“Gypsy” is a Sondheim musical based on the true life story of Gypsy Rose Lee, the most famous stripper in our history. This may seem like a strange movie for me to review, but let me explain why I found it worth discussing.
Two versions of the film were done, one in 1962 and starring Natalie Wood and Rosalind Russell, the other made in 1993 and starring Bette Midler and Cynthia Gibb. I’ve seen them both, the Bette Midler version just last night. This review will encompass both films.
Madame Rose has two daughters, one named Louise and the other, June. Rose’s own dreams of stardom never panned out, so she has chosen to make her daughters into stars on the vaudeville circuit. June has a measure of talent in singing and dancing, and Rose works her ceaselessly to perfect every last step, every comment to the audience, every flash of dimple. Louise is in the background, often dressed as a boy, supporting her mother and sister in any way she can. As the girls grow up, Rose refuses to let go of the kiddie act, preferring instead to dress them younger and keep billing them as young children, even when they are far too tall to pass as nine-year-olds any longer.
Louise is a quiet, shy girl who only wants her mother’s attention, which is focused entirely on June. Louise has aspirations of her own, but what she would really like is to stay in one spot, go to school, and have a family. When a man named Herbie comes into their lives and falls for Rose, Louise begins to think that maybe they’ll have a chance at normalcy. But Rose refuses to marry until her girls are stars. Herbie takes the position of manager and travels everywhere with them, giving the girls a sense of stability they never got from their mother.
When June decides she’s had enough and elopes with one of the boys from the troop, Rose thinks her life has ended. Herbie assures her that there’s still a lot of life to be lived – they can get married, create a home for themselves and Louise, and just simply be happy. But Rose can’t get over the idea of stardom, and she decides that Louise will now be the catapult to their success. Louise, always wanting to please, goes along with the plan.
Using the same old songs and dances from their former show, only tweaked to be more “modern,” Louise hits the stage, not able to sing or dance the way June could. Herbie and Rose finally come to the realization that vaudeville is dead, and decide to take one last job to earn the money to go home. That last job is in a house of burlesque, unbeknownst to them when they book it, and Rose wants to leave immediately, but they have no money to leave. They do their act reluctantly, knowing that they’re only there to keep the police out of the place, being the one respectable act.
As they work there, Rose’s hunger for stardom perks up again, and when she overhears the owner of the theater say that the star has run off and can’t perform, she makes an absolutely audacious suggestion and tells him that Louise will do the strip tease. Herbie gets sick to his stomach at this. He loves Rose, and he loves Louise, but the idea that she would sacrifice her own daughter for fifteen minutes of fame is more than he can handle. He leaves, taking with him the only source of constant support Louise has ever known. Louise, wanting badly to please her mother, puts on the costume, a long elegant dress, and goes out to perform, using the stage name “Gypsy Rose Lee.”
She continues to work on the circuit, her confidence growing, her costumes becoming more and more revealing, until she is the highest paid stripper in burlesque. Rose can’t believe how much her daughter has changed, but as Louise tells her, it’s her own life now, and she wants to separate herself from everything her mother is and has become. Her mother forced her into stripping and she took it, made it her own, and finally has a career where her mother can never join her, even though Rose tries at every opportunity.
This is the classic case of the domineering stage mother. The movie is based on a book written by Gypsy Rose Lee after Rose’s death, a scathing look back at her life and the things her mother made her do in the name of fame.
I found this movie an interesting watch as we see Louise go from shy, loving little mouse, to sexy, confident woman. Even with her career, she managed to maintain a certain level of sweetness. With every jolt she experienced along the road, she learned and grew, far surpassing her mother in wisdom and goodness. When she stepped on to the stage, she finally felt pretty, after years of being dressed in boys’ clothing and told she was a no-talent. Her emotional transformation is something to behold and it’s easy, although tragic, to see how she could embrace her new life like she did.
Each film has its merit. They are almost identical, but I preferred Russell’s portrayal of Madame Rose. Midler did a good job, but she seemed absolutely manic at times. Madame Rose was possessed, but Russell brought that across more effectively. I didn’t feel that Gibb was making the role of Louise her own – I felt like she was imitating Natalie Wood, even down to vocal inflections. However, Herbie in the new version was wonderful. How I wish Louise had gone with him when he left Rose. They would have been so much happier, him with the daughter-figure he loved, and her with a fatherly guardian.
I do recommend that you blip over the scene where the strippers are first teaching Louise how to get in to show business, and in the newer version, as the film shows her progress throughout her career. Nothing truly scandalous is shown, but there is enough there to make the viewer a little uncomfortable. However, the story leading up to that point is incredible, and the ending, when Rose is still grasping for her own moment in the spotlight, is inspired. There is a whole lot of good to be found in this film, either version, although not a family film.
You can find the Natalie Wood version and the Bette Midler version at Amazon.com.
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