'House of Gucci' Movie Review: A Boring and Bland Mess

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One of 2021’s most anticipated films, director Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci, is now out in theaters. Inspired by the true story of the Gucci family and their fashion empire, the story spans three decades of love, betrayal, decadence, revenge, and ultimately murder.

Take a look at the trailer below.

House of Gucci Movie Trailer

House of Gucci Movie Review: What I Liked and Didn’t Like

As a fan of cinema, I was excited for House of Gucci. But as a bit of a fashion nerd, I was REALLY excited for House of Gucci. Combining such an iconic brand story with a brilliant cast and director, it was sure to be one of the best films of the year right?

Meh. When I saw the trailer, I knew there were going to be problems. Trailers are supposed to pump you up and make you feel like this will be an epic watch. The House of Gucci trailer was one of the least exciting trailers I’ve seen in recent years. And while that disappointed me, I told myself – maybe they just did a bad job with the trailer.

Then I saw the film. And again, meh. The trailer was a pretty accurate representation of the slow (and sometimes painful) pacing of the movie.

The 2 hour and 38-minute film spends most of its time setting up the relationships between each of the characters – and it’s not till the VERY end of the film that the pacing picks up with the story’s climax – right before the credits roll.

The Script

The main problem with House of Gucci is the script, which is penned by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna (and based on the book, “The House of Gucci” by Sara Gay Forden). The story just isn’t compelling, at least not until the very end of the film. There’s roughly an hour of screentime that could have been condensed, which would have helped considerably but still wouldn’t have fixed the overall problem.

The tone of the film is muted, the characters, their dialogue, their interactions… everything just feels like the life has been plucked out of it. Even some of the final most climatic scenes – again, just feel muted.

I can’t help but wonder if this story would have been more satisfying as a miniseries on HBO or FX. Perhaps, broken into smaller parts with an improved script. It simply didn’t work for me on the big screen.

The Cast

The cast here is incredible. You don’t need a film critic to tell you that this combination of talent is going to be absolutely stellar. However, due to all the other problems I mentioned above – the performances here don’t have an opportunity to really stretch and grow in front of us. For the most part, the cast here also feels one-note (though it’s a brilliant note).

While I’m sure that most of the film’s cast members will be nominated for an Academy Award, the only one that I think has a true shot at winning (and will be my vote in all 3 of my critic groups), is Jared Leto. His portrayal of Paolo Gucci is remarkably entertaining. Not only is his physical transformation jaw-dropping (I also suspect that House of Gucci will take home Best Makeup for their work on this character), but the comedy he brings to an otherwise dull film is a breath of fresh air.

I would go so far as to say that Jared Leto is the only reason movie fans should see this film. As bored as I was for the majority of the movie, Leto’s work here made me feel like my afternoon wasn’t completely wasted.

Overall

In summary, you can probably tell I wasn’t a fan of the film. Despite an incredible cast (Lady Gaga and Adam Driver also shine here), an iconic brand, truly stunning sets, and cinematography – House of Gucci falls flat. While it’s not the worse film of the year, it’s by far one of the least entertaining.