American Gigolo

American Gigolo
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Paul Schrader
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by Paul Schrader
Starring
Music by Giorgio Moroder
Cinematography John Bailey
Edited by Richard Halsey
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • February 8, 1980 (1980-02-08)
Running time
 117 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $4.8 million
Box office $52.7 million[1][2]

American Gigolo is a 1980 American romantic crime film[3] written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced male escort in Los Angeles who becomes romantically involved with a prominent politician's wife while simultaneously becoming the prime suspect in a murder case.

The film is notable for establishing Gere as a leading man, and was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to include frontal male nudity from its main star. It is also notable for its Golden Globe Award-nominated musical score, composed by Giorgio Moroder, and number-one hit single "Call Me" by Blondie. Schrader considers it one of four similar films, which he calls "double bookends": Taxi Driver, book-ended by Light Sleeper, and American Gigolo book-ended by The Walker.[4]

Plot

Julian Kaye is a male escort in Los Angeles, whose job supports and requires an expensive taste in cars and clothes, and affords him a luxury Westwood apartment. He is blatantly materialistic, narcissistic and superficial. However, he takes pleasure in his work from being able to sexually satisfy women, especially older ones.

Julian's procurer, Anne, sends him on an assignment with a wealthy old widow, Mrs. Dobrun, who is visiting town. Afterwards, he goes to the hotel bar and meets Michelle Stratton, the senator's wife, who becomes obsessed with him. Julian's friend, Leon, sends him to Palm Springs on a "substitute" assignment to the house of Mr. Rheiman, a wealthy financier. Rheiman asks Julian to have violent sex with his wife Judy, while watching them. The next day, Julian berates Leon for sending him to a "rough trick" and makes it clear he declines kinky or gay assignments. Leon in turn warns Julian that the wealthy, older women he serves will turn on him and discard him without a second thought.

As Julian begins to have a relationship with Michelle, he learns that Judy Rheiman has been murdered. Los Angeles Police Department Detective Sunday identifies Julian as a primary suspect. Though Julian was with another client, Lisa Williams, on the night of the murder, she protects her marriage and does not give an alibi for Julian.

Julian discovers the evidence about the murder. He realizes that he is being framed and grows increasingly desperate. His mounting anguish is visually represented by a degeneration in style; his clothes become rumpled, he goes unshaven, and drives a cheap rental car (after ruining his Mercedes to find Judy's jewelry planted in it). He neglects to pick up an important client for Anne that he has been scheduled to escort, and she shuns him. Julian warns Michelle that he is in trouble and tells her to leave him alone.

Julian concludes that Leon and Rheiman are the ones trying to frame him, and that one of Leon's other gigolos was the murderer. Julian goes to confront Leon, telling him about the truth and clearing his name. However, he refuses to help him and remains implacable. Julian pushes Leon off from the apartment balcony to his death. With no one to help him, Julian ends up in prison, hopelessly awaiting trial for Rheiman's murder. While Michelle reconciles with Julian, she sacrifices her reputation and marriage.

Cast

Production

Christopher Reeve reportedly turned down the part of Julian Kaye despite being offered a million-dollar fee,[5] before Richard Gere became attached to the role. Reeve was offered the role by the studio, namely Barry Diller at Paramount Pictures, but writer/director Paul Schrader didn't want to cast him and telephoned Reeve's agent trying to persuade him not to read the script. Gere said in 2012 that he was drawn to the role because of its gay subtext.

I read it and I thought, 'This is a character I don't know very well. I don't own a suit. He speaks languages; I don't speak any languages. There's kind of a gay thing that's flirting through it and I didn't know the gay community at all.' I wanted to immerse myself in all of that and I had literally two weeks. So I just dove in.[6]

John Travolta became interested in the part and briefly acted in it before getting "cold feet" and being replaced by Gere.[7][8] This is not the only role that Travolta has turned down only to be taken by Gere: it had previously happened with Days of Heaven (1978)[9] and occurred again when Travolta was offered the lead in both An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and Chicago (2002).[10] Paul Schrader had threatened to sue Travolta if Richard Gere wasn't cast in the film knowing full well that Travolta had his eye on the script of another Paramount production Urban Cowboy (1980). Gere's very brief nude scenes marked the first time a major Hollywood actor was frontally nude in a film.[11][12] According to Gere, the nudity was not in the original script.

It was just in the natural process of making the movie. I certainly felt vulnerable, but I think it's different for men than women."[6]

Julie Christie was originally cast in the role of Michelle Stratton, but her departure was precipitated by Gere's replacement of Travolta.[8] By the time Gere had returned to the project, Lauren Hutton had already been hired. Meryl Streep was also offered the part of Michelle, but declined because she did not like the tone of the film.[13]

Schrader acknowledges that Pickpocket (1959) by the French director Robert Bresson was a direct influence on the film;[14][15] the composition of the final shot draws heavily from the film,[16][17] as does the final dialogue.[18] Schrader later provided an introduction to the Criterion Collection DVD of Pickpocket. On the film's ending, Schrader writes: "At the end of American Gigolo, I wanted to perversely plunge my lizardy protagonist into icy Bressonian waters, so I lifted the ending of Pickpocket and gave it to Julian Kaye. A grace note as unwarranted as Christ's promise to the thief on the cross.[19]" Schrader re-visited many of the themes of American Gigolo in his 2007 film, The Walker,[20] and says the idea for that film came about while wondering what would have become of the Julian Kaye character.[21]

The film is widely credited to have established Giorgio Armani in Hollywood, since the Italian designer's clothes are featured prominently in Julian Kaye's wardrobe. When John Travolta agreed to star in the film, Armani provided him with many outfits to wear as Julian Kay. When Travolta walked off the project, Schrader hired Richard Gere; Travolta was a svelte six-footer, whereas Gere was much shorter and more muscular, so Armani's wardrobe did not fit Gere. The designer's team had to make new clothing for the smaller actor.[22]

Soundtrack

The film's musical score was composed by Giorgio Moroder, who was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. The main theme song of the film is "Call Me" performed by Blondie. The song was written by Moroder and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry, and became a huge worldwide hit in 1980. It peaked at number one in various countries including the US and the UK, and became the highest selling single of 1980 in the United States. In 1981, the song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Moroder and Harry further shared a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[23]

Reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, as the film holds a 67% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews.[24]

Television series

In October 2014, Jerry Bruckheimer announced plans to adapt the movie into a television series.[25] In October 2016, Neil Labute will write the series for Showtime.[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Box Office Mojo. 2010. American Gigolo (1980). [Online] IMDb.com, Inc. (Updated 2010) Available at: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americangigolo.htm [Accessed 24 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n28WEaQl?url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id%3Damericangigolo.htm.
  2. ↑ "American Gigolo (1980) - Financial Information".
  3. ↑ "American Gigolo (1980)".
  4. ↑ "American Cinema of the 70s". The Story of Film: An Odyssey. Season 1. 2011. Event occurs at 28 minutes in. More4. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ↑ Holley, J., 2004. A Leading Man for Spinal Cord Research. The Washington Post, [internet] 12 October. Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23222-2004Oct11.html [Accessed 25 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n3XvSoO5?url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23222-2004Oct11.html.
  6. 1 2 "Richard Gere Accepted American Gigolo Role Because of Gay Subtext". 1 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Jones, C. 2002. Richard Gere: On guard. [Online] BBC (Updated 27 Dec 2002) Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/2591237.stm [Accessed 25 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n2vlsIV6?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/2591237.stm
  8. 1 2 Yahoo! Movies. 2010. Julie Christie Biography. [Online] Yahoo! (Updated 2010) Available at: https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020090/bio [Accessed 26 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n4P3DZgY?url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800020090/bio.
  9. ↑ Gilbey, R. 2009. Who's next for a Mickey Rourke-style comeback?. [Online] Guardian.co.uk (Updated 17 Feb 2009) Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2009/feb/16/mickey-rourke-wrestler [Accessed 25 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n2wXCKBR?url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2009/feb/16/mickey-rourke-wrestler
  10. ↑ Lawrence, W., 2007. Travolta as you've never seen him before. Times Online, [internet] 30 June. Available at http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article1989219.ece [Accessed 25 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n2wl0xoV?url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article1989219.ece
  11. ↑ Persall, S., 2009. Male movie stars' naughty bits are nothing new. St. Petersburg Times, [internet] 7 March. Available at http://www.tampabay.com/features/movies/article981982.ece [Accessed 24 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n26DnQUF?url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/movies/article981982.ece
  12. ↑ Dirks, T. 2009. History of Sex in Cinema: The Greatest and Most Influential Sexual Films and Scenes. [Online] Filmsite.org (Updated 2009) Available at: http://www.filmsite.org/sexinfilms.html (part 27) [Accessed 24 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n26j4TVJ?url=http://www.filmsite.org/sexinfilms27.html
  13. ↑ Smurthwaite, N., 1984. The Meryl Streep Story. Beaufort Books. ISBN 978-0-8253-0229-9.
  14. ↑ Thompson, R.J., 1998. Pickpocket. Senses of Cinema, [online] 1998. Available at: http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/00/7/pickpocket.html [Accessed 27 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n6kr6A2S?url=http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/cteq/00/7/pickpocket.html.
  15. ↑ Auty, C. 2008. Robert Bresson's Pickpocket. [Online] Film Forum (Updated 4 Aug 2008) Available at: http://www.filmforum.org/films/pickpocket.html [Accessed 27 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n6lFFD91?url=http://www.filmforum.org/films/pickpocket.html.
  16. ↑ Johnston, S., 2003. Film-makers on film: Paul Schrader. Telegraph.co.uk, [internet] 25 January. Available at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3589003/Film-makers-on-film-Paul-Schrader.html [Accessed 26 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n5CfRHMB?url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3589003/Film-makers-on-film-Paul-Schrader.html.
  17. ↑ Dawson, T. 2005. Pickpocket (2005). [Online] BBC (Updated 3 Apr 2005) Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/04/04/pickpocket_2005_review.shtml [Accessed 26 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n5CyDtou?url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/04/04/pickpocket_2005_review.shtml.
  18. ↑ Sight & Sound. 2007. Robert Bresson: Alias Grace. British Film Institute, [internet] November 2007. Available at: http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49407 [Accessed 26 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n5DP9fzc?url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49407.
  19. ↑ Schrader, Paul. Collected Screenplays 1. Faber and Faber, 2002, p. viii.
  20. ↑ Malcolm, D., 2007. American gigolo in the frame. London Evening Standard, [internet] 9 August. Available at http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/review-23407689-american-gigolo-in-the-frame.do [Accessed 27 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n65HEfVh?url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/review-23407689-american-gigolo-in-the-frame.do.
  21. ↑ Schrader, P. 2007. The Walker. [Online] Landmark Theatres (Updated 2007) Available at: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/mn/walker.html [Accessed 27 January 2010]. Archived at https://www.webcitation.org/5n65msC6g?url=http://www.landmarktheatres.com/mn/walker.html.
  22. ↑ "American Gigolo: Armani Gere". 5 May 2012.
  23. ↑ "American Gigolo". Goldenglobes.com. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  24. ↑ "American Gigolo (1980) - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  25. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley. "Jerry Bruckheimer Adapting 'American Gigolo' for Paramount TV". Thehollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  26. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "American Gigolo' TV Series Adaptation Set At Showtime From Paramount TV, Jerry Bruckheimer & Neil LaBute". Deadline. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
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