The Act offers one bizarre twist after another
The truth, they say, is stranger than fiction – closely followed by “you can’t make this stuff up”. On the one hand we have a magical fantasy universe of series and movies, and on the other, true crime, which provides an endless source of rich material to feed an insatiable appetite and primal human need to slow down to gawk at the accident/disaster/tragedy.
One such tale of woe is that of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, which has spawned hundreds of articles and television appearances, a movie, an HBO documentary and most recently, an eight-part Hulu series, The Act, now streaming on DStv Now.
In 2016, Buzzfeed ran a long form article by Michelle Dean (who co-created The Act with Nick Antosca), which documented in detail a horrifying account of years of abuse and deception, in which Dee Dee Blanchard kept her daughter Gypsy a virtual prisoner by claiming she – Gypsy – had a string of life-threatening ailments, including a potentially lethal sugar allergy. Everyone believed Dee Dee, including Gypsy.
Spoilers don’t apply in this case; as with the movie Titanic, we all know how this one ends – with Dee Dee’s murder, which is in the very first episode of The Act. Depending on how you prefer to consume your crime, watching the excellent HBO documentary Mommy Dead And Dearest on Showmax first is not essential. It will certainly help you, but maybe you’ll wait until afterwards, or even refer to it in between.
It’s usually good to be in possession of the facts, and as much as this saga is steeped in sensationalism (read: media attention), the doccie provides a balanced view of the events. In a nutshell, after a lifetime of alleged sicknesses, pills, feeding tubes, wheelchairs, surgeries, ER visits, sympathy, manipulation – and more than a few freebies, including a house and numerous theme park trips – Gypsy Blanchard had had enough; she plotted to murder her controlling, abusive mother with the help of her secret boyfriend, Nick Godejohn.
It turned out that Gypsy had been a victim of Dee Dee’s Munchausen syndrome by proxy, or a fictitious disorder imposed on another. It’s when a caregiver creates the appearance of health problems in another person, typically their child. The horror is real.
The Act stars Patricia Arquette as Dee Dee, and Joey King as Gypsy. Having watched the documentary, and the first episode of the series, it looks extremely promising. Performances are solid and suitably close to real life in appearance as to be wholly convincing. To support this statement, at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, Arquette won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series and King received a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series.
Not only has the cast nailed it (which includes Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny, Big Love) but The Act is gripping and engaging. So captivating is Gypsy’s narrative that it was picked up by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (American Horror Story) for their latest offering on Netflix, The Politician. They made no effort to hide this, and in fact, paid homage to several true-life criminals.
When watching The Act, you might question how closely it follows the facts. This is when you keep in mind it is a dramatisation based on real events (with a disclaimer in the credits to this effect), and remember this is why the documentary exists.
Gypsy, now 28 years old, was tried for her mother’s murder, and is currently serving time; Godejohn was sentenced to life imprisonment. In yet another bizarre twist of you-can’t-make-this-up, Gypsy got herself a prison pen pal to whom she got engaged. And unengaged. Then engaged again. Because none of this has been enough drama for one family, in April 2019, Gypsy said she’d be taking legal action towards The Act and Dean, its creator. The internet since then: crickets.