Grey Gardens is a 1970s documentary based on the infamous story of two deranged former Manhattan socialites who slid into decrepitude in their 28-room mansion in the Hamptons. This mother and daughter duo passed their time dressing in pantless outfits, fashioning turbans out of bath towels and gold brooches. They also developed a fondness for dining on cat food, bickering over family history, ogling vintage photos of themselves (and the teenage gardener), and dancing burlesque.

Edith and Edith Beales (or Big & Little Edie) lived on another wavelength to be sure. Their lives were not only memorialized in a documentary but also in an HBO film starring Drew Barrymoore and Jessica Lange, so there you have it. Sometimes dementia is where it’s at.

- Haley Hogan

Tweet This Post