Featuring: Jayne Mansfield as Herself, Mariska Hargitay as herself

Directed By: Mariska Hargitay

Streaming Service: HBO MAX

Release Year: 2025

Runtime: 118 minutes

Audio Description Provided By: International Digital Center

Written By:Liz Gutman

Narrated By: Frankie Corzo

What Is it?: Mariska Hargitay takes a break from Law and order SVU to direct a documentary about her mother Jayne Mansfield, who died tragically when Mariska was just three years old.

What Works: As a film lover, i enjoy movies about Hollywood. I like things that revisit the golden age of cinema that existed long before I was born, and is populated full of movies I truthfully still need to watch. Something like All That Heaven Allowed, the Rock Hudson documentary from a few years back, gave me a look into an icon gone before I knew what an icon even was. Hudson died when I was two years old, so needless to say, my appreciation for his body of work came later. But for Jayne Mansfield, she was gone long before my time. My parents hadn’t even met yet to think about the possibility of me. these icons have to be revisited for a new generation through a porthole to the past.

This one, is extra special because Jayne Mansfield, in all her glory, is unearthed by her daughter, Marishka Hargitay, who I guess by today’s reductive standards is a “Nepo baby.” An actress whose mother was also an actress. But the sad truth is that Hargitay never really knew her mother. She was just three years old when her mom died, so this is her unpacking a history of knowledge also before her time, but from a deeply personal level.

When I see projects of this ilk, I always worry about family involvement,because they shade the story to shape the reality they prefer. i didn’t feel that so much with this. she doesn’t have that deep connection to her mother, and it is more about seeking it, and doing so by accepting truth. For an actress whose career has been spent uncovering clues for the purpose of righteous truth (for Law and order), there’s an undercurrent of the same here. She isn’t interested in a sanitized version, nor is she looking to make a hit piece. This is a revealing look at how one daughter discovers her mother, and chooses to share that journey with the world. Not just how Jayne Mansfield was, and reflected in Hollywood, but also what it was like being her daughter after her death, and so many questions unanswered.

The Audio Description: International Digital center produced the audio description for this, and for a documentary, i always go in with lower expectations, since there can be a substantial amount of audio taken up by interviews. Still, while it isn’t a robust audio description track like some narrative features that put less emphasis on dialogue, there was enough content in the description for me to be impressed.

What Doesn’t Work: If I cited one thing about the film, it was that most of the major revelations and true personal connection from Hargitay came in the second half of the film, so I felt more drawn in in the latter part, than the beginning. Her direction is fine, but perhaps a more balanced editing would have created a consistent emotional experience, instead of finishing with a lot of surprising resolutions.

Why You Might Like It: You love documentaries about the Golden Age of Hollywood, and classic film stars, or you are a big fan of Law and order SVU. Also, you might be old enough to be a Jayne Mansfield admirer.

Why You Might Not Like it: You don’t like documentaries.

Final Thoughts: Hargitay proves herself more than capable at presenting her mother in an objective light, seemingly unafraid to share the reality of being the daughter of a famous actress she barely knew.

Fresh: Final Grade: 9/10