There is a scene in American Gigolo in which Julian (Richard Gere) takes a little taste of cocaine from his nightstand and turns to his closet and dresser drawers to pick out his clothes. With “The Love I Saw in You Is Just a Mirage” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles playing on his stereo, he lays out jackets, shirts and ties in various combinations as he carefully considers the evening’s ensemble. It’s immediately obvious that he performs this ritual every time he gets ready to go out. It’s glorious.
American Gigolo is the first movie I can remember that depicted a masculine and reasonably sophisticated male character actively taking care and pride in choosing and wearing his clothes. Maybe the only movie. Written and directed by Paul Schrader and also starring Lauren Hutton, this 1980 noir-ish crime drama is about a successful Los Angeles male escort to older women (Gere) who gets pinned as the prime suspect in the murder of a wealthy client in Palm Springs. His liaisons have entangled him at the crossroads of the dark underworld and those who wield political and financial power, and he gets in over his head. In a role originally offered to (and turned down by) John Travolta, Gere turned his performance as Julian into a defining career move.
In his first gig as a costume designer for the movies, Giorgio Armani designed and provided Richard Gere’s stunning wardrobe. There are definitely some late ’70s / early ’80s touches – like some of the colors and the rise on Gere’s pants – but the overall fit, width and silhouette of his clothes are still surprisingly modern. The style of the clothes, coupled with the sheer amount of them, combined with the character’s apartment (gravity boots, anyone?) and his black convertible 450SL Mercedes Benz coupe ushered audiences into a new decade – a decade of decadence.
One of the movie’s most famous assets is it’s title song, “Call Me,” performed by Blondie and written by Deborah Harry and the inimitable Giorgio Morodor, whose signature synthesized pulsing sound also provided the movie’s score.
It’s hardly a perfect movie, but American Gigolo is still a really fun movie to watch, for so many reasons.
Watch the trailer:
4 Comments
I, too, enjoyed Mr. Gere in American Gigolo – both in and out of his stunning wardrobe. And you gotta love Blondie’s “Call Me”.
For me, The Pope of Greenwich Village did the same thing with shoes that this movie did for me with cloths. The way his shoes were all lined up and polished on a shelf…yah, that did it for me 😉
Great post, as usual- thanks!
RG still is the man ……………