I remember when the story of Gypsy Blanchard first came out on television news stations
and in the newspapers. Since then, I watched a documentary on Gypsy Rose’s story and found
out that what she went through is mind-blowing.
Recently I decided to watch the Hulu mini-series, “The Act,” and I feel like I can see why
the show was “called out” because of all the portrayal of mental disorders, disease, and the
mental/verbal/physical abuse shown, which is Gypsy’s whole story and what she went through
with her mother.
Hulu cut this crazy story of a mother and daughter duo, Dee Dee and Gypsy, into five
parts.
“The Act” did an excellent job with how they told Gypsy’s story, but I do not think Gypsy
herself was happy.
Gypsy’s mother suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, causing her to fabricate
and make up many medical conditions for Gypsy to gain attention and sympathy. Gypsy was
able to walk and did not need a feeding tube but was forced to keep up the act of all these made-
up diagnoses.
Joey King, who played Gypsy in the series, matched Gypsy’s mannerisms so well. She
makes you feel for her part in the series, in a way. I feel like she did a lot of research on the story
before trying for the role.
Patricia Arquette may have not looked identical to Dee Dee, but she also played her role
well.
Watching the documentary before watching the act mini-series, I feel like we were seeing
more of the inside of Gypsy’s story and what all she underwent at the age she did, rather than her
just talking about it.
By 23 years old, Gypsy had enough and planned out on how to murder her own mother.
Overall, Hulu did a wonderful job with this one, shedding light on the concept of
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy and exploring the abusive relationship she had with her mom.