Watch Fear of Fanny

Fear of Fanny is a British television movie from 2006. It is a biographical movie centered around the life of Fanny Cradock, a celebrity chef and television personality who rose to fame during the 1960s and 1970s in the United Kingdom. The movie starts with Fanny, played by Julia Davis, preparing for her final television appearance. As she rehearses, we quickly realize that she is not as confident as she seems. In fact, Fanny is quite nervous, paranoid, and demanding. Her relationship with her assistant, Johnnie, played by Mark Gatiss, is strained due to her demanding and rude behavior.

The movie then takes us back in time to Fanny's early career when she was married to her first husband, Gregory Holden-Dye. We see Fanny working as a writer for several magazines and newspapers, where she begins to develop her unique style of cooking and presenting. During this time, Fanny and Gregory's relationship becomes strained as she becomes more famous and starts to receive more attention. Eventually, they get divorced, and Fanny meets her second husband, Johnnie Cradock.

Fanny's new husband is also interested in cooking, and together they start filming television shows. Fanny soon becomes the star of the show, and her unique personality and style begin to attract viewers. However, Fanny is not content with just being the star of the show; she also wants to be involved in every aspect of production. This leads to conflict with directors and producers, and her behavior becomes increasingly erratic.

As Fanny's career continues to grow, her personal life suffers. Her relationship with Johnnie becomes strained, and she becomes increasingly paranoid about her public image. She obsesses over her appearance and becomes convinced that people are trying to sabotage her career. Fanny's behavior becomes more and more erratic, and eventually, she is fired from her own show.

The movie then fast-forwards to Fanny's later life, where she is no longer in the spotlight. We see her struggling with poverty and loneliness, as her relationships with most of her family members have broken down. She is eventually diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and dies alone in a nursing home.

Fear of Fanny is a well-made movie, with great attention to detail in recreating the look and feel of the 1960s and 1970s. The performances by the cast are stellar, with Julia Davis giving a particularly impressive performance as Fanny Cradock. Her portrayal of Fanny is both sympathetic and fascinating, highlighting the complexities of her personality and the struggles she faced.

The movie does a great job of exploring the darker aspects of Fanny's personality and the toll that her obsessive behavior took on herself and those around her. It also emphasizes the sexism and discrimination that Fanny faced during her career as a female chef and television personality.

Overall, Fear of Fanny is an intriguing and well-executed biographical movie that delves into the life of a fascinating and complex individual. The movie is both entertaining and thought-provoking, and it is definitely worth watching for anyone interested in the history of cooking and television in the United Kingdom.

Fear of Fanny is a 2006 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 20 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.1.