Look, Gigli Is Terrible, but Its Not ALL Terrible
The Big Picture
- Gigli is widely regarded as the worst movie of all time, with terrible reviews and a poor box office performance.
- While the movie has its flaws, such as cringeworthy portrayals and offensive plot choices, there are still enjoyable aspects, including the talented cast and occasional moments of comedy.
- Despite its reputation, experiencing Gigli for yourself with low expectations may lead to a pleasant surprise, as some elements of the film are not as terrible as they are made out to be.
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Gigli, the film that we have collectively decided is the worst movie of all time. One of the biggest box office flops in recent memory, it made only $7 million on its $54 million budget, and was so hated by audiences that it prompted Ben Affleck to question his future as an actor and pursue directing instead. It also effectively ended writer-director Martin Brest's career; to this day, he's still never made another movie. But I am here to tell you that there are things to like about Gigli.
Larry Gigli (Affleck) is a low-level mob enforcer who, at his boss's behest, kidnaps a federal prosecutor's intellectually disabled brother Brian (Justin Bartha) in the hope that this will force the prosecutor to back off of his case against the mob leader. Because Gigli's boss doesn't trust the clearly inept gangster not to screw up the job, he also brings in Ricki (Jennifer Lopez), a contractor for hire and out-and-proud lesbian, to keep an eye on him. If this sounds like it could be a silly but ultimately fun watch, well, you probably haven't seen it.
Is 'Gigli' As Bad as People Say It Is?
There's no question that the movie is indeed bad, and unlike some films from decades past, it wasn't an initially well-received film that has since aged poorly; it was just as hated in 2003 as it is now, perhaps even more so. Critic Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post described Gigli as "enervated, torpid, slack, dreary and, oh yes, nasty, brutish and long," while the Los Angeles Times' Manohla Dargis called it "nearly as unwatchable as it is unpronounceable." Mark Caro of the Chicago Tribune opined, "Brest somehow thought combining the most incongruous elements of 'Chasing Amy,' 'Rain Man' and 'Pulp Fiction' was a good idea." The film has a dismal 6% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and among top critics, the rating drops to 2%.
The reviewers have a point: Gigli has plenty of terrible qualities. The portrayal of an intellectually disabled hostage by a non-disabled actor — while not the worst example in history — is pretty cringy. The choice to have a lesbian inexplicably fall for an entitled, incompetent thug is bordering on offensive. The tone is all over the place, and the dialogue ranges from middling to abysmal (I would argue that J. Lo’s vagina monologue is the worst part by far, outpacing even the famously ludicrous "turkey time" line).
But Gigli is not the unmitigated horror show that the internet makes it out to be—there are elements in it that are enjoyable.
'Gigli' Isn't All Terrible
Its first and most obvious selling point is its cast: Lopez and Affleck are still supremely talented and manage to be somewhat charming despite the ridiculous lines coming out of their mouths (and Affleck's objectively bad Jersey accent). Ricki manages to avoid the manic pixie dream girl trap, and if Larry's repellant sense of entitlement to Ricki's affection and the romantic subplot that stem from it were dropped, the movie would almost work as a buddy comedy.
Christopher Walken and Al Pacino also make cameos, and both are unmitigated delights for the brief few minutes they're on the screen. Walken is at his most Walken as he waxes lyrical about Marie Callender pies, and Pacino is as unpredictable yet magnetic as ever in his role as the exasperated mob boss.
The Comedy Occasionally Works
Moreover, despite the mostly terrible dialogue, some of the comedy does work. In one scene late in the film, Larry and Ricki have been ordered to cut off Brian's thumb and send it to his prosecutor brother to prove the mob means business, but having grown somewhat fond of the Baywatch-obsessed young man, neither is willing to go through with it. Instead, Ricki distracts a hospital morgue attendant so that Larry and Brian can sneak in and steal a dead man’s thumb, which Larry struggles to cut off with a plastic knife while Brian, his back turned, raps out a tuneless but accurate rendition of "Baby Got Back." Larry and Ricki then stop by a post office to hash out the logistics of sending a human thumb through the mail. There's also a legitimately funny running joke in which Brian insists that Larry read to him to help him fall asleep, but because the Philistine mobster doesn't own a single book, he's forced to read the packaging on household items like toilet paper and a bottle of Tabasco sauce to get the job done.
Even a few of the dramatic scenes are effective. Ricki, who is portrayed as the antithesis of the ignorant and brutish Larry, has a tendency to go into philosophical monologues about everything from the relative merits of male and female sex organs to the importance of mastering people skills. Most of these, as you might guess, are tedious, overlong, and painful to listen to, but a couple of them land with surprising depth. In her assessment of Larry and the constant anger bubbling just beneath his surface, she remarks insightfully (especially for 2003) that little boys are taught to channel their emotions—particularly sadness—into aggression; as a result, adult men who are unhappy in their lives often take it out on those around them. Her observation opens a crack in Larry's tough-guy exterior and leads to a moment of real vulnerability.
In my personal favorite scene, after seeking reassurance from Larry that he'll support her in her ploy to defy the mob boss, Ricki eloquently explains to him the difference between "sure" and "yes." Although the lines themselves are, of course, a bit corny, Lopez's delivery is sincere, and Affleck's reaction is so genuine and pure, you can almost believe these two characters could fall for each other. If she weren't, you know, a lesbian.
Ultimately, Gigli deserves most of the hate leveled at it, but by no means all of it. As Affleck himself has pointed out, people love to bash the film despite most of them never actually seeing it. If you're one of those, or even if you're just curious, do the film and yourself a favor and watch it. If you go in with exceptionally low expectations -- as you should -- you might be pleasantly surprised to find that some elements of Gigli are not that bad.
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