What Happened with ‘House of Gucci’ and Why the Guccis Are Unhappy

Many of you may have probably heard about the new documentative film directed by Ridley Scott that tries to portray the downfall of the Gucci family’s name through famous actors and dramatically enhanced scenes. 

The film is titled “House of Gucci”, and stars many individuals that are popular in the circles of pop culture, namely Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, and Jared Leto. 

The reviews for this film are quite mixed, averaging out around the middle of a one to ten scale. It turned out to be hugely flawed but also had a lot to enjoy, thus why it felt like a soap opera to some rather than a biography-inspired film.

There were a lot of selling points added to the movie for it to earn revenue, namely, Lady Gaga would come to mind since she plays the role of Patrizia Reggiani and is generally perceived as a gifted performer and a very inspirational public figure, a “passionate about your job” type individual. 

Though some might argue that a bigger selling point was seeing some of their favorite actors from ‘A Merchant in Venice’- Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino, reunited once again starring as Adolfo Gucci and Aldo Gucci. 

Jared Leto, who starred as Paolo Gucci, is usually rather hit or miss as an actor, a prime example being his portrayal of the Joker in ‘Suicide Squad’, where many found he didn’t capture the aura of the legendary character, who was famously portrayed by Heath Ledger. 

Overall the film is one some might love and others may hate thanks to the starry dramatization it makes out of the Gucci family history. The artistically imaginative additions are also made clear by the intro title screen reading “inspired by a true story”.  

The term “based on a true story” is one used very loosely nowadays in cinematic franchises and usually ends up with the biopics making the people who it is based on feel misrepresented and even angered, since consultations are not often scheduled with the subjects themselves. 

It hasn’t even become a question of how to deal with mean people at work, but rather how to deal with the fact that actors and the famous people they portray create a conflict thanks to the incorrect directing and screenplay of others, though Lady Gaga took her preparation an unnecessary step further.

Her wild story of preparing for Patrizia Reggiani’s role is obviously a publicity stunt to promote the film she’s starring in, a move some of you may recall from another film she starred in, ‘A Star is Born’. 

Patrizia Reggiani, according to Scott’s version of the story and Lady Gaga’s portrayal, was portrayed as a victim. The whole film is based off of Sarah Gay Forden’s non-fiction book discussing the true story of the Gucci family history and the murder of Maurizio Gucci.

There is a lengthy non-comprehensive list of the changes the film has brought to the story, including three out of four of Aldo’s children missing from the story, the removal of Dan Mello from the story, and so much more. 

The many exclusions from the storyline can be excused as art and story streamlining, with details only insiders may find important. This decision can be validated through the lack of attention spans nowadays, so such details would go unnoticed anyway. 

The issue with all this post-filming cutting was the omission of the reason it all mattered, to begin with. 

The brand and name of Gucci were that of tastemakers, the name “Gucci” was what made their bags, clothes, and shoes desirable, and the portrayal by Jared Leto and Lady Gaga, though they will get Oscar-nominated, are simple caricatures far from the truth of the impact Guccis had. 

Aldo and Paolo alike were just as impactful figures as Maurizio and Rodolfo, all of them were magnetic figures who carried themselves as a reflection of the opulent products they were selling. 

These caricatures that were made of these figures were for sure entertaining, but not at all a correct portrayal of their auras of existence, probably disappointing many who followed the story and were alive during the actual dramatics that occurred under the Gucci name. 

It was mentioned that the true story was never camp, as the film is, but rather tragic, sometimes even absurd. Following this, the Gucci family wishes to “protect its name, image, and dignity” following the film. They are leaving it to the public opinion rather than starting a lawsuit though. 

s the family’s complaints as whining from sore losers as a result of being obsessed over their image and all, but it was exactly that image that grounded the story of them going from small businesses all over to a pop-culture staple. 

In turn, this dramatized film itself was worth making because, since its release, searches for Gucci products have gone up on the global fashion marketplace, thus the explosive story and the corporate side of the story continue thanks to this.