Customer Reviews

Gypsy 83

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Tired of living in Sandusky, Ohio, and having to deal with being freakish outcasts to the small-town hicks there, teenage photographer Clive (Kett Turton) and aspiring singer Gypsy (Sara Rue) decide to book it and drive to New York City to compete in the annually held "Night Of 1000 Stevies". "Gypsy 83" isn't really about whether or not she wins the competetion, though. The central focus is on the incredible and oftentimes heartfelt bond between Gypsy and Clive, as well as the conflicts/issues they come across along the way. They're constantly having to defend themselves for being "different" while Clive struggles with his own sexuality and Gypsy tries to understand why her mother abandoned her and her father (a fellow musician) when she was only a little girl...

I found the performances by Kett and Sara to be absolutely spellbinding (these two have real potential in my eyes!). I also thought the guest appearance of Karen Black, who plays a lounge soulstress, rather interesting. I, however, wouldn't go so far as to say this is poetry in motion, but I won't stoop so low as to say this is lame either, as two separate reviewers have claimed. It is simply an average movie, plot wise, yet thoroughly enjoyable--especially for anyone who appreciates the dark, lavish beauty of Gothic culture. The clothes/make-up is fabulous, and the music is killer (get the soundtrack)! Some of my favorite scenes are the ones when Gypsy and Clive are photographing each other in black and white, dancing with their flowy gowns and capes on--or when they're in the cemetery. I particularly loved the shots they did at night with all the candles lit around the tombstones and when Clive was all dressed up like Robert Smith of The Cure, singing and dancing to "Doing The Unstuck".

All in all this is definitely a film at least worth renting. But to me it deems an honerable spot in my DVD collection.

How apropos is it that me and my friends happened into a videostore on a blustery night in the middle of a winter storm and picked up this movie. Right of the bat we were expecting a schlocky horrible film but we wanted some gothic eye candy, to go with our pizza and picked it up. Within the first few minuts of the film we were hooked!

Gay boys, sassy dancing, fabulous faghags, fun costumes and of course the iconographic shadow of Stevie Nicks make this a fun movie. We laughed, we felt tense, we got teary it was grand. Some key elements of loving this film are: A love of Gothy goodness,being able to relate to the sacred bond between a gay boy and his girl and all the trials and tribulations that go with it, having ever been labeled the social deviant in a community and striving onwards despite the diversity and a healthy love of drag, Divas, cabaret or just dressing up to party. Every faghag must make their gay boy watch this film with them. Its Fierce!

This is a wonderful movie about embracing who you are: no matter who that may be: a Stevie Nicks fan, a Goth, a gay person, an alcoholic lounge singer....all of the above. This movie doesn't really sugar coat any of the characters challenges, which is very refreshing. No happy Hollywood ending here...I agree with other reviewers that there are a few gaps in the movie, particularly in Clive's back story. A look at the deleted scenes section of the DVD will remedy to that problem. If you didn't belong in high-school and still feel like an alien in this world: you will love that movie.If you were elected Prom Queen/King and are homophobic: beware of a possible heart attack! If you are an artist at heart and haven't created in a long time: you will be inspired to come out and play."Singers are supposed to sing."( replace singers by anything you want to be!)You gotta love that motto! This movie made me want to grab my Cure c.ds and dance around twirling a fringed shawl!

I saw this movie the day it got released on DVD. What a great work of art! The acting is good; I wish the actors could have ad-libbed a bit more to make it even more believable.. SO MANY parts of this movie are synonymous with my life; it hit so close to home it's unbelievable. A good message of friendship, love and life.
This film portrays the Gothic scene more accurately than ANY movie out there, in my opinion. It's true to the Scene for the most part, and shows that even Goths are fun-loving, compassionate (and sometimes bitter) people.. It shows a full spectrum.
The film got a bit confusing during the rest stop scene.. None of the viewers knew where everyone was at until watching it a second time; it seems as though a scene was skipped, almost. The HOT gay sex scene most definitely made up for the confusion, though.
This is a beautiful and inspiring movie (and I love Stevie Nicks!), and I would recommend it to anyone! Blessed Be.
~Raven~

I personally loved this movie dearly and am going to watch it again tonight with a group of friends. I having heard very little about this movie before seeing it so I didn't know what to expect from it. I had heard one friend of mine say it had okay acting and questionable music. Now I disagree with her. Something about this movie made me feel happy. I love Sara Rue and Kett Turton both madly. I loved watching this, and ended up teary eyed at the end. It is not a movie that everyone would love for their own reasons but I want to own it...

First of all what a fantastic music score, so brilliant it made me dig out all my old Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac albums - and I can very close to going Goth again for the first time in nearly 15 years!

Essentially the film is about two teenage misfits in small town USA who run off to New York to the 'Night of a 1000 Stevie's'. Where the girl intends to compete in the soundalike competition. On the way they make contact with a variety of other misfits that add some interesting twists to the overal storyline.

The film explores ideas of individuality very accurately - in my opinion. it seems to ask the questions about how far people conform and more importantly why they choose to do so. Neither does the film shy away from recognising that in some situations being different is a conformity in itself - keenly portrayed towards the end of the film during an exchange with two other young men attending the 'Night of 1000 Stevie's'. Importantly it looks at how this sort of non-conformity can be as harsh and excluding as general conformity.

I don't see this as a 'gay film', one of the characters happens to be gay and explores this and what it means to him during the film. What is really good is to see a gay young man not conforming to certain 'idealised' types so prevalent in gay cinema. Kett Turton who plays Clive is somewhat geekish and skinny and is much more represenative of young gay men than the toned, tanned, pretty boys we so often see (see my review of 'Like It Is').

My favourite scene of the film is Sara Rue's rendition of the Stevie Nicks' song 'Talk to Me'. This young woman has a fantastic voice and I hope both her and Kett do very well for themselves. A great film! I so wish British 'gay themed' cinema was as good as this.

Ever take a road trip? Friends come and go, but its the laughter and tears that we experience together that make movies like Gypsy 83 count! Pack your bags, get in the car and dont forget your Carrie lunch box, cause normal life is about to go bye bye.

I am not a goth. I know very little about that culture but I was still quite blown away by this film. I am very open to alternate lifestyles and while I don't know the goth culture, I have my own similar lifestyle, where I dress very retro, in 60s style clothing, and costume and go in places publically dressed in crazy outfits, so I get the goths, even if I don't like their style/music/etc. Anyway, I saw this film being advertised on TV, and it looked remotely interesting to me. Enough that I wanted to watch it. I rented over netflix and I'm so glad I did! It's a great film, definitely worth a view. There were several annoying errors in the film, and some confusing scenes, but I still loved it. It reminded me a lot of myself, even though I am not goth, and don't have any really goth friends (hell, I thought Stevie was a MALE and that it was a made-up character for the movie, at first! That's how out of that loop I am!). It's the sort of film that transcends genres though -- you don't have to be a fan of goths, or goth music, etc. to appreciate this film. It's very touching and sweet and the love between Gypsy and Clive is really beautiful. I went into this film expecting to be amused by it and nothing more -- I ended up adding to my wishlist because I like it so much I want it in my film library!

I would have given it five stars if some of the continuity had been cleaned up -- I could deal with the excessive candles in the graveyard, or the make-up changes (because people can pack for that sort of thing, and dress themselves up) but Clive went from behind unable to drive in the beginning to driving from New York to Ohio, alone. I don't buy THAT at all, ha. Still! Beyond that, it's brilliant. I highly recommend it for a look into a film that greatly reflects the REAL world and not the "Hollywood" world.

As a big and beautiful misfit, I loved this movie. The acting was very "real", especially the scenes showing the relationship between Gypsy and Clive. I really got the feeling that they were soulmates, in the platonic sense of course. So many movies today have a stilted feel to the acting, but Gypsy 83 feels real, I could actually imagine this whole movie happening to someone in the real world like me. I especially like the scene in the NY club with the catty gay goth guys. Just goes to show that even the "non-conformists" are not immune to being clique-ish and exclusive.

This movie kept me in tears through out the whole thing. I really connected with this movie. the quality of the acting and the beauty of the production is better than expected. I have been into goth since i was 16 and this film represents everything that it means to me from friendships that are life changing to true happiness from self expression. the music selection is excellent raging from the cure to claire voyant. The final song during the credits lingers in my mind for days and pains my heart that the movie ended. I watched the movie 3 times in a row on the 1st day that i got it and at least once every day after that. The character acting and developement is so beliveable and the atmosphere is so beautiful it grabs your soul. I wont give away the ending but it was a tear jerker and made me not want it to end. The characters are beliveable and love able. gypsy and clive find a shared bond in lost parents that is challenged when certain truths surface. Clive admits that he isnt in love w/ gypsy but he does worship her. its an interesting relationship between an 18 year old and a 25 year old that reminds me of many of my friendships. You get caught in the nostalgia and beauty of the film. some of my best times were on road trips w/ friends getting lost in the moment experiencing and scaring locals by just being yourself. many people feel that people from a dark culture have identity crisis or seek attention. everyone is different and cannot be pigeon-holed. many enjoy fashion and the mystisism and could care less if they are noticed or singled out. there is a scene in the movie where clive and gypsy are dancing to the cure and lost in a happy moment when out side elements intrude and steal the moment. goths can be the most caring people in the world as w/ any one. I suppose if there wasnt any opposition there wouldnt be anything to fight for. This movie will be a classic for me and when im old i can look back to it and remember my youth. this is the best representation of the goth culture yet. I also have the movie "goth" which isnt even in the same spectrum.