Mommy Dead And Dearest

Mommy Dead And Dearest
[HBO] HD. A firsthand look at the true-crime story of Dee Dee Blanchard and her daughter Gypsy Rose.
Directors Erin Lee Carr Genres Documentary Subtitles None available
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Producers Erin Lee Carr , Andrew Rossi , Sheila Nevins Studio HBO Content advisory Foul language , sexual content , violence Purchase rights Stream instantly Details Format Prime Video (streaming online video) Devices Available to watch on supported devices
James Hutchins Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2017
This review may contain "spoilers", I suppose, although this being a documentary about a fairly well known (if little understood case) I'm not sure that this really applies with this film. Still, if you want to see it "blind" then don't read this review, This is a fascinating and disturbing exploration of a tragic murder which examines the circumstances surrounding it and attempts to put it into context. I highly recommend it and it's on par with the usual quality of HBO documentaries. It deals with the murder of mother Dee Dee Blanchard by her daughter (Gypsy Blanchard) in collusion with her lover. Gypsy suffered decades of a form of abuse that appears to correlate to what we know about a disorder known as Munchhausen by Proxy syndrome. A rare condition in which a caregiver, usually a parent, intentionally harms or kills their ward in order to gain sympathy from the community. In this case, it appears Dee Dee also received a home through Habitat for Humanity, fundraiser money, trips to Disneyland, support and free labor from friends and neighbors, etc. How much of it was this disorder, if it was that at all, and how much was simply attempting to scam money we can never really know. There is a reviewer below who expresses their desire to know more about the mother's motives (as would we all), who was obviously deceased before this movie was made. Her (Dee Dee) motives appear so unfathomable to us because Munchhausen by Proxy is such a rare disease and the issue is usually discovered posthumously, as it was in this case. It's a severely unhealthy obsession with the sympathy received for the supposed "suffering" of their child, something that most of us fellow humans sympathize with on such a deep, primal level. There also appears to have been a lot of financial gain in this instance. Fascinating case. I'm glad the courts took such a humane approach to this tragedy and didn't paint her (Gypsy) with the usual kindergarten Black & White, Good Vs. Evil way of thinking that is so prevalent in our country when it comes to crime. She will eventually be able to live a free life at a young enough age that she has some shot at normality. I'm truly glad for that. A death penalty or life imprisonment would be draconian given the surrounding circumstances. This isn't a portrait of a demon, if that's what you're looking for you should look elsewhere.Gypsy was neither simply a victim nor simply a monster, she was trapped in a prison few of us can imagine and she colluded to kill her prison keeper, who happened to be her mother. While this doesn't excuse the choices she made, it makes them understandable. It's a tale of an unnecessary tragedy that could have been avoided if just some more digging were done and a few more people put their skeptic hats on but it's also not an expose or indictment of the various oversight programs (like social services) either. It recognizes that the motives of such people are often good intention-ed and I'm glad it doesn't go after these people, recognizing the gray areas everywhere in this tragedy. I found it fascinating and was very engaged throughout and while I'm not usually a fan of "true crime" style documentaries, I would highly recommend this to anyone who finds the topic interesting. The only reason it doesn't get five stars is because I don't consider it a masterpiece of a documentary (and the title is simply awful and in poor taste) but I would definitely encourage you to watch it.
Joi Lloyd Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2021
I personally enjoyed this documentary and found it very informative. However, I am a bit disappointed at the reviews that are victim-blaming and stating that it was hard to believe Gypsy and her story. If you pay attention...Gypsy is no criminal mastermind otherwise she wouldn't have made so many clear mistakes, I mean for goodness sakes, she didn't even attempt to hide her tracks. I mean her "solution" to the problem closely mirrors a child-like fantasy of getting rid of the evil "stepmother" in order to live happily ever after with her prince charming...it's unrealistic but in her mind it made sense. The manipulation from her mother started when Gypsy was just a baby, so I don't understand how people can say that Gypsy is lying when the evidence is all there! I think that in cases like this it's important to understand the effects of mental/physical abuse on a child, especially in this case where Dee Dee made sure that she had control over every aspect of Gypsy's life as well as trying to convince her daughter that she was "slow" or that she was younger than she actually was. You have to realize that it's not as simple as "running away", even though she tried & failed. Do I think that Dee Dee's manipulation rubbed off onto Gypsy? Yes, but not to the extent that Gypsy became some criminal mastermind because, given all the evidence, it doesn't add up. I think that Gypsy's actions were driven by desperation, panic, and years of abuse. Even though Dee Dee's death was a murder, I believe that in the grand scheme of things Gypsy saw it as "self-defense".
Kimberly Rose Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2019
I find this story very sad and thought provoking. A woman abused her daughter from the moment she’s born- completely stole her childhood and her agency yet people have blamed the father? The father left because he was 17 when he married and everyone who knew Dee Dee said she was evil. Now, look at what she did to her daughter, her own mother and everyone around her I think it’s understandable why the father left the marriage. We women cant make excuses for other women’s bad choices. “She’s a bad mother? It’s because her husband left her.” Etc. What Gypsy did was wrong and in this case mitigating circumstances show she was a prisoner of her mothers her entire life. Gypsy doesn’t deserve life I’m prison- she already served that sentence. I just can’t believe some viewers overlooked all the information given in this documentary and blamed it on the one person who actually loved Gypsy- her father. He was just as manipulated by Dee Dee than everyone else surrounding that poor girls life. This documentary has stuck with me for a while. I truly feel for Gypsy Rose. She was brutally abused psychologically and physically. Imagine being her. Imagine Dee Dee for a mother. Believing you’re younger than you are. Believing you’re dying of cancer and other illnesses. Believing you have allergies you don’t. Being forced to use a wheelchair and cpap machine when sleeping. Forced to eat from a feeding tube. Forced into isolation. I hope Gypsy heals and receives treatment in prison. I hope she’s able to have some sort of peace.
Heather Budd Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2017
I find it mind blowing that a doctor went on record in recent years RE the abuse and no social services case was brought. In fact, this woman continues to order more medical procedures. It's also noted, the girl is totally uneducated. So, at best, she is an at risk adult. At worst, she is a severe abuse victim with no education, almost certainly PTSD and has a portal thru witch her abuser can dump any medication or maybe Lysol if she's feeling up for an ER visit, into her G tube. Many people with a legal mandate to report did nothing. Not even a call to family. On the back of watching the OK documentary, I can't help but feel that if perhaps Gypsy had some serious cash and a team, she'd be home today and working on her suit against said mandated reporters.This poor girl had been blowing in the wind alone all her life and she still is. I obviously don't see murder as a viable sensible option in a civilized society. However, if some maniac kidnapped me today and subjected me to similar torture and I had the chance to stop his or her clock and escape with my life, I'm pretty sure I would. I get that the premeditation and relationship is absent in this fantastic scenario but, it's not so far off is it? I feel real sadness for this girl. She's a victim who unfortunately lashed out and ruined her own life because I really think she saw no other way. Think of all the ways you grew as a critical thinker from second grade on. Through school, friends, sports, just being in the world and making mistakes and then learning from them. She was plucked from society and all I just mentioned and locked up with mommy dearest! Can you imagine? I hope no one ever has to again.
Tiffany Mims-Thomas Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2017
I watched this case unfold in the media here in Springfield, Missouri. I believe that this showed a great deal that the regular media here in town did not show. It is interesting to know the background and why it happened but I am extremely sad that it happened. It is heart breaking that not only did it hurt Gypsy but also the pain of her friends and others that helped them. The idea that so many resources went to Dee Dee and Gypsy that were unnecessary is crazy, how many more people could have been helped with all the money that community, businesses, and not-for-profits provided them? I am sure that many people have learned many lessons and I hope that our community and others have learned there needs to be more of a background check for these donations. I also hope that the medical system and doctors have developed new ways to prevent this from happening again. This just breaks my heart that Gypsy suffered, that Dee Dee was murdered, and that Gypsy's father feels so guilty when he did not know what was going on the entire time. This was a very good documentary of the case but I would still love to know more and hope that in ten years or so it can be updated with nothing but good reports. I also just wanted to say it breaks my heart that all of the systems in place in Missouri and Louisiana allowed Gypsy to fall through the cracks, that should not happen but unfortunately it does happen. I pray that she is receiving counseling to move past all the horrible things that she has lived through and that she took part in but most importantly I hope that she has found God and His forgiveness. No child should be put through what she went through and then it seems like she also went through an abusive relationship online but I don't know that for sure. I hope that she receives a proper education while in prison and that she is a model prisoner rather than falling in with the wrong group. I am sure she looks forward to one day being free. I hope and pray that she can move on from all of this and lead as ordinary life as possible, with the help of her father and family it might just be possible.
goodmovielover Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2019
The father is a complete joke in this enitre story and just as bad as the mother. He’s no better than the crazy mother. How could you not know your daughter knew how to walk? Exactly what typ eof relationship you had with her. He didn’t care and clearly he never changed her pampers, washed her, wiped her when she went to the bathroom, or barely had any phsical contact with her. I hold him at fault to full capacity due to the fact that, if one parent fails the other should be there to pick up. But it further provide insight on how he never attended any doctors visits, or was really a part of her life, because if he was, he would have figured this scam out. I also feel that Gypsy should not have went to prison. It wasn’t her fault, yes she got her mother murdered, but look at what she endured. When was it ever going to end.
GIA Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017
I never heard of this incident until I watched this documentary. When I watch documentaries or movies I usually multitask, wash dishes, do laundry, surf Amazon® ..... but as the story of Gypsy and DeeDee unfolded , I was literally on the edge of my couch transfixed on the tv screen (the entire 1 hour and 22 minutes) . I didn't move , I didn't answer txt messages , I was totally stunned. DeeDee was such a vile human being. She killed her mother, tried to kill her stepmother and tortured her daughter, stole from anyone she new and manipulated EVERYONE. Her family literally flushed her ashes down the toilet. Her ashes are in the right place ... in the sewer with fecal matter for eternity. Poor Gypsy, she had an awful life and then met some sick creep online who also wrapped his hands around her vulnerable brain. I literary said WTF the entire documentary. As the story unfolded the story got more and more distubing and grotesque. Sex in the movie theater bathroom ..... watching Cinderella after.... What!?!?!?!? BDSM??? Sexting, role play, multiple personalities..... omg wtf . Now this poor girl is in prison where inmates worse then her mother will manipulate her and use her. She should have been given probation and a lifetime of mandatory FREE psychiatric assistance. Her whole life she was a in a prison, poor girl. Gypsy's father irritated me when he kept saying "we need to move forward" almost like he was trying make everyone , even Gypsy get over the fact that he failed as a father. He should have manned up and said "yeah, I should have saw the signs but I didn't know about munchousen byproxy, I wish I could have done things different". Instead he acts like hey whatever man, let's move forward, ughhhhhhhhhhhh wtf .
Customer Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020
First, how can we really believe Gypsy and her lawyers? They had every reason to exaggerate and make things up. Isn't it entirely likely Gypsy was a willing participant until she wanted to go off her with boyfriend and mom was an obstacle to that? Where do I start with dad? Typical man. Seems to have no guilt or knowledge that he had any responsibility for Gypsy. The Buzzfeed reporter is clearly so so happy with herself. Pure glee at the death of this woman. Honestly, in the end if seems like it is a bit of a conspiracy with the MSM, Gypsy, and the greater media outlets to have a sensational tale to make money off and to put the white man in jail. When Gypsy gets out I am sure more crime will come her way. There is something wrong wit her.

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Patricia Arquette, Joey King in 'The Act' (Photo by: Brownie Harris / Hulu)
Lifetime gets there first this weekend with "Love You to Death," a movie clearly "inspired" by the case, which draws upon the public record, changes the names but hews closely to the basic story.
That will be followed in March by "The Act," a limited series that will play on Hulu, which is adapted from a lengthy Buzzfeed article by Michelle Dean.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard's family, meanwhile, is seeking to develop its own project -- unhappy about these competing versions, as well as Investigation Discovery's look at the case last year as part of James Patterson's true-crime series "Murder is Forever."
"It's Gypsy's story, and it should be done the right way," Kristy Blanchard, Gypsy Rose's stepmother, told CNN.
The sordid nature of the actual events -- which culminated in Dee Dee's murder, after victimizing her daughter by convincing Gypsy and the world that the girl was ill, a form of abuse known as Munchhausen by proxy -- is captured reasonably well in Lifetime's version, which isn't as compelling as the documentary but still proves watchable and unsettling.
Emily Skeggs in 'Love You to Death'
Marcia Gay Harden stars as the mother, named Camile, who goes to great lengths to keep Esme (Emily Skeggs) dependent upon her. That includes subjecting her to unnecessary treatments, lying to medical personnel and binding her daughter to make her look younger and perpetuate the ruse.
The Lifetime movie goes relatively light on the wider extent of Dee Dee's fraud, which, as "Mommy Dead and Dearest" detailed, earned the pair trips to Disney World and charitable support from neighbors and national organizations devoted to assisting sick kids.
Hulu will stretch out the story over eight episodes, with Patricia Arquette (fresh off her standout turn in Showtime's "Escape at Dannemora") and Joey King in the central roles.
The service had no comment about the Lifetime film.
Filmmaker Erin Lee Carr, who directed "Mommy Dead and Dearest," isn't involved with either project, but isn't surprised by the interest. "I just think it is such a wild story I immediately knew it was going to be dramatized," she said.
Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard in 'Mommy Dead and Dearest'
Gypsy Blanchard pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in her mother's death. Her boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, was found guilty of first-degree murder in November.
Kristy Blanchard said the family's goal isn't to profit from the story but to clear up inaccuracies and misrepresentations regarding the facts. "Let the truth be known," she said.
The Blanchard saga certainly feels tailor-made for Lifetime. At its core, there was the toxic mother-daughter relationship, and a secret romance. But there's also an underlying lesson about media, and its manipulation, in the way Dee Dee intuitively understood how to exploit the situation -- and people's sympathy -- for attention and financial gain.
The message conveyed by the existence of these dueling projects is equally illuminating, saying a lot about the current age of true-crime TV -- namely, when it comes to tales that capture the public's imagination, anything worth doing is usually worth overdoing.
Carr acknowledged that she has contemplated revisiting the case, but cited concerns about the impact on those involved. "Ultimately, it just felt like it would be taking away from the story, and trying to extract more from Gypsy and her family," she said, adding in regard to the scripted versions, "Nothing is stranger than true life."
"Love You to Death" premieres Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.
© 2022 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
Updated 1436 GMT (2236 HKT) January 25, 2019
(CNN) The strange case of Gypsy Rose and Dee Dee Blanchard -- recounted in the HBO documentary "Mommy Dead and Dearest" -- is so salacious, one dramatic retelling apparently isn't enough.

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