Gypsy 83

Plot

25-year-old Gypsy Vale (Sara Rue) and 18-year-old Clive Webb (Kett Turton) are two goths living in Sandusky, Ohio. Gypsy's parents, Ray (John Doe) and Velvet (Marlene Wallace), once were in a band together, and Gypsy now aspires to be a famous singer, like her idol, Stevie Nicks. She is hesitant, because of the disappearance of her mother, to leave her father alone in Sandusky to pursue her dreams.

While checking updates on a Stevie Nicks fansite, Clive discovers the Night of a Thousand Stevies event in New York. After a long and heated discussion with Gypsy, her father reveals that her mother didn't just disappear, or die: she left to follow her dream of becoming a famous singer. Despite this, Clive finally convinces Gypsy to go to New York.

Along the way, Gypsy and Clive encounter a diverse host of characters and obstacles. They pick up a hitchhiker named Zechariah, who claims he is running away from the Amish life. Together, the three decide to stop and spend the night at a rest stop. While there, Clive expresses his attraction for Zechariah, but Zechariah says that he's attracted to Gypsy. Clive is embarrassed and runs away. Gypsy is surprised and flattered and as a result, she and Zechariah end up sleeping together. Afterward, Zechariah says that he's made a mistake and needs to return home. Enraged, Gypsy throws him out of the bathroom where she is staying at the rest stop. Meanwhile, Clive is accosted in secret by Troy, who's also spending the night at the rest stop with his fraternity brothers, and the two have a sexual encounter. The next morning, while Gypsy and Clive are trying to console each other and make sense out of the events of the previous night, the two are egged and mocked by the fraternity brothers as they leave the rest area while Troy sits silently.

They miss the auditions for the Night of a Thousand Stevies, and Gypsy learns that her mother committed suicide four years earlier. The sympathetic Mistress of Ceremonies, also her mother's best friend when she was in New York, allows Gypsy to perform a song she wrote for her mother at the end of the show.

In the end, Gypsy stays in New York to pursue her musical aspirations like her mother, and Clive returns to Sandusky to finish high school but plans to come back to New York after he graduates.

Cast

Sara Rue as Gypsy Vale

Kett Turton as Clive Webb

Karen Black as Bambi LeBleau, a retired singer

John Doe as Ray Vale, Gypsy's father

Marlene Wallace as Velvet Vale, Gypsy's mother

Anson Scoville as Zechariah Peachy, an Amish runaway

Paulo Costanzo as Troy, a college frat boy

Carolyn Baeumler as Lois

Stephanie McVay as Polly Pearl

Amanda Talbot as Connie

Vera Beren as Empress Chi Chi Valenti, a goth club matron

Andersen Gabrych as Banning

Music

The film's original music was composed by Marty Beller. The soundtrack features well-known icons of the gothic subculture, such as The Cure, Bauhaus, Claire Voyant, and electronic music artists Velvet Acid Christ and Apoptygma Berzerk.

Reception

Gypsy 83 currently holds a 54% 'Fresh' rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus "This coming-of-age story of alienated youth is too familiar."

Awards and nominations

Wins

L.A. Outfest

Grand Jury Award – Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film (Kett Turton) (Tied with Paul Dano in L.I.E. (2001))

Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

Award for Excellence – Best New Director (Todd Stephens)

Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Audience Award – Best Feature Film (Todd Stephens)

Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival

Audience Award – Best feature film or video (Todd Stephens)

Nominations

Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Best Feature Film (Todd Stephens)