Ignore the low IMDb rating. American Gigolo is a very watchable movie and its never boring. Richard Gere is a revelation in the lead role of an upper-class male prostitute whose power and position spiral downwards when a client is murdered. The fact that he's sleeping with the local senators wife doesn't help either.
The photography has an interesting 80's/European feel. The plot has elements of noir to it with Gere having a moral code despite the sleaze and filth he has to live with. A bit like Taxi Driver which isn't surprising considering the writer-director Paul Schrader also wrote that 70's classic.
I think Gere is perfect for this role. Neither Travolta nor Christopher Reeve could have carried the film the way he does. Too bad though that Julie Christie, who was originally supposed to play the Senator's wife dropped out.
The photography has an interesting 80's/European feel. The plot has elements of noir to it with Gere having a moral code despite the sleaze and filth he has to live with. A bit like Taxi Driver which isn't surprising considering the writer-director Paul Schrader also wrote that 70's classic.
I think Gere is perfect for this role. Neither Travolta nor Christopher Reeve could have carried the film the way he does. Too bad though that Julie Christie, who was originally supposed to play the Senator's wife dropped out.