At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Watched American Gigolo last night for the first time, and knowing it came first I could spot all sorts of ways it could have influenced things like Thief and Manhunter, and countless others. A big hit movie like this, there's no doubt its influence trickled down. I just love this era, from 79-83, Schrader/Moroder or Mann/Tangerine Dream movies seem to perfectly encapsulate that period for me. It's odd when you watch a movie so long after it was made, you are never sure if you love it for what it is or if nostalgia feeds into it. The Giorgio Moroder and Blondie music is perfectly at home in this movie.Gere is great here in the movie that solidified his fame. This could be one of his best parts, the wounded lost boy, which he also plays in An Officer and a Gentleman. He's an underrated actor but the man rarely has made any career missteps (we won't mention First Knight).A little sleazy but not too much. Worth a look for a perfect time capsule of 1980 if nothing else.

"American Gigolo" is not a particularly taut thriller, but it's got that tawdry early '80s vibe going strong. The real selling point of this movie is its star. Plenty of screen time is spent ogling Gere's well- appointed living space, car, dress, and impressive physique. The role of Julian Kay required physical discipline, and Gere's got it in spades. Plus that's a million dollar swagger. The rest of the time is spent watching Gere stress over who's trying to frame him for murder, with cop Elizondo on his tail. And all of this against the background noise of Moroder's tacky synth score (which is constantly reminding us that there's a song called "Call Me" by Blondie). And in the end, Gere had to be dismantled to find true love. But that road wasn't a very fun journey. 5/10

A slick Los Angeles call boy finds love and redemption in Paul Schrader's ultra-stylish drama entitled American Gigolo.It stars Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton together with Hector Elizondo,Nina Van Pallandt and Bill Duke.Julian Kaye is a male escort in Los Angeles whose job supports his expensive taste in cars, stereophonic equipment, cocaine and clothes. He is, at times, blatantly narcissistic and superficial; however, he claims to take some pleasure in his work from being able to sexually satisfy women.When on an assignment for his primary procuress, Anne, he meets Michelle Stratton, the unhappy wife of a local politician, who becomes interested in him. Julian's other pimp, Leon, sends him to the house of a financier, Mr. Rheiman, who asks Julian to physically abuse and have sex with his wife while he watches them.As Julian begins to get to know Michelle, he learns that the financier's wife, Mrs. Rheiman, was murdered. Los Angeles Police Department Detective Sunday investigates Julian as a primary suspect. Though he was with a client, Lisa Williams, on the night of the murder, the client refuses to give Julian an alibi in order to protect her and her husband's reputations.As Julian's relationship with Michelle deepens, suspicion of the murder mounts against him. He soon realizes that he is being framed and grows increasingly desperate. His mounting anguish is visually represented by a degeneration in style as his clothes become rumpled, he goes unshaven, and he even rents a cheap commuter car after his Mercedes SL has been tampered with.Julian finally confronts Leon, who confesses that one of the other, younger gigolos who works for him had killed the wealthy man's wife, and Leon had conceived the plan to frame Julian. After an argument, Julian accidentally pushes Leon over the apartment balcony and he falls to his death.With no one to help him, Julian ends up in jail, awaiting trial for the murder. However, when all seems lost, Michelle risks her reputation and that of her husband to provide Julian with the alibi that can save him from prison.Stylish but emotionally hollow, Paul Schrader's morality tale of a call boy, offers some visual pleasures.Mixing his admiration for European art cinema with a voyeuristic view of the seamier side of sex and affluence, Schrader renders Julian an inscrutable, emotionally disengaged purveyor of pleasure, decked out in Giorgio Armani clothes coordinated with Ferdinando Scarfiotti's meticulous production design. Amid critical doubts about its artiness and distanced eroticism, it surprised everyone by not dying on the box office vine. With some audiences reportedly showing up for repeat viewings of Gere's seductive charms, it became a moderate hit, turning Gere into a star and Armani into the new fashion sensation. Whatever reservations one may have about the movie, it provided two indelible images of 1980's decadence to come: Gere's perusing his "artist's palette" of shirts, ties, and jackets, and Gere's cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in his convertible to the New Wave strains of Blondie's "Call Me".

All right, so I'll admit I'm not a fan of Richard Gere. However, I don't think that had anything to do with my dislike for this movie. In truth, I found it to be rather boring. I would've thought a movie of this sort would've had a lot more action in it, sexual or otherwise. But it didn't.In short, it was a disappointment. Not a whole lot really happens in this movie. In fact, if I were to try to sum it up, this is how I'd do it: Richard Gere plays Julian, a male prostitute, who primarily works for two pimps, a woman named Anne and a man named Leon. One night, Leon sends him out on a "job" to sleep with a financier's wife while he watches. Once he gets there, he realizes the financier, Mr. Rheineman is into some pretty rough stuff. The events of the night are barely shown, probably to make the audience wonder exactly what happened that night and how far things went...perhaps even wonder if Julian was guilty of the crime of murder, of which he was about to be accused.Julian goes about his business, until a detective starts poking around in his affairs, no pun intended. The detective seems pretty hellbent on letting Julian take the fall for the crime, which Julian claims he wasn't involved in and asserts any evidence linking him to the crime must've been planted. Essentially, he's being framed.The detective doesn't seem to buy into Julian's story...so Julian does some digging himself. He ends up finding out who framed him, the very same pimp who sent him out on the trick to Rheineman's house. Angrily, Julian confronts Leon and ends up pushing him out the window of his apartment and to his death.Amazingly, and rather conveniently I might add, a maid supposedly sees Julian attempt to save Leon so the cops aren't interested in pursuing him for that murder charge. Wait, what? So, you've got a guy who obviously got pushed out a window, but because some maid saw Julian try to save him, they don't want to pursue him for that murder yet they're going after him full force for a different murder? You'd think they'd want as much evidence on him as they could get...but whatever.Anyway, in the end, one of his other clients, the wife of a local politician decides to pony up the dough for his legal defense and also decides to risk both her and her husband's reputations by providing Julian with the alibi he so desperately needs to be able cover his ass...and that's how the movie ends.I don't know, I just felt like there was a lot missing from this movie. It left me feeling rather empty after watching it. On a 1-to-10 scale, I'd have to give it no better than a 4. It isn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but it just wasn't very good I'm afraid.I would have no problem whatsoever in telling anyone to skip this movie. It's just not worth the time to watch it. I'm sorry I did. There are far better psychological thriller/erotic thrillers out there than this. Don't waste your time.