American Gigolo TV Review

Last Updated on September 9, 2022

Plot: Follows Julian Kaye after his wrongful conviction release from 15 years in prison as he navigates his complicated relationships with his former lover Michelle, his troubled mother, and the people who betrayed him. While Julian struggles to reconcile the escort he was in the past and the man he is today, Detective Sunday seeks the truth about the murder that sent Julian to prison all those years ago, unearthing a much larger conspiracy along the way. 

Review: Paul Schrader’s 1980 drama American Gigolo is primarily remembered for two things: serving as the film that launched Richard Gere to stardom and for featuring Blondie’s hit song “Call Me” as its main theme. In the four decades since it premiered, American Gigolo has remained a well-regarded yet underseen film that helped define the look and style of 80s films and culture. While Schrader’s film is certainly worth a look, it divided audiences and garnered generally positive reviews. Now, American Gigolo is back in television series form starring Jon Bernthal as the titular male prostitute. While it retains the iconic theme song, this American Gigolo is a far different glimpse into the underworld of prostitution updated for the 21st century.

The 1980 version of American Gigolo followed Julian Kay (Richard Gere), a male prostitute who is materialistic and vain. He falls in love with Michelle Stratton (Lauren Hutton), the wife of a senator. Julian is then framed for murder by his pimp and a powerful client for the murder of the client’s lover. Pursued by Detective Joe Sunday (Hector Elizondo), Julian eventually is arrested and exonerated of the crime. In the new version, Julian Kaye (Jon Bernthal) is arrested for the murder of a client by Detective Sunday (Rosie O’Donnell) and spends fifteen years in prison before being exonerated. The series then picks up with a free Julian as he tries to restart his life, reconnect with Michelle (Gretchen Mol), and figure out who framed him for the crime he did not commit. The two stories share a theme song, title font, and character names, but beyond that, the two stories could not be any more dissimilar.

Rather than playing Julian as a narcissist, Jon Bernthal plays the role of a man from a broken childhood who was forced into prostitution by a wealthy benefactor before falling in love with Michelle, the wife of an incredibly rich businessman, played by Leland Orser. The series spends a fair amount of time showing Julian trying to restart his life while flashing back to his childhood indoctrination into using sex for personal gain. At the same time, Detective Sunday continues to investigate why Julian was framed which interconnects with another crime that directly involves Michelle Stratton and her son. The various storylines also involve Lorenzo (Wayne Brady), a pimp and former escort friend of Julian’s as well as Isabelle (Lizzie Brochere), a woman infatuated with Julian.

True to its thematic material, American Gigolo features a lot of sex. There is also a great deal of passion shown in the love story that develops between Julian and Michelle which is wonderfully captured in the chemistry between Bernthal and Mol. Rosie O’Donnell, a surprising choice for the veteran Detective Sunday, is surprisingly well cast as an ally to Julian and a solid investigator. Over the three episodes made available for this review, American Gigolo bears some visual similarities with Paul Schrader’s film while also echoing some of the work of Michael Mann and even a bit of David Lynch. There is a somber quality to the episodes which is not nearly as much of a thriller as the original film. This is a somewhat slow-paced drama that connects a lot of subplots that have no basis in the feature film.

Series creator Tom Hollander, who wrote and directed the first two episodes, did not remain aboard the first season as he was dismissed after accusations of misconduct on set. With multiple writers including Cami Delavigne and Bronte Purnell along with directors Tucker Gates and Greg Araki helming the rest of the first season, American Gigolo has some difficulty in figuring out what story it wants to tell in the early entries. Hollander, best known for creating the long-running Showtime series Ray Donovan, brings elements of crime dramas into the mix and a complex network of sex workers that could develop this story into something much different than the story of one man. There are teases of a deeper conspiracy, but the series works best when it centers on Jon Bernthal. Bernthal has played many characters with difficult pasts, including The Punisher, and this is a much more layered character than he has tackled before. A very talented actor, I love what he brings to this series in the early episodes.

It remains to be seen just what story American Gigolo is trying to tell, but there are the seeds of three or four different series that feel a bit cobbled together in these early episodes. The crime element seems a little cliche in the way it is handled with some of the antagonists coming across as a bit flat. The sex syndicate overseeing the various hustlers and prostitutes also feels a bit on the nose. But, I can forgive the weaknesses of this series because of how good Jon Bernthal is as Julian Kaye. Evoking the same aura of swagger and confidence that Richard Gere brought to the movie gives this American Gigolo the same kind of aura that superstars are made of. Had this series been solely focused on Julian’s attempt at redemption would have been more than enough to make this series worth checking out. As it stands, American Gigolo is flawed but still intriguing enough to garner some attention.

American Gigolo premieres on September 11th on Showtime.

American Gigolo

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