{"id":3827,"date":"2021-12-03T13:28:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-03T13:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/?p=3827"},"modified":"2021-12-03T13:30:03","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T13:30:03","slug":"house-of-gucci-review-explosive-true-crime-drama-tailored-to-entertain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/?p=3827","title":{"rendered":"HOUSE OF GUCCI REVIEW: \u2018EXPLOSIVE TRUE-CRIME DRAMA TAILORED TO ENTERTAIN\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are echoes of&nbsp;<em>Girls&nbsp;<\/em>in&nbsp;Driver\u2019s sex scene in&nbsp;<em>House of Gucci<\/em>, in which he plays the reluctant head of the Gucci empire, Maurizio. He brings that same surreal, untamed energy, but may not have banked on Lady Gaga as Maurizio\u2019s scheming wife Patrizia not only matching his energy but doubling it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the woman behind the \u2018Bad Romance\u2019 video, after all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A scene so ridiculous is conceivably designed to spark headlines and&nbsp;ridicule. But I\u2019d add that, like the sex in Paul Verhoeven\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Showgirls<\/em>, it serves the central theme of the film: ostentation. It also unequivocally illustrates Gaga\u2019s total commitment to a gargantuan role, in which she\u2019s incredible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spanning 25 years, this explosive true-crime drama follows the ambitious Patrizia from humble beginnings to queen-like status as quasi-Gucci boss via her ill-fated marriage to Maurizio; in 1998, the jilted wife was sentenced to 26 years in prison for plotting Maurizio\u2019s murder via hitmen in 1995. (She was released in 2014).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Given its somewhat overwhelming scope, we never stay in the same moment long. That\u2019s a shame: the desire to examine every elaborately-staged scene \u2013 the lavish outfits, the countess extras, the jaw-dropping scenery \u2013 is intense. Imagine if director Ridley Scott had zipped through set pieces in&nbsp;<em>Gladiator<\/em>&nbsp;or<em>&nbsp;Blade Runner<\/em>&nbsp;with such urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That said, the breakneck speed works. After two hours and 44 minutes, I was exhausted, but never bored \u2013 and always, always entertained. The effect is like 30 Gaga videos back-to-back \u2013 Patrizia in the club, Patrizia on the slopes \u2013 or bingeing an entire, frenzied season of&nbsp;<em>American Crime Story<\/em>&nbsp;in one sitting. (A Golden Globe-winning Gaga was of course in&nbsp;<em>American Horror Story<\/em>&nbsp;in 2015, a role that surely prepared her for this one.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"HOUSE OF GUCCI | Official Trailer #2 | MGM Studios\" width=\"749\" height=\"421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eGNnpVKxV6s?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naturally, Gaga is in her element serving face, body, and gasp-inducing looks. But it would be insulting to repeat the accusation made against her in 2018\u2019s&nbsp;<em>A Star Is Born<\/em>, for which she&nbsp;was Oscar-nominated: that she\u2019s just playing herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, the role of Ally suited Gaga, as does Patrizia. All three women know how to put on a show. But Gaga, it\u2019s widely noted, is a good egg. Patrizia is not. And despite admirable attempts to humanise her early on, our star thrives in all-out, operatic baddie mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maurizio\u2019s arc is less dramatic, and with a weak accent and a surprisingly understated performance, Driver is for once swallowed up by his surroundings. But, as the subservient Maurizio, that\u2019s perhaps intentional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jared Leto, meanwhile, is unignorable as the Gucci family\u2019s resident idiot, Paulo. His grotesque physical transformation, astonishing accent, and garbled, off-kilter comedy will likely attract awards \u2013 but possibly conversations around stereotyping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elsewhere, Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons are reliably perfect as the Gucci family\u2019s storied patriarchs, while Camille Cottin is flighty and fun as Maurizio\u2019s post-Patrizia lover Paola and Salma Hayek a hoot as Patrizia\u2019s clairvoyant friend and partner in crime Pina Auriemma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, it\u2019s Leto\u2019s slapstick turn that best epitomizes the film\u2019s worship of flamboyance which, although absolutely on-brand, comes at a cost. Patrizia\u2019s rage aside, the film lacks emotionality. There\u2019s soapy melodrama in spades, but the couple\u2019s daughters are curiously overlooked, for example, as are Patrizia\u2019s relationships with her wider family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, if you go in with the right expectations,&nbsp;<em>House of Gucci<\/em>&nbsp;is nothing short of sensational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Rating: 4\/5<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are echoes of&nbsp;Girls&nbsp;in&nbsp;Driver\u2019s sex scene in&nbsp;House of Gucci, in which he plays the reluctant head of the Gucci empire, Maurizio. He brings that same surreal, untamed energy, but may not have banked on Lady Gaga as Maurizio\u2019s scheming wife Patrizia not only matching his energy but doubling it. This is the woman behind the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/4guysmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}