‘House of Gucci’ review: Lady Gaga and cast at their campiest in lush melodrama

Sumptuous, over-the-top and sometimes downright silly, 'House of Gucci' tells the story of a woman willing to do anything to get what she wants.

House of Gucci is one of the most anticipated movies of the season, its star power one of the main draws.

Uber-celeb Lady Gaga, who has transcended the boundary of music fame into… well, everything fame… takes on the role of her career as Patrizia Reggiani, a real-life woman who, according to this film, sacrificed (and manipulated) everything to become a part of the powerful Gucci fashion family, no matter what the cost.

The subject matter is fascinating and there is indeed a heart-wrenching and tragic story here. The movie is gorgeous, too, dressed in the finest fashion from start to finish, replete with jaw-dropping scenes in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Italy’s Lake Como and Gaga’s home city of New York. It feels luxurious, even sumptuous; there are jewels, shoes, there is fine food, and of course the Gucci clothes and handbags — those need no description.

In one scene, Reggiani discovers knockoff Gucci handbags for sale on the street in Manhattan and is horrified. What could this mean for the quality behind the Gucci name? Its reputation? Little did director Ridley Scott realize this metaphor of the counterfeit bag would so accurately represent House of Gucci itself: it may look like an expensive product, like the real thing, but it’s actually an imposter.

House of Gucci is not satire; at least, it doesn’t appear to be. It’s definitely not a comedy (though it may become one, inadvertently). The closest descriptor is melodrama. Everything is overacted, saturated, literally pushed to the brink. It’s also far too long, with a running time of approximately 2.5 hours. As with everything else, the storytelling itself is extravagant, almost as if you’ve been served three desserts after a huge meal. By the end, you’re absolutely stuffed. It tries so hard to be a meaningful knockout punch of a movie, it ends up being anything but.

Flitting in and out, they’re sometimes sorta-Italian, but most of the time they come off sounding Russian or even Polish (trust me, I know Polish accents). Adam Driver, who plays Maurizio Gucci, Gaga’s love infatuation, is particularly brutal in this area. Gaga is taking a lot of flak for her accent, and she’s of Italian heritage herself so it’s rather embarrassing. Some line deliveries are especially painful and stop the proceedings flat.

The best actor of the bunch is Jeremy Irons, who nails the role of Rodolfo Gucci, father to Maurizio. A true theatre actor, he effortlessly embodies the role. Second to that, of course, is the legendary Al Pacino, who plays Aldo Gucci, brother to Rodolfo. He is believable and, dare I say it, not as bombastic as I expected him to be. His character has a twinge of sentimentality that helps ground him amid the circus playing out as the movie progresses.

Speaking of circus, Jared Leto as Paolo Gucci is an absolute sideshow. Disguised by prosthetics he’s virtually unrecognizable, his acting as vaudevillian as possible. He might as well be playing Mario, with Italian stereotypes bursting forth every few seconds he’s on-screen. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he started singing That’s Amore.