House Of Gucci is branded 'an absurdly enjoyable Italian soap opera'

House Of Gucci has won rave early reviews from critics following its world premiere in on Tuesday evening. 

The and Adam Driver-fronted movie, which follows the true story of Patrizia Reggiani’s plot to kill her husband Maurizio Gucci, was met with praise and branded ‘an absurdly enjoyable Italian soap opera’ packed with ‘juicy camp’.

At the forefront of the praise was Gaga, whose role as Patrizia , who married Adam’s character Maurizio in the 1970s – and had him killed by a hit man in the 1995 a decade after their divorce, was tipped for award glory by the pros. 

Despite a flood of glowing feedback, some were less than impressed with the eagerly-awaited Ridley Scott movie.One reviewer penned: ‘House of Gucci is a bloated & uneven mess that feels like two different movies rolled in one.

Ridley has directed House Of Gucci, which will see Adam portraying Maurizio opposite Gaga as his scenery-chewing wife. 

They are heading up a star-studded cast with other members of the Gucci family played by Jared Leto, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino.The long-awaited movie will bow in the US on November 24 and the UK on the 26th.

Erik David, a reviewer for Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes, wrote: ‘GUCCI! #HouseOfGucci has a definite GODFATHER vibe, rich w/ family betrayal, transformative performances, lots of backstabbing & it’s definitely more serious than it is campy…

‘Lady Gaga is incredible, as is Jared Leto, and the story is WILD!The attention to detail is impeccable 

Entertainment Weekly writer Joey Nolfi joined in the gushing praise of the film, writing: ‘House of Gucci = juicy caviar camp, blog an absurdly enjoyable Italian soap opera where Bald Jared Leto p**ses on a Gucci scarf…

‘It ultimately eases on its gas to a fault, but Lady Gaga’s earnest, ferocious performance completes her evolution from movie star to mighty dramatic actréss’ 

Simon Thompson, who covers film for multiple publications including Forbes, Variety and E News, penned: ‘#HouseOfGucci is Shakespearean in its execution…

‘A solid story of greed and a hunger for success at any cost is dotted with tragi-comedic interludes – both entertaining in different ways.With solid performances, if campy and overegged at times, it works but could do with a trim.’

Senior Culture & Events Editor at Variety Marc Malkin wrote: ‘#HouseofGucci is delicious and fun. Couldn’t take my eyes off of it.@ladygaga and @JaredLeto are the most delicious of the bunch.’

IndieWire deputy writer penned: ‘#HouseOfGucci Big & soapy, this really hit the spot for me. Everything Leto & Pacino do is lol ridiculous, yet nicely balanced with Driver & Gaga’s mannered 50s melodrama turns…

‘Ridley Scott has everyone acting in the same movie, while going big with glorious gusto…Academy probably’d prefer something more straight-forward…

‘With a more serious tone, but it’s Ridley embracing the absurdity of this tabloid yarn that makes it delicious… Put another way, this is the movie of Ryan Murphy thinks he’s been making the last 8 years.’

Othe reviewers however were more underwhelmed by the epic saga. 

Sunset Awards vice-chair and We Live Entertainment founder Scott Menzel was less than impressed, writing on the microblogging site: ‘House of Gucci is a bloated & uneven mess that feels like two different movies rolled in one… 

‘Every single cast member acts as though they are in a different movie except for Al Pacino, who seems to have understood the assignment and serves as the film’s MVP.#HouseofGucci…

‘I’m a big Lady Gaga fan and she definitely tries to make the material work, however, just like the film, her performance is all over the place…

‘In some scenes, Gaga is pretty terrific but in others, she seems like she is trying way too hard which comes across as overacting…

‘The film is poorly edited and never manages to finds the right tone.The first half is entertaining and campy while the second half is way too serious. I never cared about any of the characters or what happened to them which is weird given the level of talent involved… 

‘As for Jared Leto, his performance is larger than life and comes across as a live action cartoon character.I can’t say that I wasn’t amused by the performance but my god, it was so over the top that I honestly couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him whenever he came on-screen…

‘Lastly, for a film based on a fascinating true story so much of the story was uninteresting.The script truly struggles to reel in the audience & relies far too heavily on the performances, which as I said previously, doesn’t always work in the films favor. A missed opportunity… 

‘Oh, and one last thing, this is second film in a row that completely wastes Salma Hayek.She’s such a remarkable talent but she is so underutilized in this film. I don’t even know why she was in it because she is completely wasted.’

Less than pleased was Observer senior entertainment reporter Brandon Katz, who wrote: ‘#HouseofGucci is an overwrought slog without any discernible direction. Too many narrative focuses stacked on top of one another…

‘Glitzy talented names hamming it up in wealth porn can be fun, but not enough to save the movie from its own messiness… 

‘Al Pacino gives the best performance, Gaga overdoes it (somewhat by necessity of the role), Jared Leto is acting in an entirely different movie, and Adam Driver seems to understand what movie he’s actually in… 

‘Leto is actually funny in spurts and the movie has redeeming qualities (fashionable attention to detail, familial strife).But it has no idea what it wants to actually be.’