If you’re nostalgic for Broadway and in the mood to watch a cheesy musical on tape, I can think of no better DVD to check out from the Multimedia Center than “Gypsy.”
The 1993 remake of the original 1962 film with Rosalind Russel, “Gypsy” stars Bette Midler as Rose, the mother.
The musical movie tells the story of Rose’s quest to find stardom for her two daughters, Louise and June. June, a blonde and the younger of the two sisters, is clearly her mother’s favorite, playing the lead in each show.
Together the three of them travel around the country to different cities, barely making any money, when they finally meet Herby. Herby, a retired agent, falls in love with Rose and tries to help bring Louise and June into the limelight in hopes of someday marrying Rose.
Louise and June get older, but Rose still insists they dress up and act as if they are still 10, and she even puts 10 candles on their birthday cakes numerous years in a row.
The show the girls perform becomes repetitive, and when combined with their ridiculous costumes, creates the aforementioned cheesiness.
The magic experienced when watching live theater is impossible to capture on a recording and is thus missing in “Gypsy.” However, diehard musical theater fans would probably still enjoy the performance despite lacking the element of excitement and anticipation if it was viewed live.
Whether or not you enjoy Bette Midler’s hits like “From a Distance,” she still has an undeniably beautiful voice which is captured well on a recording. If you’re lucky enough to have some nice speakers hooked up to your DVD player, listening to her musical numbers could be quite a treat.
All in all, “Gypsy” is some pretty wholesome entertainment. My suggestion is just to know what you’re renting.
From my brief glance at the DVD case I didn’t know I was in store for a Broadway-on-tape experience, which left me a little surprised when Midler burst into song at the start of her first musical number.
“Gypsy” can be rented in the Multimedia Center on campus.
