I’ve found sitting down to write on “American Gigolo” very difficult, and it took a while to put my finger on why. I don’t care about the flick in the slightest. It’s not bad, just solidly mediocre. If it weren’t for writing this blurb, it’s a movie that I would remember having seen, but all the plot points would seep out of my head in a matter of weeks.
The most interesting aspect of the movie has nothing to do with its on-screen content. It’s amazing that the same man, Richard Gere, has starred in the two canonical “hooker with a heart of gold” movies of the past 20 years. I am referring to this and “Pretty Woman”, of course. This would be particularly standard Hollywood typecasting if it weren’t for the fact that Gere played the hooker in “American Gigolo” and the flipside, the suitor in “Pretty Woman”.
The camera work is fairly uninteresting, but doesn’t detract from the story. There is a vain attempt to set the mood of the entire piece by casting many shots in blue, often through shadows of Venetian blinds. The “blue movie” analogy is just heavy handed.
Julian Kaye (Richard Gere), gigolo extraordinaire, is framed in a murder case. This plotline is uninteresting, unbelievable and distracting from the love story between Julian and Michelle Stratton (Lauren Hutton), a (state?) senator’s wife. It’s clear that the murder is just a device so that Julian has nowhere to turn but to Michelle. Julian’s career is ruined, but love conquers all, right?
The chemistry between Hutton and Gere is wonderful. If it weren’t for the murder subplot, this could have been a great romantic drama. As it is it’s a weak coming of age story of a naïve gigolo finding love.
Don’t get excited about watching this movie, but if you want an
interesting combination of movies try these. Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
followed by American Gigolo. The former will put a lovely comedic spin
on the latter. American Gigolo followed by Pretty Woman. Imagine Gere
in Pretty Woman as Julian Kaye plus ten years.