GYPSY

Title: Gypsy
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Rosalind Russell, Karl Malden, Natalie Wood, Ann Jillian
Rating: 2/4 stars

Last night I popped this in for the first time in about 5 years. It was nice to revisit the big screen adaptation of one of my favorite musicals. This movie lacks some of the energy that I love about the show. It feels kind of heavy, even in it's lightest moments. Rosalind Russell does make a great Mama Rose, driving through the story like a bulldozer. Her singing is dubbed fantastically by Lisa Kirk, who sounds exactly like Russell. Wood actually does her own singing here, unlike in West Side Story. Its too brash, and she cannot blend, poor Ann Jillian has to fight to be heard during their duet, and it's Wood's character Louise who is the meek one. Singing aside, I actually do love Wood's performance, she really makes the journey to becoming Gypsy Rose Lee believable. She goes from mousy tomboy to sexy woman, and we don't even see her working at it. Malden is bland. Jillian has a great voice, but thats about it. The look of the film is drab and washed out, especially during the strip sequence, where I want more brightness and glamour. Overall a mediocre adaptation of a GREAT musical!