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When “Gigli”
(rhymes with really) first hit theatres
earlier this year, reviews started coming
out of the woodwork as to what an incredible
bomb it was. But then, most of the reviews
I read focused more on the on again/off
again romance between Ben and Jennifer,
affectionately referred to by semi-creative
journalistic types as ‘Bennifer’
or the ultra-cute ‘Ben-Lo.’
Being that I could care less about their
off-screen lives, this made me really (rhymes
with Gigli) want to see the film, just so
I could form an opinion of my own. An opinion
based on the films merit (or lack thereof)
and not whether or not they’ll ever
tie the knot. Of course, catching it in
theatres was pretty much out of the question
so I had to wait for it hit DVD shelves.
The thing about Ben Affleck is that he’s
actually not that bad of an actor when he
gets a good role. I still think he did a
great job in “Daredevil” even
if a lot of people didn’t. The problem
is that he takes on too many roles. Every
year since the big “Good Will Hunting”
phenomena he’s been in a new movie
almost every month.
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This kind of glut leads to audiences tiring of
his presence, as well as guaranteeing some of
these films will be less than stellar.
As for Jennifer Lopez, well… there’s
not much to say about her. Lopez’s acting
is passable, but again she has been way over exposed
in the media, which has caused a similar problem
as Affleck’s. What makes matters worse is
that she tries to sell herself as a singing and
dancing sensation with little or no talent in
that area. It just makes it harder to take her
seriously as an actress.
The main premise of the film sets Affleck up as
Larry Gigli, a mob guy who is supposed to kidnap
the mentally handicapped brother of a Federal
Prosecutor. Lopez plays Ricki, a lesbian mob hit-woman
sent to keep an eye on Gigli to make sure he doesn’t
mess up.
Unfortunately, “Gigli” does little
to save either career. There might have been a
lot of potential with the plot, but hard as it
tries, never lives up to that potential. What
should have been a straight forward action comedy,
suffers from a lack of direction. It never seems
very clear cut whether or not the film wants to
be a comedy or a drama, and in lieu of action
we have a lot of seemingly endless conversations
about sex or sexual body parts.
Then there’s the attraction between the
main characters. Gigli and Ricki are supposed
to have the hots for reach other, but they generate
little onscreen chemistry. I found this particularly
odd since they were a couple in real life. There
was also a little bit of ‘been there, done
that’ as Affleck had a similar in trying
to win over a lesbian in the excellent Kevin Smith
film, “Chasing Amy.”
If there are two saving graces to the film, it’s
in the cameos by Christoper Walken and Al Pacino.
I’m sure many of you will want to see the
film (the old ‘scene of an accident’
theory), so I won’t give away what they
do, but it almost makes it worth seeing.
I’m sorry to say that “Gigli”
lives down to its reputation, and is admittedly
one of those less than stellar movies. The new
DVD doesn’t have any extras to offer either,
soooooo I really can’t recommend this one.
Directed by: Martin Brest
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin
Bartha
Extras: None
Specifications: Widescreen (2.40:1), Full Screen
(1.33:1), English and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 12/9/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website
We'll give Gigli a D.
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