My review was written in June 1991 after watching the movie on video cassette.
A perceptive feminist look at self-realization in the recording business, "Ramblin' Gal" is an entertaining little picture currently getting a theatrical tryout as a midnight movie. Made over a period of years, pic is worth a look-see for fans of American indie fare.
Filmmaker Lu Ann Horstman Person has effectively integrated her own folk song compositions into this familiar tale of housewife and mother of four Ruby (Deborah Strang) who ups and leaves Kansas to head for the Big Apple and a songwriting career.
As in countless showbiz stories, she hits roadblocks and rejections, the difference being that her feminist lyrics turn off the male record label execs.
Ruby rooms in Greenwich Village with her weird uncle Cyril (Andrew Krawetz), a hypochondriac who's obsessed with completing the electrical experiments of Nikola Tesla. As a fish out of water Ruby is introduced to NYC folkways: her motorcycle seat and gas tank are immediately stolen and she's arrested for prostitution when merely walking down 42nd Street.
Her first local gig is singing "Woman's Prison" at a gay rights rally in Central Park, and through mistaken identity she gets to sing in a nightclub. A slick record label yuppie tries to get her to soften her lyrics but Ruby sticks to her guns. Though some scenes date back to 1982, the film remains topical and timely, as the songs deal with the homeless and the pressures of commercialism.
Heroine Strang is a forceful presence, combining qualities of Sally Field and Jane Fonda in her populist role. Her singing is voiced-over by up-and-coming folk singer Shawn Colvin. As her uncle, Krawetz is endearing and lends a quirky '60s quality to the picture.
