American Gigolo

Rating: R

Movie Release Date: February 8, 1980

DVD Release Date: May 23, 2000

Plot 411: A male prostitute is suspected of murdering one of his clients.

Review: Julian Kaye (Richard Gere) is a handsome and successful male prostitute who services elite clients in the L.A. area. His popularity and sexual prowess provide him with a luxurious lifestyle. At one of his jobs, he is asked to beat up and then have sex with a woman while her husband watches. Later, the woman is found dead and Julian becomes the prime suspect in the case led by Sunday (Hector Elizondo). Despite being with Michelle (Lauren Hutton), a client who is married to a political figure, he cannot provide himself with an alibi and she refuses to come forward. Doing so would damage her husband's career and bring unwanted publicity to them. For a 1980s film, I thought this was pretty progressive. I don't know if that's true or not. I found Julian to be a highly unlikeable character because he just seemed to be so arrogant. He walks around like he's a god among men, but maybe that's what happens when a guy's in such high demand? Even when he's framed, I didn't feel much sympathy for him and found myself wondering when the movie would end. Julian's gradual decline in the film reflects his descent in society and is an obvious physical indicator of the follies of gigolohood. Not so subtle huh?

Watch It: For the hype?

Skip It: Because I didn't really think it lived up to it.

Chicago

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: December 27, 2002

DVD Release Date: August 19, 2003

Plot 411: After shooting her lover, Roxie reaches for stardom to save her from the gallows.

Review: This musical stars Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart, a 1920s housewife who is having an affair with Fred (Dominic West) to increase her chances of starring in a vaudeville show. When he reveals that he has no connections to showbiz, she kills him. Roxie tries to convince her husband (John C. Reilly) that she's innocent but is put in jail anyway. In the slammer, she meets a real vaudeville star named Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Velma's lawyer Billy (Richard Gere) takes on Roxie's case and both women become newspaper darlings, especially when gossip reporter Mary Sunshine (Christine Baranski) writes up their stories. They fight each other for the front page and celebrity in an effort to become so famous that they can't be executed. They will stop at nothing to make headlines, including falsifying a pregnancy. The musical is a comment on society's unhealthy attraction to fame and how it can cause corruption in the system. I don't think this only applies to the '20s when journalism was pretty unethical anyway. I mean, look at all the tabloids and blogs catering to this type of news nowadays. The individual performances (both singing and dancing) by the cast is amazing. Who knew Richard Gere could sing? My favorite number is definitely Mr. Cellophane by John C. Reilly though. Queen Latifah also has a hand in this film as Mama, Roxie and Velma's warden. They did a really good job of transferring a stage production to film, and I liked how they kept some of the set pieces to make it look like a stage show.

Watch It: For really great singing and dancing numbers. They don't make musicals like this anymore and it makes me long for a musical revival. Bring back the Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire flicks!

Skip It: If musicals aren't your bag of tea because this is fully a musical. There are dream sequences especially so the actors can break into song.

Shall We Dansu? / Shall We Dance?

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: January 27, 1996 (Japan) / July 11, 1997 (USA)

DVD Release Date: February 1, 2005

Plot 411: A Japanese accountant takes dance lessons to meet a girl he sees from the train but discovers a whole new world.

Review: This movie was recommended back in January in a comment to my review of the 1937 Shall We Dance? I finally got a chance to watch this movie and thought it was great. The plot is completely different from the 1937 version though. There was a remake of this 1996 Japanese version in 2004 with Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. The movie is about a guy who basically is a walking zombie. Despite achieving all that he desired, he still feels unfulfilled. On his way home every night, he sees a beautiful but extremely sad woman looking out of her dance studio window. He wants to meet her and finally gets the courage to go to the studio. He signs up for lessons so he can be near her (like many other students do), but when she calls him on it he decides to prove her wrong by continuing to dance. As he struggles to learn, he discovers that he is really passionate about it and it revitalizes him. Between the 1996 and the 2004 versions, I prefer the 1996 Japanese take on things. I think there's more of a personal struggle when the plot is set in the Japanese culture. It is more rigid and conforming in Japan than it is in America so it's a bigger deal for a man to break social and cultural tradition there.

Watch It: For a story about self-discovery and self-fulfillment.

Skip It: If you're looking for a lot of dancing. There's some but they aren't huge numbers like in the 1937 movie.

Trailer:

Nights In Rodanthe

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: September 26, 2008

DVD Release Date: February 10, 2009

Plot 411: Two strangers meet at an isolated inn in North Carolina and change each other's lives forever.

Review: You can call me a cynic if you want to, but I thought this was supposed to be a moving love story. Throughout the film, I found it hard to believe that Adrienne (Diane Lane) and Paul (Richard Gere) could fall so completely in love with each other. I didn't feel a connection with their characters, and that's not to say it's because they've got several decades on me. The beginning of this film was so slow that I almost shut it off. I decided to keep going for you, my loyal readers. Still, I barely made it. I didn't feel as though this film had any arch whatsoever. It was like the idea was there but the execution faltered. It took a long time coming and ended too quickly. I think this film needed a double dose of Viagra! For a better romance between an "older" couple, I'd recommend "Something's Gotta Give."

Watch It: To see Diane Lane and Richard Gere reconnect.

Skip It: If you're really looking for a good romance.

Trailer: