Gigli
Encyclopedia : G : GI : GIG : Gigli
- For other uses, see Gigli (disambiguation)}}}.
The film originally was to be a very dark comedy with no romantic subplot, but the producers demanded script rewrites throughout filming.
In the final version of the film, Larry Gigli (Affleck) is a lowly thug who is commanded to kidnap the mentally retarded, Baywatch-obsessed younger brother (Justin Bartha) of a powerful federal prosecutor, in an attempt to save his mobster boss from prison. The task proves to be difficult for Gigli, so Ricki (López), a lesbian assassin, is sent to oversee him.
Reaction
The movie was considered a spectacular failure, often granted the blessing of the worst movie ever made, grossing less than $4 million in its opening weekend after costing $54 million to make. It earned nearly universally negative reviews. (Gigli also set a record for the biggest second-weekend drop in box office gross of any film in wide release since that statistic was kept; its gross dropped by almost 82% in its second weekend compared to its first. [link])The public reaction to Gigli led to the film becoming a synonym for "poor quality" during the summer of 2003, especially on late-night talk shows. It was eventually withdrawn from U.S. theatres after only 3 weeks (one of the shortest circulation times for a big-budget movie), earning a total of only $6 million domestically and $1 million abroad. In terms of budget percentage, it is behind only Cutthroat Island (which cost almost $100 million, but earned only $10 million), and The Adventures of Pluto Nash (which cost $120 million, but earned less than $8 million) as the biggest box-office bomb ever. In the UK, the movie was dropped by virtually every cinema after critics universally panned the movie. The Times newspaper gave the movie a rating below its lowest possible score of 0 stars. To this date, Gigli is the only film to receive this score from the Times.
Although the film itself was widely seen as shockingly bad (with López's "It's turkey time, gobble, gobble" sexual banter being the absolute low point), the media attention over Affleck and López's engagement may have severely hampered the movie's reputation.
It has been suggested (particularly by the film's stars) that Gigli is not necessarily as bad as the reviews suggest, but rather happened to become a "lightning rod" film for public scorn, of a type that appears once every few years.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
Some have speculated that film critics began competing to see who could give the nastiest review of the movie.[[Citing sources citation needed]]
The film received six Razzies in the 2003 Golden Raspberry Awards – Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Screen Couple. Users of the Internet Movie Database have voted the film a prominent position on the site's list of the "[100 worst films ever made]".
The Onion, a satirical newspaper, ran an article about the film, titled "Gigli focus groups demand new ending in which Affleck and López die."
Roger Ebert was one of the very few critics to not give the film a completely bad review. He ended up giving it two and a half stars saying, "They didn't quite get to where they wanted to be, but the film is worth seeing for some very good scenes."
Trivia
- Halle Berry was initially cast as Ricki, but dropped out.
- The word "fuck" is used 124 times.
- The only principal cast member never to swear during the movie is Christopher Walken.
Cable TV Debut
In March 2006 FX Networks started airing commercials hyping the premier of Gigli on the network. The commercials seemed to play off the negative media attention by including lines like "The most talked about movie you never saw."See also
External links
- [Sony Pictures: Gigli]
- [}}}] at Rotten Tomatoes
- [the agony booth : GIGLI Review]
- [}}}] at Box Office Mojo
- [DVD podBLAST alternative DVD commentary for Gigli]
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