“Who Are You, Her Mother?” “Yes.”
My quest to watch some more musicals I’ve heard of but never seen continued with Gypsy. I wasn’t sure what I would think of this one when I sat down to watch it, but I was surprised at just how much I wound up disliking it.
The movie is inspired by the true story of Rose Hovick (Rosalind Russell). She’s the mother of two girls, and she is driven to make them famous. Fortunately, her younger daughter, June (Suzanne Cupito) is extremely talented, unlike her sister Louise (Diane Pace). Working with promoter Herbie Sommers (Karl Maiden), Rose is able to form a touring stage show around June, but as the girls grow and times get hard due to the Great Depression, the market for that act begins to fade away. Can Rose figure out a way to make her daughters (now played by Ann Jillian and Natalie Wood) famous again?
The reason I was concerned about this movie going in was because it is based on the true story of Gypsy Lee Rose, a stripper. I figured for a 1960’s musical, it wasn’t going to show anything too risqué, and I was right. I’m not sure I would show it to kids, but much of the adult content would probably go over their heads. That part of the story doesn’t happen until very late in the movie, and I’m actually rather impressed with how they were able to handle it – we get what is happening, but it is all done with teases.
In many ways, this movie is a perfect example of a train wreck – you know you shouldn’t be watching, yet you can’t look away. Now, let me be perfectly clear, I’m not talking about the writing, acting, singing, dancing, etc. The acting from everyone is top notch, and there are some young performers in the cast. Likewise, the cast does a great job with their song and dance numbers.
Instead, I’m talking about the story itself. Rose takes being a stage mother and ups it tenfold. This woman is insane, and you can see the end coming long before it arrives. And yet, you can’t turn away, and you find yourself rooting for anything to happen to wake Rose up to what she is doing. I’m not sure I completely buy the spin of the final scene, but I hope it is true.
So this isn’t one of those musicals that will leave you with a smile on your face and humming a tune as the final credits play. I was actually left with a bit of a “Wow, what did I just watch” feeling.
Of course, the music itself isn’t particularly memorable. Much of it revolves around the current stage show that Rose is working on, no matter which show that is. There are a few songs that the characters sing to express their feelings, but they aren’t especially memorable, at least to me. This is an early musical by Stephen Sondheim. Given some of his other successes, I figured I would enjoy the songs more, but they just didn’t connect with me – probably because I was so focused on the train wreck happening in the story.
Whether intended or not, Gypsy really becomes a morality tale of the dangers of obsession. As such, it is sobering, but I’m just not sure it is an enjoyable story. I certainly have no plans to watch it again in the future.
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