Gigli (2003)
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A low-ranking mobster is ordered to kidnap a man with an intellectual disability and must work with a female enforcer to complete the task.
The story
Larry Gigli, a low-level Los Angeles mobster seeking to prove his toughness, is ordered by his superior, Louis, to kidnap Brian, the younger brother of a federal prosecutor who has an intellectual disability. The goal is to pressure the prosecutor into helping a New York mob boss avoid prison. Larry lures Brian away by promising to take him to 'the Baywatch'. However, Louis distrusts Larry's ability to handle the situation alone and assigns a female associate named Ricki to supervise him. Larry finds himself immediately attracted to Ricki, despite her rebuffing his advances and his own irritation with her supervision and Brian's constant demands.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Larry Gigli, a low-level Los Angeles mobster, kidnaps Brian, the brother of a federal prosecutor with an intellectual disability, to pressure the prosecutor into helping mob boss Starkman. Larry is supervised by Ricki, a woman who claims to be a lesbian. While hiding in Larry's apartment, the situation escalates when Louis orders them to send Brian's severed thumb to the prosecutor. Larry, horrified, instead mails a thumb from a corpse. Larry and Ricki eventually sleep together. They later meet Starkman, who reveals he never authorized the kidnapping and is furious about the mismatched thumb. Starkman kills Louis for his incompetence. Starkman then prepares to kill Larry and Ricki, but Ricki convinces him to spare them so they can contain the damage. The two decide to flee the mob life, taking Brian with them. They find a beach video shoot resembling Baywatch, where Brian is dropped off. Larry urges Ricki to leave without him, but she returns, and they drive away together to start a new life.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Martin Brest
- Writers
- Martin Brest · writer; Martin Brest · co-producer
- Cast and characters
- Ben Affleck · Larry Gigli; Jennifer Lopez · Ricki; Justin Bartha · Brian; Al Pacino · Louis; Christopher Walken · Starkman; Lainie Kazan
- Genres
- romantic comedy; crime; comedy
- Themes
- criminality; romance; disability
- Tone and mood
- romantic; crime; comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- mobster; kidnapping; romance
- Content notes
- lesbian; intellectual disability
- Reception
- The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and was a major box-office failure, becoming a symbol of high-profile Hollywood failure.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 18 · scale: 100 · review count: 37
- Awards and nominations
- Redeemer Award · Golden Raspberry Awards · 2015 · win
- Production trivia
- Halle Berry was originally set to co-star before being replaced by Jennifer Lopez.; The production used more than 20 Los Angeles locations.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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