JimCarl01

What an excellent surprise GYPSY 83 has been, especially because the first ten minutes did not begin promisingly. This is a road movie that traces the emotional growth of two unlikely best friends: A brazen and outspoken girl in her early 20's who calls herself "Gypsy 83" and her just-about-to come-out-of-the-closet male best friend named Clive, as they travel from Sandusky, Ohio to New York City to attend the NIGHT OF A THOUSAND STEVIES competition---a showcase dedicated to obsessed fans of musical superstar Stevie Nicks. Both are into the "goth" scene, and Gypsy has dreams of becoming a famous singer. The first thirty minutes of the film are deceptively low-key, and then, just as you're ready to predict the rest of the plot, Karen Black arrives as a washed-up Karaoke lounge lizard, and---WHAM!---we're off in a different direction. By the time that Gypsy and Clive pick-up an Amish hitchhiker in Pennsylvania, who's running away from home, and who may or may not be gay, you know you're in a for quite a treat. And when Gypsy and Clive finally do arrive in NYC, the last 40 minutes or so of the film are so relevatory, so heart-warming, and so well-acted... be prepared to marvel (perhaps cry) at it's finale. GYPSY 83 is a film for goth audiences, for male and female audiences of all ages, for gay and straight audiences, and for anyone who's ever been a fan of 70's music.

ALL OVER THE GUY (AOTG) is one of the better, funnier and more crowd-pleasing independent titles to be released via an American distributor in 2001. As a film festival programmer who's viewed more than 300 submitted movies in the past year, AOTG ranks up there with the best of them in the "gay comedy" genre, and which should appeal to the majority of "straight" movie-goers, too. It's a "feel-good" date movie, well-directed and exceptionally well-acted (particularly Richard Rucollo, in a role that's a far departure from his former TWO GUYS AND A GIRL TV-Series persona), which deserves to become a break-out hit during its theatrical run. Featuring guest cameos by Lisa Kudrow, Christina Ricci and Doris Roberts, AOTG is foremost a comedic love story between two twenty-something men in search of "the one." And more impressively, a film whose light tone, upbeat score and clever one-liners are a welcome departure from this year's crop of "brooding and complex gay issues" movies which are currently circulating the cineplexes and festivals. Make no mistake: This film is pure entertainment for entertainment's sake, much in the same vein as I THINK I DO, RELAX...IT'S JUST SEX and BIG EDEN. And sometimes, if it's this well done, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.