DVD cover of Gigli

Gigli (pronounced "zhee-lee") is a film released in 2003 which was written and directed by Martin Brest, starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Lainie Kazan also starred in the movie. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Martin Brest (Born: August 8, 1951 in Bronx, New York, New York, USA-) is an American filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, film editor and actor. ... Ben Affleck Benjamin Geza Affleck (born August 15, 1972), is an American actor. ... Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lopez also refers to a Weather Channel personality of that name. ... Al Pacino, pictured at the age of 21. ... Christopher Walken Ronald Walken (born March 31, 1943), known professionally as Christopher Walken, is an American film, television, and theatre actor best known for playing menacing or psychologically damaged characters. ... Lainie Kazan (born May 15, 1940 in New York City) is an American actress and singer. ...

Larry Gigli (Affleck) is a lowly thug who is tasked with the kidnapping of the mentally retarded, Baywatch obsessed younger brother of a powerful federal prosecutor, in an attempt to save his mobster boss from prison. The task proves to be difficult for Gigli, so Ricki (Lopez), a lesbian assassin, is sent to oversee him. Mental retardation (also called mental handicap and, as defined by the UK Mental Health Act (1983), mental impairment and severe mental impairment) is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills (milestones) during childhood, and a significantly below-normal global intellectual capacity as... Baywatch was a popular American television show about lifeguards who patrol the crowded beaches of Los Angeles County. ... In countries adopting the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system, the prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... A lesbian is a homosexual woman. ... Jack Ruby murdered the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, in a very public manner. ...

Reaction

The movie was considered a spectacular failure, having grossed less than $4 million in its opening weekend after costing $54 million to make, and earning nearly universally negative reviews. (Gigli also set a record for the biggest second-weekend drop in box office gross of any film in wide release since that statistic began to be kept; its gross dropped by almost 82% in its second weekend compared to its first. [1]) This public reaction led to its becoming a synonym for "poor quality" for a brief period in the summer of 2003 (and also afterwards), especially on late-night talk shows and was withdrawn from US theatres after only 3 weeks (one of the shortest circulation times for a big-budget movie), earning a total of only $6 million domestically and $1 million abroad. In terms of budget percentage, it is tied with Cutthroat Island (which cost $100 million, but earned only $11 million) as the biggest bomb ever. The United States dollar, or American dollar, is the official currency of the United States. ... A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... Cutthroat Island is a pirate-themed action film starring Geena Davis and directed by her then husband Renny Harlin. ...

Although the film itself was widely seen as shockingly bad (with Lopez's "It's turkey time" sexual banter being the absolute low point), the media attention over Affleck and Lopez's engagement may have severely hampered the movie's reputation. That no one could figure out how to pronounce the film's title did not help. Film critics were so fearsomely derisive that there was speculation as to whether they were competing to see who could give the nastiest review. An engagement is an agreement by a couple to enter into marriage at some future time, usually accompanied by a formal or informal announcement to friends and family. ...

A common criticism of Gigli is that it too closely follows the modern era film industry practice of reusing unoriginal plots, cliché dialogue, and significant filler material. This, along with the media frenzy that followed on the leading stars, were all considered as describing the so-called "Gigli syndrome".

It has been suggested (particularly by the film's stars) that Gigli is not necessarily as bad as the reviews suggest, but rather happened to become a "lightning rod" film for public scorn, of a type that appears once every few years. Previous examples of films that became pariahs in the film industry may be found in the list of movies that have been considered among the worst ever. Such examples include The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), Far and Away (1992), Last Action Hero (1993), Waterworld (1995), Cutthroat Island (1995), The Postman (1997), and Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997). The following is a list of movies that have been considered among the worst ever. ... The Bonfire of the Vanities DVD This article is about the book and subsequent film; for the historical event, see Bonfire of the Vanities. ... Hudson Hawk is a 1991 film, directed by Michael Lehmann. ... DVD cover Far and Away is a 1992 drama film directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Waterworld movie poster Waterworld was a 1995 film that was co-produced by Kevin Costner and directed by Kevin Reynolds. ... Cutthroat Island is a pirate-themed action film starring Geena Davis and directed by her then husband Renny Harlin. ... The Postman (1985) is a post-apocalyptic novel by David Brin. ... Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) was directed by John R. Leonetti. ...

The film received six Razzies in the 2003 Golden Raspberry Awards – Worst Picture, Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay and Worst Screen Couple. Users of the Internet Movie Database have voted the film a prominent position on the site's list of the "100 worst films ever made". The Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies were created by John Wilson in 1980, intended to complement the Academy Awards by dishonoring the worst acting, screenwriting, songwriting, directing, and films that the film industry had to offer. ... The 24th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on February 28, 2004 at the Sheraton Hotel in Santa Monica, California to recognise the worst the movie industry had to offer in 2003. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), owned by Amazon. ...

External links

• Sony Pictures: Gigli
• Gigli at the Internet Movie Database