By 1984, where we begin episode 3, Angelyne is famous…at least according to Rick Krause, Angelyne’s manager, close friend, and the Angelyne Fan Club President, who’s allegedly based on Scott Henning. He claims that, “…no truer Hollywood star exists like her.” At this point in time, he’s probably right, with 200 billboards throughout LA, she’s like an omnipresent Barbie doll. To highlight the growth of her fame, we see a montage of news reports, video clips, and a drag contest (which, hello, I need A Night of 1,000 Angelynes).
There’s a camp factor in the third and fourth episodes that felt missing from the first two, an aspect that seemed most evident in different lines. Subtle, yet clever, here are some lines that I noted:
“I have always been Angelyne, and that’s the only story you need to know.“
“I bet people will talk about this 100 years from now.” (about Angelyne)
“No one affects me, I do the affecting.“
“All my music has been inspired by aliens.“
Oh yeah, throughout the whole series Angelyne talks about aliens, and insinuates possibly being one herself. Imagine if there was a whole planet of beings like Angelyne? Can Jeff Bezos please fly me there?
With some fame achieved, Angelyne becomes even more demanding. When her assistant (hey Tona!) quits over her tantrum on the studio lot for Earth Girls Are Easy, it was a relief, someone was finally calling her out, even if she wasn’t completely wrong to be upset. With Angelyne, it’s clearly all or nothing, which we eventually see may have come back to bite her. This was evident when she agreed to talk to The Hollywood Reporter journalist and Max, the recent college grad filmmaker who wants to make a documentary about her.
The series plays it off that the doc came about while Rick was “on vacation” and Angelyne was left to her own devices. But, did she not know what was expected of a documentary? Sure she wanted to control her story, but when people are looking for the truth, fiction won’t fly, no matter how interesting it may be. If she wanted to remain an enigma, she shouldn’t have talked to anyone I guess.
But I also have to ask, who really needed the truth? Why couldn’t Angelyne just have existed as a person John Waters wishes he came up with? It’s why we let kids believe in Santa— we all long for a little bit of magic in our lives, and that’s exactly what Angelyne provides. So why ruin it? Because, men. Men wanted to control her narrative, one that she spent years cultivating. Men needed to have her figured out. Men needed her exposed for their own gain. Max has a line about her “owing it to him” to tell him who she really is. Excuse you? Even Hugh Hefner tried to get her to pose nude, which she refused. And while that scene was cringe, the actor playing Hef was uncanny! Kudos to casting.
Still, throughout her battles between the truth and her own inventions, the hustle never stops. She releases a magazine, Hot P!nk, which I desperately need copies of, and to run for governor of California, twice, all while remaining a sight, if not the sight, to see around LA. When you move here, your first Angelyne sighting is a rite of passage! Here’s mine back in 2016…
