South Louisiana Family At The Center Of Gripping New HBO Documentary ‘Mommy Dead And Dearest’ [Video]
This week, the whole dang internet started it's obsession with "The Keepers". However, another documentary was released by HBO May 15th called "Mommy Dead and Dearest" that is deserving of the hype machine as well. This documentary will look and feel very familiar to those of us in South Louisiana, because it's all about the Blanchard family, and their seriously twisted and tragic story of Child Abuse, mental illness, and forbidden love.
"Mommy Dead and Dearest", out now on HBO, HBOGO and HBO NOW, tells us the story of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard from Lafourche Parish. As HBO describes it, the film "is a disturbing, first-hand look at a life arrested and the consequences of trying to keep someone young forever."
When I first started watching "Mommy Dead and Dearest", I didn't know it had any connection to South Louisiana. However, as soon as video footage of the mother, Dee Dee Blanchard, came on and she started talking, I knew instantly she was from somewhere in South Louisiana.
I won't go in to too much detail about the documentary so I don't ruin anything for you, but just watch the trailer posted below to get an idea of what it's all about. I will say that this documentary will have you struggling with who you think is really the bad guy. Who is really the most evil person in this story?
You'll like it for a few different reasons I think. It's a very well done documentary that doesn't seem to try and intervene that much, and as a result, the story gets to unfold naturally and tell itself, so to speak. I never got the feeling that the director, Erin Lee Carr, is trying to swing anyone's opinion about the people or their story. It's also an interesting film to watch because, well you probably know these people.