Gigli (2003)

Director:

Martin Brest

Writer (WGA):

Martin Brest (written by)

Release Date:

1 August 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

The movie everyone is talking about. The couple everyone wants to be (Australian DVD cover)

Plot:

The violent story about how a criminal lesbian, a tough-guy hit-man with a heart of gold, and a retarded man came to be best friends through a hostage.

Plot Keywords:

Cutting Wrist | Mentally Disabled | Underwear | Yoga | Beach

Awards:

7 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ben Affleck	...	Larry Gigli
Terry Camilleri	...	Man in Dryer (as Terrence Camilleri)
David Backus	...	Laundry Customer
Lenny Venito	...	Louis
Robert Silver	...	Man in Debt
Luis Alberto Martínez	...	Adult Care Resident
Justin Bartha	...	Brian
Jennifer Lopez	...	Ricki
Christopher Walken	...	Det. Stanley Jacobellis
Todd Giebenhain	...	High School Kid #1
Brian Sites	...	High School Kid #2
Brian Casey	...	High School Kid #3
Les Bradford	...	High School Kid #4
David Bonfadini	...	High School Kid #5
Dwight P. Ketchum	...	High School Kid #6
Lainie Kazan	...	Mother
Missy Crider	...	Robin
Peter Van Norden	...	Morgue Attendant
Alex Fatovich	...	Packing Store Clerk
Al Pacino	...	Starkman
David Pressman	...	Assistant Director
Shelby Fenner	...	Australian Dancer
Theresa Barbosa-Adams	...	Beach Dancer
Kelly Cooper	...	Beach Dancer
R.J. Durell	...	Beach Dancer (as RJ Durell)
Shaun Earl	...	Beach Dancer
Nadine Ellis	...	Beach Dancer
Samuel Givens	...	Beach Dancer (as Samuel Luis Givens)
Hunter Hamilton	...	Beach Dancer
Stacey Harper	...	Beach Dancer
Zach Hensler	...	Beach Dancer
Brandon Henschel	...	Beach Dancer
Scott Hislop	...	Beach Dancer
Robert Hoffman	...	Beach Dancer
Dondraico Johnson	...	Beach Dancer (as Dondraico L. Johnson)
Elaine Klimaszewski	...	Beach Dancer
Melanie Lewis	...	Beach Dancer
Brooke Long	...	Beach Dancer
Kim McSwain	...	Beach Dancer
Mark Meismer	...	Beach Dancer
Ross Mulholland	...	Beach Dancer
Jenni Oborne	...	Beach Dancer
Brandi Oglesby	...	Beach Dancer (as Brandi Olgesby)
Zeke Ruelas	...	Beach Dancer
Robert Schultz	...	Beach Dancer
Jenny Seeger	...	Beach Dancer
Matt Sergott	...	Beach Dancer
Jeri Slaughter	...	Beach Dancer
Megan Stephens	...	Beach Dancer
Jenny Lynn Suckling	...	Beach Dancer
Giggi Thesman	...	Beach Dancer
Lisa Thompson	...	Beach Dancer
Nikki Tuazon	...	Beach Dancer
Salvatore Vassallo	...	Beach Dancer
Robert Vinson	...	Beach Dancer
Kevin Wilson	...	Beach Dancer
Tara Wilson	...	Beach Dancer
Tovaris Wilson	...	Beach Dancer

Directed by
Martin Brest

Writing credits (WGA)
Martin Brest		(written by)

Produced by
Martin Brest	....	producer
Frederic W. Brost	....	associate producer
John Hardy	....	executive producer
Amy Sayres	....	associate producer
Casey Silver	....	producer

Original Music by
John Powell

Cinematography by
Robert Elswit

Film Editing by
Julie Monroe
Billy Weber

Casting by
Ellen Lewis

Production Design by
Gary Frutkoff

Art Direction by
Sue Chan

Set Decoration by
Maggie Martin

Costume Design by
Michael Kaplan

Makeup Department
Enzo Angileri	....	hair stylist: Ms. Lopez
Margot Boccia	....	makeup artist: Ms. Lopez
John Caglione Jr.	....	makeup artist: Al Pacino
Rebecca DeHerrera	....	additional makeup artist
Teressa Hill	....	hair stylist
Whitney James	....	makeup artist: Ben Affleck
Janine Rath	....	hair stylist: Mr. Affleck (as Janine Thompson)
Lori Rozman	....	assistant hair stylist
Nikoletta Skarlatos	....	makeup artist
Pamela S. Westmore	....	makeup artist: Mr. Affleck

Production Management
Frederic W. Brost	....	unit production manager
Robin Le Chanu	....	production supervisor
Carey Len Smith	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Vernon Davidson	....	dga trainee (additional photography)
Alan Edmisten	....	first assistant director: second unit
C. Andrew Hall	....	dga trainee
Bradley Morris	....	second second assistant director
Maggie Murphy	....	second assistant director
Matt Rebenkoff	....	second assistant director
Amy Sayres	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Chris Alvarez	....	welding foreman
David Elliott	....	construction coordinator
Trish Gallaher Glenn	....	property master
Meg Hyatt	....	painter
Vinson Jae	....	stand-by painter
Adam Khalid	....	art department coordinator
Ann Knight	....	assistant set decorator
David C. Potter	....	lead man
Robin Richesson	....	storyboard artist
Tommy Samona	....	set dresser
Theodore Sharps	....	set designer
Jim Stubblefield	....	assistant property master
Michael P. Sweeney	....	set dresser

Sound Department
George H. Anderson	....	dialogue editor
David V. Butler	....	dialogue editor
Don Coufal	....	boom operator
Teri E. Dorman	....	dialogue editor
Frank Fleming	....	sound recordist
David Giammarco	....	supervising sound editor
Wayne Griffin	....	adr editor
Andrea Horta	....	adr editor
Scott A. Jennings	....	sound effects editor
Dave Lopez	....	sound engineer
David Raymond	....	second cable man
Joe Schiff	....	assistant sound editor
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Cherie Tamai	....	assistant sound editor
Jeff Wexler	....	production sound mixer

Special Effects by
David J. Barker	....	special effects assistant
Kevin Hannigan	....	special effects coordinator
Kevin Hannigan	....	special effects supervisor
Al Marangoni	....	special effects crew
Brendon O'Dell	....	special effects technician
David A. Poole	....	special effects
Ken Tarallo	....	special effects
Paul Vigil	....	on set foreman

Visual Effects by
Tom Capizzi	....	digital effects artist
Brandon Craig	....	render supervisor
Chris Crowell	....	digital compositor
Caleb J. Howard	....	digital effects
Michael Karp	....	digital artist
Sonserae Leese	....	texture map painter
Tim Miller	....	Inferno artist
Stuart Mintz	....	effects artist
Jeremy Nelligan	....	digital compositor
Mike O'Neal	....	digital effects supervisor
Liz Radley	....	video & computer graphics supervisor
Edwin Rivera	....	digital compositing supervisor
James D. Tittle	....	digital visual effects coordinator: Pacific Title
Serkan Zelzele	....	digital compositor
Jimmy Jewell	....	digital compositor (uncredited)
Douglas Smith	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)

Stunts
Randall Huber	....	stunt double: Christopher Walken
John Robotham	....	stunt coordinator
Bill Willens	....	precision driver (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Russell Ayer	....	electrician
James Barrett	....	electrician
Alex M. Cacciarelli	....	video assist operator: motion control
Phillip V. Caruso	....	still photographer
Paolo Cascio	....	first assistant camera: re-shoots
Vincent Contarino	....	gaffer: re-shoots
William Coss	....	first assistant camera
Will Dearborn	....	additional camera loader
Michael S. Endler	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Thomas Enright	....	electrician: re-shoots
Colette Gabriel	....	camera production assistant: re-shoots
Raymond Gonzales	....	electrician
Robert Lackey	....	electrician
Damon Marcellino	....	assistant chief lighting technician: rigging crew
Abraham Martinez	....	camera loader (as Abe Martinez)
Frank Montesanto	....	key grip
Michael Orefice	....	gaffer: additional photography
Brad Peterman	....	first assistant camera: "c" camera
James Plannette	....	gaffer
Robert A. Preston	....	best boy grip
Brad Rea	....	dolly grip: "a" camera
P. Scott Sakamoto	....	camera operator
Bryce Shields	....	video assist operator
Gary Stark	....	set electrician: re-shoot
Michael Strong	....	key rigging grip
Jennifer Tanksley	....	camera intern
Eric Wolfson-Sagot	....	best boy electric
Jason Selsor	....	rigging grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Jennifer Euston	....	casting associate
Rich King	....	extras casting
Alysson Marcus	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cynthia Black	....	set costumer
Lorraine Crossman	....	costumer
Mitzi Haralson	....	costumer: Ms. Lopez
Meg Matthews	....	costumer: Mr. Affleck
Ric Spencer	....	costumer: re-shoots
Catherine Wall	....	cutter/fitter

Editorial Department
Tristan M. Brighty	....	first assistant editor
Charles Bunn	....	assistant editor
Carlos M. Castillón	....	apprentice editor
Elisa Cohen	....	assistant editor
Guglielmo Cuellar	....	post-production assistant
Richard B. Molina	....	assistant editor: avid
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Jonathan Poirier	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Bryan Clements	....	scoring crew
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Mark Eshelman	....	scoring crew
John Finklea	....	music editor
Marina Manukian	....	musician
Adam Michalak	....	score recordist
Shawn Murphy	....	orchestra mixer
Gary Raymond	....	music playback mixer
Liza Richardson	....	music consultant
Tim Rodier	....	music preparation
Ben Schor	....	apprentice music editor
Pat Weber	....	scoring technician

Transportation Department
John Armstrong	....	driver
Jack Carpenter	....	driver: camera car
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car
William Hogue	....	driver
Joel Marrow	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Angela Athayde	....	additional production assistant
Jeff Berger	....	assistant: Mr. Brest
Claudia Bestor	....	location scout: re-shoots
Clelio Boccato	....	assistant: Mr. Hardy
Randolph Bookman	....	production assistant
Fleming Brooks	....	assistant: Mr. Silver
Jason Cardillo-Lee	....	production assistant
Selena Carrillo	....	office production assistant (as Selena Pivac)
Adam D. Casillas	....	stand-in: Justin Bartha
Joe Coyle	....	stand-in: Ben Affleck (as Joseph A. Coyle)
Ricky Cuevas	....	assistant accountant
Joni Cuquet	....	field publicist
Jorgen de Mey	....	trainer: Mr. Affleck
Michael Dorner	....	payroll accountant
Caleb Duffy	....	key assistant location manager
Louis Farah	....	construction medic
Jordan Brendan Finnegan	....	production assistant
Elizabeth Forsyth	....	production assistant
Aquil Fudge	....	first accountant
Jason Aaron Goldberg	....	stand-in
Vanessa Grayson	....	stand-in: Jennifer Lopez
Quentin Halliday	....	location manager
James C. Hancock	....	assistant accountant
Peter Hansen	....	caterer
Matthew Heffernan	....	set production assistant
George Herthel	....	location manager
Jean Hodges	....	food stylist
Kenneth Hunter	....	location scout
Zach Hunt	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Tim Judge	....	assistant: Mr. Pacino
Robert Kalmbach	....	assistant to director
Joseph Keideth	....	security: Mr. Affleck, Keideth & Associates
Michael R. Kern	....	accountant
David Mendoza	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Niamh Murphy	....	textile artist
Taylor Phillips	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Marguerite Pomerhn Derricks	....	choreographer
Keith Potter	....	production assistant: re-shoots
Canyon Prince	....	production assistant (as Ryan Prince)
Tiana Rios	....	assistant: Ms. Lopez
Ben Ross	....	assistant: Mr. Brest
John Sanchez	....	production secretary
Jim Schiro	....	second assistant accountant
Spooky Stevens	....	unit publicist
Gloria J. Stewart	....	assistant: Mr. Silver
Cheryl A. Stone	....	production accountant
James William Visconti III	....	production assistant
Odessa Whitmire	....	assistant: Mr. Affleck
Scott C. Williman	....	pre-rig crew
Jeff Winn	....	key craft service
Michael Feldman	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Revolution Studios
• City Light Films
• Casey Silver Productions

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2003) (worldwide) (all media)
• Columbia Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film Distributors (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2004) (Argentina) (all media)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2002) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Italia (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (2003) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• FS Film Oy (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Nelonen (2007) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Pacific Title (optical and digital effects)

Other Companies

• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack released by

Also Known As:

Tough Love (USA) (working title)
Liebe mit Risiko - Gigli (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Amor espinado (Argentina) (video title) [es]
Amore estremo - Tough love (Italy) [it]
Amours troubles (France) [fr]
Contato de Risco (Brazil) [pt]
Gigli - rajua rakkautta (Finland) [fi]
Relación peligrosa, Una (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, pervasive language and brief strong violence.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL | USA:R (certificate #38417) | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Revolution Studios

Trivia:

Became the first film in the history of the Razzie Awards to "sweep" all the top categories. Including, Worst Picture. Worst Director, Martin Brest. Worst Actor, Ben Affleck. Worst Actress, Jennifer Lopez. And Worst Screenplay, Written by Martin Brest. Essentially making it the Razzie equivalent of It Happened One Night (1934), which was the first film to win the "Oscar Grand Slam" (Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Screenplay). The film ("Gigli") also claimed a sixth Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

Goofs:

Continuity: After shooting Louis, Starkman sets the gun on the coffee table. It appears he never picks the gun up again, and as he goes behind the loveseat he doesn't have a gun in his hand, but as he walks behind Larry and Ricki he suddenly has the gun in his right hand.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Larry Gigli: You see, after all is said and done, the only thing you can be really sure of, the only thing you can really count on in this world, is that you just never fucking know.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The DiCaprio Code (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Beach Song

Suffered from Ben and J-Lo backlash and isn't as bad as many say, but is still an ill-formed, poorly judged shambles

Larry Gigli is a hired thug for the mob in LA. When he is put on a job to kidnap the brother of the Federal DA, he takes the mentally handicapped Brian to his flat with the intention of the DA dropping charges against his boss. Later he is joined by another contractor, Ricki, who Louis has put with him to make sure he doesn't f**k the job up. His amorous approaches towards her are rejected when she tells him she is a lesbian, but the two have bigger problems with the job itself.

I rented this film because I had read all the harsh reviews, both professional and on this site, that just ripped into it and seemed to have more personal vendettas against the stars rather than objective points to make about the film. With this in mind I decided that I would have to check it out myself; I have no personal feelings about Lopez and Affleck - their relationship is not something I have had rammed down my throat as I don't read the gossips mags and my paper of choice is the Times, where they get rather limited coverage. Without this fatigue I was able to view the film as it came to me rather than seething with cruel and clever put downs even before the film started (as some critics clearly did).

However, the critics were mostly right, even if they overreacted to the extreme. The film starts reasonably well and you can see the potential, or at least you can see what they were thinking when the film was being put together. Sadly, as the film continues, the thin strands holding it together are slowly unravelling until almost nothing is left of value. Some of it works well; how many times have the audience embraced a comic crime caper with hit men in the lead roles? Here the film does have some of that type of humour (particularly in the jokes about Gigli's masculinity) but the music used to set the tone begins to grate after a while because there is nothing to support it, and everything else is flawed.

The main plot is so very full of holes and stupid plot devices that it is difficult to be involved by it. For a crime comedy, the plot doesn't need to be perfect - but it needs to be good enough so that it doesn't take away from the film, here it is so weak that it damages the film at it's core. The other side of the plot is the romance, and it is absurd! I'm sure if I were a lesbian that I would be offended by the `I'll turn her' approach of the film, but I'm not so I'll leave that for others to debate. However the romance between the two is unrealistic and uninvolving, the lesbian thing just makes it worse.

The characters themselves are poor. Neither Gigli or Ricki ever seem like killers - in fact even a hint of violence and they look terrified and out of their depth. His personality seems to change to whatever the scene requires (one moment impatient, the next sensitive, the next angry) while Ricki is just sweetness and light. Affleck and Lopez must take almost all the blame for this, their performances are as misjudged and lacking as the script. Affleck is actually not that bad - he is willing to send himself up, it is the jumping script that makes him appear to be all over the place. Lopez is awful; someone who has done this crime comedy style movie before should have been much better but she acts like she is in a simpering rom-com. What is surprising is just how little chemistry the two have considering they are a couple now; they just don't do the job at all.

Bartha gives a dumb Rain Man impression to the point where I kept expecting him to say `I'm an excellent driver'. His character is just a joke and I even wished for Lopez to come onto the screen whenever he was on - at least I could just stare at her body and ignore him! The two main cameos are actually very good but unfortunately serve to show up the rest of the film. Walken is good but his character appears and disappears without reason, Pacino is much better simply because he does his menacing `woo-ha' thing and is very effective.

Overall this is not the `worst film ever made', those who tell you that have clearly have a limited viewing experience; many of the reviews were made harsher by the back lash against the whole Bennifer thing. However that's not to say they are wrong - only overly harsh. The film is poorly judged in almost every aspect and is too hard to enjoy as a result. Has about 3 good moments in it, but it is an overwhelming shambles.