Although initial House of Gucci social media reactions were posted a while back, Monday’s first complete reviews featured a mixed reaction.
Lady Gaga was praised for her role as Patrizia, the wife of Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver).
House of Gucci has received a 64% Rotten Tomatoes rating in the first round of reviews. This is just above the 60% threshold for ‘Fresh.’ However, that could change once more reviews are submitted.
Rave reviews: Lady Gaga has earned rave reviews as Patrizia Reggiani, who was found guilty of planning the assassination of her husband Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) in the thriller
Mixed: The first wave of reviews have House of Gucci earning a 64% rating on Rotten Tomatoes , just barely above the 60% ‘Fresh’ threshold, though that may change as soon as more reviews come in
The film’s most striking quality is its unabashed ‘over-the-top’ attitude.
“Everything at House of Gucci has a high standard. Accents. The performance. Fashion. The settings. The duration. The music. The greed. It is the greed.
House of Gucci ran for 157 minutes, which was widely criticised by Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt. She stated that it might have been better to make a miniseries of the film than watch it as a full-length movie in her grade B review.
Over the top: If there’s one thing that critics seemingly can agree on with the film is that it’s unapologetically ‘over the top’
Bloated: The bloated 157-minute runtime of House of Gucci was a common criticism, with Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt stating in her B-grade review that the movie might have been better served as a miniseries than a movie
Greenblatt stated in her review that the film was 157 minutes long and could be considered a miniseries.
It seems that the common thread among all reviews, including negative ones like Brian Viner’s (2 stars from 5) is praise for Lady Gaga.
‘Gaga, now a veteran leading lady after 2018’s exhilarating A Star Is Born, gives a big purple showstopper of a performance in House of Gucci,’ Viner writes.
Miniseries: ‘At 157 minutes, it could also nearly be a miniseries, which actually might have served the amount of outrageous real-life narrative screenwriters Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna are attempting to cram in,’ Greenblatt said in her review
Praise: What also seems to be a universal theme among the first wave of reviews is praise for Lady Gaga’s performance, even in negative reviews like Daily Mail’s own Brian Viner in his review (2 stars out of 5)
Gaga was also praised in the Hollywood Reporter.
Gaga still had critics. New York Post’s Johnny Oleksniski called it ‘abysmal” in his one star review.
‘But the “Bad Romance” singer focuses so much on tics and facial expressions and her Slavic accent that there’s no soul, genuineness or vulnerability to the character. It’s like watching the “Paparazzi” music video on a loop for three hours,’ he said.
Detractor: Still, Gaga had her detractors, such as New York Post’s Johnny Oleksniski, who called the movie ‘abysmal’ in his 1 star out of 4 review
No soul: ‘But the “Bad Romance” singer focuses so much on tics and facial expressions and her Slavic accent that there’s no soul, genuineness or vulnerability to the character. It’s like watching the “Paparazzi” music video on a loop for three hours,’ he said
The movie’s lack of a consistent tone is another criticism. Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune stated that it is’swinging away from straight-faced tragedy to opera buffa exuberance.
Deadline said that the story had become so complicated that it resembles the Succession machinations.
House of Gucci is opening nationwide in theatres on November 24th, just before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
No tone: Another constant criticism is the lack of a defining tone, with the Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips stating the movie is, ‘swinging from straight-faced drama to opera buffa extravagance.
Coming soon: House of Gucci opens in theaters nationwide on November 24, just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend