Gucci’s House built on weak foundation

The trailer for Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci promised drama and murder. There’s one of the latter, and unfortunately, very little of the former in this complete dud. Strong performances by a fantastic cast (Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, and Jared Leto) can’t breathe any life into this long (2 1/2 hour+) boring film, which left me checking my watch every 15 minutes after the first hour.

This movie follows son Maurizio Gucci (Driver), starting in the early 70s. He seems to care little for the family business, but his last name catches the attention of Patrizia Reggiani (Gaga) when she meets him at a party. They hit it off immediately, but Maurizio’s father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons) does not condone the relationship, sensing Patrizia is out for the money. The dad only comes around after the marriage is made and a baby is born, writing Maurizio back into his will, and, when he dies, leaving him half the company to share with his brother (Maurizio’s uncle) Aldo (Pacino) and Aldo’s eccentric son Paolo (Leto).

While Maurizio is not one for confrontations and is more than willing to accept the situation as it is, Patrizia is a shark with blood in the water, and turns the family against each other, wanting to put the entirety of the Gucci business under her husband’s (and her’s) control. Unfortunately the family drama is, while surprising at times, not all that exciting to watch. Her machinations to bring down Aldo and Paolo are shaky at best, and downright implausible at worst. What’s worse is, as the film progresses, plot points are introduced and soon after abandoned, and I couldn’t help but feel that they were just throwing ideas at a wall to see what stuck. I stopped caring about any of the characters long before the credits rolled, and had nothing invested as a viewer to feel one way or another about the outcome. ★