House of Gucci

Give Ridley Scott tons of credit in 2021. At 83 years of age, the director is still churning out films with House of Gucci being his second of the year. The other, of course, is the fantastic and underseen The Last Duel. And despite what he may think the reason is for that bombing (nope, sorry dude...the advertising was non-existent!) I still find it pretty incredible that we're getting two high-quality films from him this year.

Obviously, House of Gucci is FAR different than the medieval period piece about a rape - which also displays his range - and, without burying the lead, Gucci is the lesser of the two films, though I'm surprised how hard critics are being on it. 

Gucci, unsurprisingly, reminded me a lot of the television show American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, and it's almost impossible to not compare the two, particularly in the medium they chose to tell their story. Not only are the both about the assassinations of fashion moguls (side note: what's up with that?), but both feature some transformative performances and specific time periods in which they take place. 

While Gianni Versace's FX show was probably too long, TV definitely offered a lot of pluses when it came to character development and tension building. Gucci doesn't necessarily suffer from the latter, but despite its gigantic length of 2.5+ hours (this is actually longer than The Last Duel!) I felt like Gucci's biggest misstep was a lack of key character development moments throughout. We learn a lot about each of these characters, yes, but particularly with Maurizio (Driver) and Patrizia (Gaga) their turns from "mostly-good" characters to "mostly-bad" characters seems abrupt. Gaga's descent is definitely more subtle and believable of the two, but Driver's is pretty much encapsulated into one scene, like a light flipping on and off. Nothing as dramatic as a (in)famous Game of Thrones character decision, but still disorienting and pretty unacceptable for a film this long. 

Straight up comedic performance

"So...could we do a Star is Born sequel?"

Gucci also follows a lack of restrain on Scott's part. It covers a pretty good chunk of time across Patrizia and Maurizio's relationship, which makes sense to show what is essentially the "beginning" and the "end" of it, but it also lacks focus within the family drama. As you're watching the film you think "Oh, this will probably come into play later" but that stuff doesn't all the time. That doesn't necessarily mean it's not entertaining, but there's just a lot here that could have been on the cutting room floor (an extremely random scene of Driver's character leaping in a Gucci store comes immediately to mind), probably enough to keep this a slim 2-ish hour film. Alternatively, there's probably enough with the story to do a 6-episode series on HBO Max or something so the choice of "in between" with the film's total length was probably the worst of the options.

Otherwise, House of Gucci is a uniquely interesting film about a drama-filled family that features some really fun performances and, despite its length, is entertaining in and of itself. You don't need to be involved in the world of fashion to find this interesting; this is "trash TV" style family drama rolled up into a upscale Ridley Scott movie. In that regard, House of Gucci is a well made film and exudes most of the same quality you've come to expect with a storied filmmaker like Scott - not to mention, it's coupled with a host of great 80s music. The performances are also wonderful and pretty much every actor goes "all in" with their accents, eccentricities, and mannerisms. It's in this way that Gucci is tons of fun; to see this cast having a blast and talking like Mario and Luigi is hilarious. Gaga and Driver give stellar performances as the leads, particularly Gaga who begins to lean into her crazy side near the end. Pacino is entertaining as the nice uncle, Aldo Gucci, but it's really Jared Leto as Paulo Gucci who steals every scene he's in. Whereas everyone else is giving a dramatic performance, Leto's Paulo is a comedic one, much to the benefit of the film and its entertainment factor. His high-pitched, feminine tendencies mixed with funny dialogue is downright hilarious in certain scenes and had my theater in stitches. 

House of Gucci isn't Ridley Scott's best film, but that's ok (and to be fair, did we expect it to be?). It's a far different movie than his other one this year, and aside from being impressive coming from the 83 year old director, it's an interesting, overlong film that indulges in its characters and story just as much as the real life Gucci's indulged in opulence., but that's truthfully it's only severe crime. 

CONS

• Way too long
• Has handful of "um...ok scenes"
• Gets too in the weeds with the family drama that doesn't really lead anywhere
• Despite the length, certain character shifts/motivations seem sudden. Both Patrizia and especially Maurizio's turns felt contained to almost a single scene
• Salma Hayek is wasted here

PROS

• I don't know why, but these stories about assassinated fashion moguls are wildly interesting to me. House of Gucci held my interest the entire time
• You can expect Scott's usual quality here
• F**king great 80s soundtrack!
• Very fun and very entertaining performances from some phenomenal actors and actresses
• Driver and Gaga are wonderful leads
• Leto's comedic relief is appreciated and some of the film's highlights

Rath's Review Score | 7/10