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.
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.