marilynmonroe96
This is for JOS87 disco_diamond
Based On A Book evil_cupcake
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