Touches You

The greatest movie ever made..!

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Show queens will be arguing in 2059 when "Gypsy", the Broadway musical, turns 100. In the meantime, there probably will have been umpteen revivals on Broadway (one for next year is already rumored), and maybe even several more movie versions as has recently been announced as well with the legendary, if now too old Barbra Streisand. I have heard every recording of "Gypsy", from Merman, Lansbury, Tyne, Daly, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, and two movie soundtracks with Rosalind Russell/Lisa Kirk and this version, featuring the phenomenal Bette Midler. When this first aired in 1993, I was working as a v.j. at a gay bar in West Hollywood, and was told to play this in a small portion of the bar, which got instant boo's from the crowd. Needless to say, within five minutes, it was back on in the entire bar.More than 20 years have gone by, and in comparing this to the 50+ year old Rosalind Russell movie, I have to say that this version outshines it. Bette is much more believable as the mother of youngsters, teenagers and eventually a young lady, and her devotion to her children is more believable than some of the older women who have played this part. Singing wonderfully with the dramatic flair that only Bette can, she truly is coming up Roses.Supported by a sweet Peter Riegert as the long-suffering Herbie and Cindy Gibbb as the initially shy Louise who ends up becoming the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee. Familiar stage, film and T.V. stars appear in bit parts, giving this T.V. version a friendly appeal. Even without saying a word, Michael Jeter's expressions say it all. Funny lady Andrea Martin adds flair in a bit as a secretary, while Christine Ebersole is a great headliner of the three strippers. All those bits include five Tony wins, not to mention Bette, soon to attack Dolly Levi. But any version of this classic musical is going to be judged by how the perfect score is performed, and it is without a doubt flawless. Colorful and perfect in period detail, this helped bring the T.V. musical back. Not live like recent entries, it is an amazing feat. Movie musicals have made a slight comeback on the big screen, but it took the step that the producers of this T.V. special did to speed that up. This is one musical that is fine with the gimmick it has. It doesn't need to add to the huge pot of paradise it is.

Despite stellar orchestrations and a more faithful screenplay to the original Broadway production, this version of Gypsy suffers from a not-so-solid leading lady and a super cheap, dull production. On paper, Bette Midler seems ideal. She's loud, brassy, fun, can sing like an angel, and is a pretty great actress. Well, I don't know what went wrong, but Midler is terribly uneven. Don't get me wrong, she has her moments (the quieter scenes between Rose and Herbie, the songs "small World", "You'll Never Get Away From Me", and "Small World (reprise)", etc.), but all in all, she butchers her two biggest numbers ("Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Rose's Turn") by over telegraphing and hamming them up. During the film's finale, it's actually pretty embarrassing to see such a talented actress deliver such a wonderfully written monologue in such a one note and goofy fashion. She reads more like a cartoon than a human being. Is it Bette's fault or the directors? Apparently, the director was dying during production and wasn't able to be as present as he'd hoped, so that left Bette to essentially direct herself, which is never a good idea given the heft of her role. This leaves us with one hell of a strange, over the top, and campy performance that isn't even enjoyable on a "so bad, it's good" level. Without a solid Madame Rose to lead the cast, poor Peter Reigert and Cynthia Gibb have very little to play off of. They both have their moments as well, but they can only do so much without a strong Rose to back them up. The production values are cheap and tacky, not to mention overly colorful for a tale about parental neglect and lost dreams. It's just a huge missed opportunity. The sets and furnishing would have probably been more at home in a Tim Burton movie than a fairly realistic musical. One wishes the marvelous Tyne Daly had been able to recreate her brilliant performance in this TV version. While not possessing the strongest voice, she gave Rose more pathos than anyone else I've ever seen. It's not all bad, though. The orchestrations are lovely and brassy and the screenplay is much more faithful to the stage version than the equally disappointing 1962 movie version starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood. Worth a look for more forgiving Bette Midler fans.

I'm not a big fan of movie musicals. "Annie" was a stage show I loved but the movie was a flop. The "Phantom Of The Opera movies" (and I believe there were three) failed to match the Weber staging. But I LOVED this. The DVD will take a place of honour among my "keepers." Even though it's a movie adaptation, it somehow captures the flavour and the atmosphere of live theatre. Bette Midler, always a treat, is just exceptional in this role. There's great music, lots of laughs and even a tear or two. I've seen most of the big musicals of the eighties and nineties. Somehow I missed this one so there's no comparison to make. But if it gets revived I shall be first in line for tickets! But this movie is so good, I'll be in the odd position of wondering if the stage production will measure up to the movie.

and I for one think that is a good thing. I've just never been a Rosalind Russell fan although the original was my favorite RR movie. But I love Bette and was thrilled to hear she was making this.As for the rest of the production, I think it was slightly less than the original movie. One of my favorite minor characters in the original was Mazeppa with her scratchy fingernails-on-the-blackboard voice belting out "HEY! It takes a lot more than no talent to be a strippah!" and although I missed it, I was glad to see the producers had the guts not to do a carbon copy.I also liked the fact there are large portions of this movie which were filmed as if you are looking at a stage, it gives a feeling that you are in the theatre, not just at the movies.I think the other thing I liked about this production was that there seemed to be slightly less repetition of the song "Let me entertain you", which becomes completely annoying after about the 5th time you hear it.