'House of Gucci' doesn't make the most out of its stylish accessories

"House of Gucci" takes a seemingly can't-miss combination of talent and material and produces what feels like the knockoff version of a really grand drama. Lady Gaga and Adam Driver bring buzz to director Ridley Scott's dive into the dysfunctional family behind the fashion empire, but in a movie that doesn't rise to the level of delicious trash, winding up largely defined by its stylish accessories.

Based on a book and covering nearly two decades from the late '70s into the mid-'90s, the film hinges on the relationship between Gaga's Patrizia and Driver's Maurizio Gucci. The heir was at first disowned by his father (Jeremy Irons) for marrying a lower-class girl, before being wooed back into the fold by his colorful uncle Aldo (Al Pacino), who sees Maurizio as having more potential to lead the family business than his foppish son, Paolo (Jared Leto, under the most unflattering makeup since Tom Cruise suited up for "Tropic Thunder").

The story begins briskly enough, as Patrizia clearly sets her sights on Maurizio, making his father's suspicions that she's "after your money, like they all are" appear not all that far-fetched.