Fall from Grace (1990 film)
| Fall from Grace | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Karen Arthur |
| Produced by | Richard L. O'Connor |
| Written by | Ken Trevey |
| Starring |
Kevin Spacey Bernadette Peters |
| Music by | Charles Bernstein |
| Cinematography | Tom Neuwirth |
| Edited by | Dann Cahn |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Language | English |
Fall from Grace is a made-for-TV movie about the lives of Jim Bakker and his then-wife, Tammy Faye Bakker during the 1980s, and stars Kevin Spacey and Bernadette Peters in their lead roles. The film aired on NBC on April 29, 1990, as well as occasional reruns in later years on the Lifetime Movie Network, and depicts the events that led to the PTL scandal and the Bakkers' subsequent downfall.
In the 1980s, televangelist and PTL Club founder Jim Bakker (Spacey), and his wife Tammy (Peters), decide to expand their PTL television ministry to include a village resort with an amusement park, which they christen Heritage USA.
However, during this time, the Bakkers are being investigated for various acts of scandalous behavior, beginning with Jim Bakker's 1980 affair with then-church secretary Jessica Hahn. They are also investigated for fraud (specifically, using followers' donated funds to support an upscale lifestyle as well as finance the Heritage USA project). These investigations ultimately led to a highly-publicized scandal involving the Bakkers and the PTL ministry in March 1987, which gained national attention. The Bakkers are defrocked, and the PTL ministry and Heritage USA are then taken over by another televangelist, Rev. Jerry Falwell. Jim Bakker is later sentenced to prison on fraud and conspiracy charges (but this is not depicted in the movie).
Subplots in the film deal with Jim and Tammy's constant bickering, as well as Tammy's drug abuse that led to rehabilitation at the Betty Ford Center.
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