House of Gucci review: Lady Gaga and Jared Leto deliver terrible accents and high camp

Mere weeks after his thought-provoking period epic The Last Duel was unceremoniously jousted from theatres, 84-year-old (!) director Ridley Scott is back with House of Gucci, a deliriously over-the-top skewering of the fashion world.

Based on the real-life story of the Gucci fashion house’s stratospheric rise and the infamous and deadly murder of Gucci head Maurizio Gucci by his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani, House of Gucci is essentially a high-budget soap opera populated with wild acting choices from its star-studded cast.

Adam Driver stars as Maurizio Gucci, who we first meet in the late ‘70s as a meek and quiet member of the Gucci clan. That all begins to change when he meets and soon marries the loud and determined Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga), who helps steer his life and career towards greater wealth and power within the skyrocketing Gucci company.

Meanwhile, there is unrest within the Gucci family; Maurizio’s elderly father Rodolfo (Jeremy Irons) is abhorred by Patrizia’s working-class roots and casts them aside following their marriage. Determined for Maurizio to remain at the heart of Gucci, Patrizia reaches out to his uncle Aldo (Al Pacino) who agrees to bring him in under his wing, much to the distress of his fairly dim-witted son Paolo (Jared Leto).

Things take a fairly predictable road from there, with a power struggle for the heart (and funds) of the Gucci line that plays out like a traditional gangster flick. Alliances are forged, family members are betrayed, marriage bonds are broken; it would almost be too much to swallow if the story wasn’t true.

Scott seems to have a firm grasp on the ridiculousness of these characters and the fashion world in general, which he pairs alongside his traditionally austere filming style. The results are sometimes abrasive but never uninteresting; House of Gucci often looks like someone gave an episode of daytime TV a $100 million dollar makeover. Apart from the truckloads of Gucci clothing designs, there are globe-trotting vistas, striking fashion shows, and lush set designs that get to run the style gamut from the ‘70s through the ‘90s (for better or worse).

While the plot might as well be Goodfellas in tighter-fighting pants, House of Gucci is really an exercise in letting this set of incredible actors loose. There are loud and emphatic speeches for everyone and a series of “Italian” accents that would make the Mario Bros hide their heads in a tunnel in shame. One can only imagine that Ridley Scott’s notes to the cast were “yes” and “more.”

Everyone is over-the-top in their own particular manner here, but in a way that fits in with the larger-than-life personalities at the heart of this wild story. Lady Gaga’s accent sounds like she’s auditioning for the part of Natasha in the next Rocky and Bullwinkle reboot (which, yes, please) and Jared Leto seems to be channeling the ghost of Chef Boyardee but it all works in service of this knowing and hilarious campy biopic.

While some viewers may have trouble getting over the “Mama mia, that’s a spicy meatball!” accents and general outrageousness of the performances, House of Gucci is hands-down one of the most entertaining films of the year. And love him or hate him, get ready for your extended family to all be channeling their best Jared Leto as Paolo routines at Christmas this year. After all, everyone deserves to “soar…like a pigeon!”

House of Gucci is in theatres now.