House of Gucci; Grade: C+
House of Gucci tells a story about a woman named Patrizia (Lady Gaga) whom works for her father’s trucking company. Patrizia one evening at a party came across a man named Maurizio (Adam Driver) who so happens to be apart of the Gucci family. Gucci for those whom don’t know is a well known fashion company preferably catered to the rich, so Maurizio is a big deal as Patrizia is heavily attracted to him because of it. We’ll get to meet the rest of Gucci family, how Patrizia and Maurizio relationship develops, and also how this entire family falls apart due to a common enemy known as greed.
A fair amount of hype was given when the first cast photo of Lady Gaga and Adam Driver were released on social media, not too sure if it was hype towards the movie but more towards fans experiencing Lady Gaga once again returning to acting in another film. Ridley Scott delivered a superb drama with The Last Duel earlier this year, as could he possibly end up going 2/2 in one year?! House of Gucci unfortunately does not live up to the star studded hype, however it has a fair amount of kind things to say.
I felt the moral message of the story about how greed can eventually ruin everything it touches was done just fine, it was straight forward and got to the point. As the story goes on you see how just about everyone turns against each other, all due to greed in this expensive company. Whether it be a family member back stabbing another or planning on murdering an individual just to have a taste of the richest of greens… It truly is devastating just how greed really can ruin everything around it, sure it’s awesome to have a shit load of money most of us would never imagine seeing in our life time, however it feels not worth it where so much pain and suffering comes along with it.
Lady Gaga delivered a pretty good performance as Patrizia as I’m expecting another awards run yet again. It’s amazing how a woman like Patrizia whom has come from humble beginnings, living fairly well working along her father’s side as you can say she’s a strong independent woman. Even though Patrizia hits the jackpot with Maurizio: It’s quite astounding just how her coming across the richest of rich, truly tainted her soul completely where she should’ve been much more grateful for what she has. I mean I really believed Patrizia was a pretty cool woman, but once she got her hands on all this expensive wear and bags, she just turned into a completely different person to where she was unrecognizable.
Same can be said with Maurizio whom actually wanted to stay away from the Gucci name, as he wanted to become his own person trying to pursue a career as being a lawyer. But for some reason as the more time Maurizio spent with his family and especially his father passing… Greed took over him in the worst way possible. It’s kind of crazy how one can go through many years with morals and principles, just suddenly toss it all the way for the sake of paper. Adam Driver also delivers a solid performance yet again, sometimes his attempt of an Italian accent can be a little bit goofy here and there, but his scenes with Lady Gaga were good together.
For a film that’s called House of Gucci, I was expecting to get a firm grasp on the brand of Gucci. To me I never really understood the hype behind Gucci, it felt like just another clothing/designer brand and nothing more, only a little more expensive than the rest of the gang. So I was expecting to be blown away with the costume design, as I was hoping Ridley Scott would elevate the brand of Gucci to where one like me can understand the appeal surrounding this beloved brand. I was extremely disappointed with the Costume Design as I wasn’t blown away with any piece of clothing material and especially any bag piece as well. The film does have a couple quick fashion show scenes and has a couple moments here and there going around a store or the flee market selling fake Gucci, but none of the sequences grasp me to where I can understand the hype around this brand as it never convince why should I be so envious of anyone owning Gucci at all. I mean if you’re going to have your film called House of Gucci at least deliver me a grand experience in such an important area for this kind of film, to me it should’ve been called Trailer Park of Gucci.
Although this film does deliver it’s straight forward message, to me the story wasn’t great by any means. Not only do scenes drag here and there, but a fair amount of run time while partaking in the story I was honestly quite bored at several moments. I do feel the long run time doesn’t feel justified, as I felt it should’ve been maybe cut by twenty to thirty minutes. I also have trouble with a fair amount of the acting, as the problems heavily rely on the Italian accents. I can really tell when an Italian accent is delivered appropriately as their making a valid attempt in trying to display an accurate portrayal, however there are many moments where I was honestly bothered by how most of the actors treated like they were playing a stereotypical Italian man/woman. By no means am I offended by any of it, I can honestly care less, however I would’ve liked it done better than actors delivering a shitty Italian Woman/Man impression, especially Jared Leto I appreciate the effort in the transformation he did with this role, but holy crap his scenes were beyond cringe.
Overall, House of Gucci was just fine. I recommend checking this one out on Rental, I feel it’s more suitable there than being watched in a theater. -Mitch Smietana