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American Gigolo

American Gigolo

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Visually stylish and this is CINEMA!
Review: The plot and characters of this stylish film are just an excuse for displaying a certain type of life style. The movie is really cinematic in its original big screen vibrant colors (subsequent releases in VHS tapes and DVD are truly disappointing with rather pale and dull colors). This film is a must see for any eligible bachelor who wants some ideas about the right clothes and furniture. The sound track is superb and this is one of those movies that make LA and its various neighborhoods look very very cool indeed!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Last gasp of Disco
Review: The significance of American Gigalo is capturing the mood of the disco movement in its waning days, and not of a compelling story line that draws you in.

The story line itself is weak, as other reviewers have already panned it. A gigolo is framed for murder, set up by him pimp. Living the cream of life in its riches on his good looks, a murder accusation send his good life down a spiral. Along the decent, he picks up the love of a prominent politician's wife, who becomes his savior and true love, perhaps for the first time in his life.

What makes American Gigalo fun is capturing the last breadth of the disco movement, of the lifestyle of when casual sex was safe, drugs were no big deal, and the music was still dance-able. This was the film that made Richard Gere the movie icon that he is today.

Watch this movie for a trip down memory lane, but don't expect a great story out of it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Knows what women want
Review: There are very few movies that turn a woman on so much. Most movies about sex show it as agressive, this is the exception: a story about a man who wants to make women climax. Gere sizzles in every sex scene. But aren't some of those scenes clipped inthe video?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Put Your Brain on Hold and Look at the Pretty Pictures
Review: This early Paul Schrader effort is as slick--and vapid--as the city in which it's set, yet still strangely compelling after all these years. Richard Gere delivers his usual flat performance as the titular character, a walking billboard for all that's wrong with style over substance; here, though, his monotone facial expressions and speech actually work, as the character has the emotional range of his condo's designer furniture. Ironically, model-turned-actress Lauren Hutton delivers a surprisingly steady and honest performance as his love interest, despite having to utter lines that often barely rise above soap-opera level in quality. But the real star of the film is the production itself. The visual and aural model for what would become "Miami Vice," the film still seems modern, crisp, and glossy, even with the poofy hairdos, micro-shirt collars and tinny hatchback cars. The story is little more than fluff; Gere's Julian is framed for murder, and Hutton--the wife of a bigwig politico with much to lose if their affair is discovered--is his only alibi. In a half-hearted attempt to infuse some much-needed moral fiber, Schrader forces Julian to confront the many people he's wronged, as well as the empty but expensive lie that is his life, including hints at the character's bisexuality (controversial stuff in 1980). Despite Hector Elizondo's caricature performance as a Columbo-esque detective and the fact that the film celebrates being shallow as much as it condemns such behavior, it scores some hits, not the least of which is the breezy opening song by Blondie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Here comes the 80's
Review: This film is stylishly shot and poorly acted, and paced at about the speed a rich old woman might utilize to putter about the perfume section of Neiman Marcus.

I think it would have been more interesting if Julian had been an amnesia-suffering killer who, after his rich senator's wife angel rescues him from prison, murders her, too, and then goes back to turning gay tricks on the "bad side of town." But that didn't happen.

A lot of male/female dialogue in this movie is truly cringeworthy, and the funniest line to me is when Julian's lawyer tells him "The maid saw you try and rescue Leon, so they're not going to prosecute on that" after Julian pushes the guy off a twelfth floor balcony. That's like shooting someone and then being let off because you put a pillow under their head while they died. I also found it peculier that in a sprawling city of ten million or so people where supposedly no one ever leaves their car, characters keep running into one another on city streets and shops.

All in all, a good snapshot of wealthy LA on the cusp of the eighties, but there really isn't much more to be gleaned from this movie than that.

One note on the sound quality of the DVD. The dialogue is very hard to pick up at times, which forces one to turn up the volume quite high. This gives the viewer an unpleasant jolt whenever the pounding Moroder tunes come in, because they are recorded very loud. Be warned.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Great Drama
Review: This is an excellent film about a sleazy business in which the stakes are high and money is king. Gere gives us a close look at what type of lifestyle a gigolo lives and what he has to do to keep it. The settings and music are pretty good, but I especially liked the opening sequence in which Gere is driving down the coast in his SL Mercedes Benz and looking so sharp in his 80"s glasses (lol)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mediocre crime story that helped launch Gere's career
Review: This is one of two breakthrough films for Richard Gere. The other one was "Officer and a Gentleman", which cemented his status as a bankable star. This is also an early film for mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun, ConAir, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor). In this film, Gere plays Julian Kaye, a gigolo who services the sexual needs of wealthy older woman. One of his tricks gets murdered and suddenly all the evidence points to him. Of course, his alibi refuses to admit he was with her because it would be scandalous. The last half of the film is devoted to Julian trying to discover who is trying to frame him. Concurrent with this plot is the story of his love affair with Michelle Stratton (Lauren Hutton) the wife of a wealthy Senator.

The story isn't bad, but the dialogue is mindless and trashy, typified by Michelle's repeatedly begging for sex from Julian in the most profane and explicit terms. There aren't any surprises that aren't completely predictable, and the mystery of who is framing Julian is painfully obvious. The film features Blondie's hit "Call Me", but after hearing a couple of dozen Georgio Moroder variations on this theme on his synthesizer, it gets tiresome.

Gere's performance shows promise here and his generous nude scenes make this film a favorite among his female fans. Gere exudes a smart and sophisticated machismo in this film that would be his trademark for years to come. For Lauren Hutton, who was more famous as a Supermodel than an actor, this role is probably her most notable. She does an adequate job of playing the aristocratic wife with an untamed libido, but is in no danger of winning any acting awards.

This is an interesting film to watch from a historical perspective if you are a Gere fan, but it is by no means a classic. I rated it a 6/10. Weak writing hamstrings a decent story and keeps it from rising above mediocrity.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A great actor 4 a great movie...
Review: This movie is one of the best 80s movie I've ever seen! Richard was made 4 the part. Ones you've seen it you'll be stuck with it on your mind

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bad To The Bone
Review: This movie is so incredible, Richard Gere was born to play this part! He is so irresistable here, plus throw in a murder mystery and you've got a really interesting film. It's a very "80s" film too, that's one of the coolest things about it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: American Gigolo - Everything goes wrong except music
Review: This movie was not sexy, it was boring and it just went on forever(all those fade outs and fade ins at the end got on my nerves-enough already director-time to yell - that's a rap!).Actors(especially Gere and Hutton) talk as if they are heavily medicated on some type of pain pills. Sex scenes are not even sexy of this type of film genre. I think a happier-"GRADUATE" type of ending would have improved picture somewhat. The music is the only reason I give this film one star because as a big eighties music fan and since I was in J-High and H-school during this period I have a personal bias towards Blondie, otherwise don't waste you're time with this dud of a picture.


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