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NotChristine
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A five night event, premiering May 9 on Hulu.

Candy Montgomery is a 1980 housewife and mother who did everything right—good husband, two kids, nice house, even the careful planning and execution of transgressions—but when the pressure of conformity builds within her, her actions scream for just a bit of freedom. With deadly results.

Starring Jessica Biel, Melanie Lynskey, Timothy Simons, Pablo Schreiber, and Raúl Esparza

 

 

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I just watched the first episode of this.  It’s pretty good.  I’m familiar with the real story.  There’s actually a movie about this from a number of years ago.  This one closely follows it so far.  

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8 hours ago, Hiyo said:

I just rewatched that about a month ago. The story has really stuck with me over the years. Glad to see this (and another adaptation coming from Netflix, I think). I thought the first episode was quite good, and had many similarities to the 80s movie.

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(edited)
40 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

I just rewatched that about a month ago. The story has really stuck with me over the years. Glad to see this (and another adaptation coming from Netflix, I think). I thought the first episode was quite good, and had many similarities to the 80s movie.

I did too, except it seemed Barber Hershey played Candy to be a lot more dark and troubled.  Biel seems to be a lot more cheery and normal acting, though a little avant-garde. 

Edited by SunnyBeBe
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I just started watching and I have one thing to say.  Hey you lazy piece of s@&t!  Go help your wife with your baby!!  Go change a diaper it’s not that hard!!

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1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

That was a very vocal baby. They seemed to put the crying on pause after the mother was killed.  

Babies stop crying after a while when no one comes. That poor baby was alone for probably at least 12 hours. 

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I’ve never heard of this true crime story before. Liking  the way it’s being told so far. I can’t believe she just left the baby there after she murdered it’s mother. I mean I guess what else was she going to do with it but I was afraid the whole time that something was going to happen to the helpless thing, being alone for so long. 

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2 minutes ago, chediavolo said:

I’ve never heard of this true crime story before. Liking  the way it’s being told so far. I can’t believe she just left the baby there after she murdered it’s mother. I mean I guess what else was she going to do with it but I was afraid the whole time that something was going to happen to the helpless thing, being alone for so long. 

I don’t think Candy was aware that Allan was going to be out of town all weekend, and assumed that he would find the baby when he got home from work that same evening. That’s why she asked her husband if he knew where Allan was working that day when she spoke to him on the phone. That doesn’t make it any better, obviously. Maybe that’s why she kept offering to go over to his house when Allan called her that night.

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5 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I was distracted at one point when Allen was at the out of town hotel.  Why was he swaying and acting weird  when he called home?  Was it food poisoning or drunkenness?

I just assumed it was anxiety.

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I don't know anything about the actual story but I am enjoying it. I can relate to the 1980 setting as I would have been the age of the kids back then. Melanie Lynskey in that bowl cut made me laugh, both she and her husband seemed a little strange. It will be interesting to see what Candy's deal is because from the outside she looks like a great mom in a happy marriage although the tension with the new Pastor did raise a red flag.

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I just watched episode 2.  I’m a little surprised how Hulu is portraying the victim.  It seems they have painted her as neurotic and annoying.  There doesn’t seem to be anyone who liked her, except for Candy, including her husband.  I wonder why they are doing this. I don’t recall other depictions of the victim being this negative. I’m already a little miffed at the way Hulu treated the victim in the Girl From Plainsville. What’s wrong with these people?    Hmmmm……

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1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I just watched episode 2.  I’m a little surprised how Hulu is portraying the victim.  It seems they have painted her as neurotic and annoying.  There doesn’t seem to be anyone who liked her, except for Candy, including her husband.  I wonder why they are doing this. I don’t recall other depictions of the victim being this negative. I’m already a little miffed at the way Hulu treated the victim in the Girl From Plainsville. What’s wrong with these people?    Hmmmm……

Melanie Lynskey who plays Betty has spoken about her portrayal in the series. She said that she could relate to Betty in many ways as she also grew up shy, awkward, and often anxious. I don’t see Betty as being awful in this series so far. She has her issues and it’s the others who don’t try very hard to understand and include her or make her more comfortable. She’s more of an introvert than most of the other women and struggles with making connections. In real life, I probably would have liked her more than the loud, intrusive Candy.

Found the article! 
 

Lynskey identifies closely with her characters. Of Candy’s Betty Gore, the Texas homemaker brutally murdered by her neighbor Candy Montgomery (Biel), Lynskey tells me, “I felt very connected to Betty—I was a very shy, awkward child who had a really hard time making friends. I never knew what the right thing to say was, and I saw that in her. … Part of her story was that she didn’t fit into the kind of popular-girl mold that I’ve never fit into as an actress.” Lynskey felt a responsibility in bringing to life the spirit of a real woman whose death garnered more attention than her life: “I wanted to be respectful of her memory, but I also didn’t want to completely sugarcoat it. I didn’t want to make her just sort of the sweet victim.” The series unfolds initially as an examination of the fateful day of her death, before the clock winds backward and we follow Candy’s and Betty’s ‘80s suburban lives in parallel. Again, Lynskey finds room for nuance, depth, surprise.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/04/awards-insider-melanie-lynskey-candy-yellowjackets-little-gold-men

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They showed Betty being awful to her foster son, getting her husband in trouble by constantly calling his boss and ignoring her crying baby. I saw the awkward part with the other wives but she is also shown as a mean person.

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(edited)
4 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

They showed Betty being awful to her foster son, getting her husband in trouble by constantly calling his boss and ignoring her crying baby. I saw the awkward part with the other wives but she is also shown as a mean person.

I don’t think she meant it to be mean, but she had no idea how to relate to that troubled foster child. He needed a regular schedule and discipline, but she just isn’t the affectionate type and didn’t know how talk to him. They needed some guidance from a social worker to learn how to better relate to damaged kids. To me, she obviously has severe anxiety and insecurity issues, leading her to continuing to call her husband’s boss, which is a real problem. Regarding the baby, I think she was overwhelmed and needed to take a few minutes to collect herself and ignoring the baby for a few minutes was preferable to her reacting in anger and frustration. Constantly crying babies can be overwhelming for many mothers. That said, she would’ve benefited from therapy and medication. There weren’t as many options in 1980 as there are now. I did notice her taking a pill when she took a moment away from the baby. Maybe she was already taking prescribed anti anxiety meds.

Edited by Cinnabon
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(edited)

Episode 2. I enjoyed the late 70's/early 80's touches like Rockford Files, that song by David Soul, paperback books. I laughed when Candy told Betty's husband she wanted to have an affair and kissed him, he didn't know what hit him. Betty was not so sweet, but being raised in the 70's & 80's my parents were also a lot stricter then. Sometimes I can't believe they are the same people the way they are so much more relaxed with the grandkids.

*edited to add - Maybe they  are playing loose with the characters because a black woman pastor for what looked to be a mainly caucasian conservative church was not a common thing back then.

Edited by Armchair Critic
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I gotta say, this show is difficult to watch when you think about the kids.  First, the baby left alone for hours to cry.  And that sweet little girl who has no idea the woman she's staying with killed her mother.  

And in the second episode -- poor Davey!   Maybe there was more to the story in real life, as to why the Gores couldn't care for him, but this was just appalling.  Betty decides to "return" him on his birthday and Allan just goes along with it??  The kid is obviously struggling and acting out, but they had no business taking in a child if they weren't willing to deal with a seven year old having a tantrum on a disappointing birthday (and, honestly, even the most well-adjusted little kid is going to have bad moments sometimes).  I was feeling for Betty up until this moment, and she's certainly not getting the support she needs, but good grief.  You can't just return a kid like you're returning something to the store!  

Other than that, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills watching this show.  It has this very odd, dreamy and slow quality ... and this relentless focus on early 80s kitsch ... and yet it's about an axe murder.  It's so very, very strange.  

 

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It’s sort of weird watching Jessica Biel in that role…..I think it’s brave of her to look and act that way.  I read an article that Candy irl was considered the most attractive person in the church!  Lol

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12 minutes ago, SlovakPrincess said:

I gotta say, this show is difficult to watch when you think about the kids.  First, the baby left alone for hours to cry.  And that sweet little girl who has no idea the woman she's staying with killed her mother.  

And in the second episode -- poor Davey!   Maybe there was more to the story in real life, as to why the Gores couldn't care for him, but this was just appalling.  Betty decides to "return" him on his birthday and Allan just goes along with it??  The kid is obviously struggling and acting out, but they had no business taking in a child if they weren't willing to deal with a seven year old having a tantrum on a disappointing birthday (and, honestly, even the most well-adjusted little kid is going to have bad moments sometimes).  I was feeling for Betty up until this moment, and she's certainly not getting the support she needs, but good grief.  You can't just return a kid like you're returning something to the store!  

Other than that, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills watching this show.  It has this very odd, dreamy and slow quality ... and this relentless focus on early 80s kitsch ... and yet it's about an axe murder.  It's so very, very strange.  

 

Well I certainly don’t agree with the choices the Gores made re: Davey, I am glad that Betty recognized she was not equipped to handle the situation and that it was in his best interest to be placed elsewhere. I don’t think she was prepared for the emotional trauma that comes with fostering. Her statement “I just can’t handle one more person in this house that doesn’t want to be here” shows she’s feeling completely overwhelmed. I honestly don’t think she trusted herself not to get physical with Davey the next time he acted out. Her body language as well as Allen’s (I felt he moved closer to her in order to head her off if needed) when Davey acted out over the birthday indicated she was barely restraining herself IMO. Having him leave before she became physical with him was the best she felt she could do at the moment. 
 

that said, she is woefully underprepared to foster and doesn’t seem to understand children AT ALL. Who would think a boy would want to give out birthday invites with raggedy Ann? He’s already “different”, there’s no way he’d want to appear more so!

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On a much less serious note, I’m actually loving the fact that Candy has a panty line when she’s wearing her volleyball shorts. Bc, she would! That mom/granny panty line was the norm then. When you wore your hose on Sunday you probably didn’t have one but most of the other times? Yep. 

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16 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

It’s sort of weird watching Jessica Biel in that role…..I think it’s brave of her to look and act that way.  I read an article that Candy irl was considered the most attractive person in the church!  Lol

I don’t recall Jessica Biel being so thin before. She used to have some curves. I wonder if she lost weight for this role?

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(edited)
19 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I don’t recall Methodist churches being that liberal back in those days.

I thought it was Lutheran.  Perhaps because, inside and out, it reminds me of the Lutheran Church I went to vacation bible school one week when I was a kid. But I really did think I saw a Lutheran Church sign on it.

Yeah, those invitations were so completely thoughtless.  Not only were they hand me down (don't bother getting him his own invitations, he's not worth it) they were for a girl. And for a girl that already sent them out to probably the same set of kids earlier in the year. Insult to injury. Way to emphasize that he simply doesn't rate in that household. Poor Davey.

Edited by Andyourlittledog2
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Betty's house is so incredibly depressing. Dark, old 70s style as opposed to the other's (Candy, the neighbor across the street) more 80s updated and cheerful furnishings and coloring). Their cars are all old and noticably worn. The sad macrame owl on the door. They didn't have much money apparently (for the area they lived in) and Betty and her husband didn't seem to put any effort into making their environment better in any way at all. She vacuumed and cleaned but that seemed to be about it. I'd be super depressed too if I was in that house all day, baby or no baby. I mean, I was a young mother during that time period and there's just no way I wouldn't have done something to make it more light and cheerful to live in. I'm just sayin'.

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(edited)
18 minutes ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

Betty's house is so incredibly depressing. Dark, old 70s style as opposed to the other's (Candy, the neighbor across the street) more 80s updated and cheerful furnishings and coloring). Their cars are all old and noticably worn. The sad macrame owl on the door. They didn't have much money apparently (for the area they lived in) and Betty and her husband didn't seem to put any effort into making their environment better in any way at all. She vacuumed and cleaned but that seemed to be about it. I'd be super depressed too if I was in that house all day, baby or no baby. I mean, I was a young mother during that time period and there's just no way I wouldn't have done something to make it more light and cheerful to live in. I'm just sayin'.

Betty was murdered in June 1980, so the earlier scenes all took place in the late 70s. My mom still   has a few macrame items like that in her house, lol. And the dark ugly paneling in the basement. 

Apparently, Allan was known for being incredibly fastidious about his lawn. Best kept yard in the neighborhood.

 

 

Edited by Cinnabon
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That macrame has come back into style!  No offense, but I am not a fan. Lol. And paneling!  Omg.  My parents still have portions of it in one room. Drives me crazy.  Mother says it’s her accent wall!  Lol

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Macrame decor has made a comeback in recent years. For me, that may be the truly horrifying part of this show. In episode 1, I saw the ever-popular green Tupperware jello mold on a counter. My mom is still using hers from the 70s. Oh, the tales of fruit-encased jello that thing could tell.

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3 minutes ago, QQQQ said:

Macrame decor has made a comeback in recent years. For me, that may be the truly horrifying part of this show. In episode 1, I saw the ever-popular green Tupperware jello mold on a counter. My mom is still using hers from the 70s. Oh, the tales of fruit-encased jello that thing could tell.

My mum used to make a large salad in those.

The TV movie is on youtube. I watched it last night. It's now got me on a kick of movies from the 70s and 80s, with Gilmore Girls or X-files, if I get tired of them.

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3 minutes ago, Anela said:

The TV movie is on youtube. I watched it last night. It's now got me on a kick of movies from the 70s and 80s

I'm with you, I enjoy a lot of the old network Movie Of The Week goodies on You Tube. This show reminds me of them. 

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7 hours ago, HelloooKitty said:

Well, here’s my take on Betty as we’ve seen so far. 
She suffers from anxiety and is very insecure. She’s an introvert who has trouble connecting with others. 
She was a mediocre teacher who wasn’t very well liked by her students. She didn’t particularly enjoy her job, but it gave her purpose and something to do. 
when she was let go from her job she struggled to find something to fill those hours. 
 

Her husband is forced to pick up extra hours at work by traveling in order to make up for her loss of income but she doesn’t like him traveling Bc she struggles with being alone and Bc her anxiety and insecurity make her imagine that he’s cheating. 
 

She suggests fostering to try and fill her hours but can not connect or relate to the child. In addition, her anxiety makes it difficult for her to deal with the disruption that a child from a traumatic background brings to her life. It seems obvious that her bio daughter has learned that falling in line and not being disruptive means harmony in the home. 
 

a second bio child doesn’t bring fulfillment either, it brings more anxiety and PPD. She struggles to connect emotionally and falls further into depression.
 

I don’t know that I particularly LIKE Betty, but I do feel sorry for her. She is suffering from mental illness at a time when there was little help for it. She wants to make a difference or impact but can seem to figure out how. She feels like an outsider and desperately wants to be a part of things, but doesn’t know how to break into “the group” and her poor mental health just make it even more difficult for her. 
her husband, even before the affair, appears to be minimally supportive. After the affair, he leaves her alone with the baby for several days KNOWING in what poor shape she is mentally. It’s obvious from his reactions that he initially thought she has taken her own life. If you knew she was in a place where this might even be something she would consider, why in the world would you go off and leave her alone?

anyway, I get that she doesn’t initially come across as warm and fuzzy, but I don’t think she’s necessarily being vilified- I think they are just trying to show how sad and unhappy she was no matter what face she was putting on for the public. (Like all the people you see on social media posting about how perfect their spouse is on a daily basis and then, 4 months later, they file for divorce). 
 

that seems to be the overall theme- no one is how they seem. Pastor is having an affair, Betty is desperately sad, Candy is undersexed and understimulatd, Allen feels confined and is eager to get out of the house..,

Spot on!

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Not to be mean, but Allan is just not the kind of guy I'd get axe-murdery over.  (I'm sure the actor is a lot cuter without that mustache and hairdo).  

That's sad that apparently Marriage Encounter was working for Allan and Betty, but then after the baby came, their relationship suffered again.  I guess we'll find out why in the next episode.

I died laughing at Candy's "Whys / Why Nots" list when she was talking Allan into the affair: "adventure :)" "could learn something" "could be good for the spouses?"  She's nuts.  

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24 minutes ago, SlovakPrincess said:

Not to be mean, but Allan is just not the kind of guy I'd get axe-murdery over.  (I'm sure the actor is a lot cuter without that mustache and hairdo).  

I have always found Pablo Schreiber to be incredibly sexy, albeit in a non-traditional way (EXCEPTION:  Orange is The New Black).  He's a tall dude, and a tree that size needs solid trunks, and those volleyball shorts were putting those beefy gams on display.  I totally got why Candy would want to get with him.  Plus, their volleyball night makes it a solid alibi situation with their spouses.  

I'm really enjoying this so far.  True crime dramas often focus on the gore and awfulness of the crime and the trial.  I actually enjoy learning and understanding the lead up to such a hideous crime, especially one committed by a woman.  Women don't just murder other women with axes.  The pathology behind this crime is so interesting to me.  I'm sure we'll get the trial, etc, but I really like how they are setting the stage to understanding everyone's motivations that culminated in such tragedy.

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(edited)
17 hours ago, Cinnabon said:

I don’t see Betty as being awful in this series so far. She has her issues and it’s the others who don’t try very hard to understand and include her or make her more comfortable.

I agree with this. There are lots of people who aren't pleasant to be around, and most of society don't try very hard to understand why and make an effort to help them. Betty was tottering on a ragged edge.

All I could think was "someone get the baby."

I had a heck of a time finding this thread. "Candy" doesn't provide any results with a forum search.

For whatever reason (I never heard of this murder), I figured within minutes that Candy and her paramour were an item, and they were trying to subtly communicate while he sat in his hotel room. They were trying to avoid revealing too much about their relationship, he's feeling guilty, and Candy is taking it minute by minute. I wonder if Betty suspected the relationship and confronted Candy when Candy showed up early.

Biel's performance is an improvement over that gawdawful illusionist movie she did. She does a pretty good job of showing the struggle to disassociate post-murder.

In one scene, where we see her naked from the side, she has curves. Then in the volleyball halter she's flat as a pancake. Maybe the Lycra in the halter?

I thought I saw the word "tabernacle" on the church's front facade. I was thinking independent bible church. Maybe a bit progressive, but still very specific in the limits to women's roles. Brings back memories of VBS, weird food at potlucks, the earnest positive attitude all the time.

 

Edited by pasdetrois
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1 hour ago, pasdetrois said:

I agree with this. There are lots of people who aren't pleasant to be around, and most of society don't try very hard to understand why and make an effort to help them. Betty was tottering on a ragged edge.

All I could think was "someone get the baby."

I had a heck of a time finding this thread. "Candy" doesn't provide any results with a forum search.

For whatever reason (I never heard of this murder), I figured within minutes that Candy and her paramour were an item, and they were trying to subtly communicate while he sat in his hotel room. They were trying to avoid revealing too much about their relationship, he's feeling guilty, and Candy is taking it minute by minute. I wonder if Betty suspected the relationship and confronted Candy when Candy showed up early.

Biel's performance is an improvement over that gawdawful illusionist movie she did. She does a pretty good job of showing the struggle to disassociate post-murder.

In one scene, where we see her naked from the side, she has curves. Then in the volleyball halter she's flat as a pancake. Maybe the Lycra in the halter?

I thought I saw the word "tabernacle" on the church's front facade. I was thinking independent bible church. Maybe a bit progressive, but still very specific in the limits to women's roles. Brings back memories of VBS, weird food at potlucks, the earnest positive attitude all the time.

 

It is hard to find or impossible, certain shows on this website. It could be easier I suppose but things seem to be hidden in sub forums . Maybe next time they do an update they can alter that.

  Jessica Biel  must work out like crazy to look the way she did when she was playing volleyball in that halter. I doubt that the real life woman was as fit. I guess in the show they should incorporate her hours a day of gym time and strict diet! . Her muscles are not just from playing volleyball. 

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