Gypsy 83----Reviews (Spoilers)

[RavenOfRhiannon]

I watched Gypsy 83 yesterday with a friend, it was actually a pretty good.

Whatever you may think of what Sara Rue said and didn't say about Stevie Nicks, she was compelling to watch. She had a good grasp of what a 'devoted fan' is like. (This would be the first time the absence of Stevie's songs hurt the film. She could never quote lyrics or use them in a conversation).She wore the shawls and boots like they were second skin. Kudos to Kitty Boots for the incredible costumes.
Clive, her gay friend who pushes her into the road trip for NOTS, was pretty good too. You could tell he was a casual Stevie fan but a big Cure fan. (Another point where the lack of Nicks tunes hurts, Clive has a Cure soundtrack following him, it lets the audience know without any dialogue how much he likes them).
Running into Karen Black as a drunk has-been (or never was) was one of the highlights of the film. As Bambi, the host of Kareoke night at Small Town USA, Black was dead on. Knowing she had talent, but unable to use it to really make it big, she turns to drinking and becoming a local celebrity (It's much easier to be a big fish in a small pond). This scene was also the only one where Rue was able to really let loose of her inner Stevie, as she performed a very good 'Talk To Me' before falling off the stage in mid twirl. (If I had been Clive, I would have just announced to the audience that Stevie was a little too coked up and he was taking her to Betty Ford). Again, this hurt the film, as you never got another chance to recapture that magic.
I am a steadfast believer that if the sex scenes in the bathroom had been shot differently or been rewritten, Stevie's music whould have been in the film. I see why the scene is needed, and it represents a turning point for the characters, Clive especially. So, I can't say how to fix that.
The NOTS scene is great, an assemblage of various Stevie's in a 'Talk to Me' montage. Gypsy is permitted to perform, and sings a song her mother wrote, which would have been poingniant if we hadn't been hearing everything under the sun but Stevie tunes.
I would love to be able to talk to Todd Stephens and ask what songs he would have used to score the movie if he had the chance and find a way to score it myself.
As you can tell, the lack of Stevie's music was a sore spot for me, BUT in the overall picture it did not detract too much from a very good film. Probably the only people who will feel this way are those of us with an inner Gypsy Vale...

Randy