House of Gucci

Starring: Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Salma Hayek, Jack Huston,

Director: Ridley Scott

Based on the novel "The House of Gucci" by Sara Gay Forden

While working for her father's small trucking business, Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga) and Maurizio Gucci (Driver) strike up a relationship after meeting at a party. Maurizio, while very wealthy, due to his family name, isn't interested in taking part in the family business. He further distances himself from the family by wanting to marry Patrizia against his father Rodolfo's (Irons) wishes and is written out of his will. Soon after their marriage, Maurizo's uncle Aldo (Pacino) reaches out and introduces her to the rest of family, including his eccentric and unintelligent son Paolo (Leto). As Rodolfo begins to die from a terminal illness, he and Maurizio reconnect, which leads him to write Maurizio back into his will, with his shares of the Gucci empire. As Patrizia becomes further ingrained in the lavish lifestyle, she begins a complex plot to manipulate the remaining Gucci family members for their stake in the company and continue her rise from rags to riches.

Ridley Scott is hit or miss for me as a director. For every Gladiator, Alien or Blade Runner we also get The Counselor or A Good Year. Regardless, the man is 84 years old, always gets exciting casts to join his projects, and continues to churn out films at a rapid pace, with this being his 2nd released this year. And lets not forget how quick his reshoots and re-edit of All the Money in the World was to replace Kevin Spacey.

One thing you can consistently say about a Ridley Scott film, despite the quality, is that it looks downright amazing. From top to bottom (cast, lavish locations, costumes, cinematography) the eye candy is in full supply. That is definitely the case here.

This is an incredible true story about the rich and the famous, full of backstabbing and intrigue that is as interesting as watching paint dry. I can't tell if fault lies in the script or the editing but this is one of the more bland biopics I have seen in a long time. Maybe it's not a true biopic, as some have called this a satire. But if it is satire, it is played way too straight faced.

Which is a shame, because on paper this is a cast worth killing for. Of the cast, only Adam Driver is a standout. Everyone else seems to be channeling a lifetime movie, most notably Lady Gaga. She is a very talented actress but her performance seems to be informed by a joke that only she is in on. Jared Leto, who feels like he is in a completely different universe than anyone else in the movie, and Al Pacino seem to be in a competition about who can be cheesier than the other. It's hard to tell who wins, but at least Pacino didn't feel the need to adopt an almost offensively comedic Italian accent for his character. I kept waiting for Super Mario to come popping out of a pipe, call him Luigi, and drag him back to video game land.

It's unfortunate that this tale of backstabbing and murder isn't more compelling than it is.

Grade: C-