Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

American Gigolo

 American Gigolo
type
TVTItem
 American Gigolo
label
American Gigolo
 American Gigolo
page
AmericanGigolo
 American Gigolo
comment
American Gigolo is a 1980 crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader.Julian Kaye (Richard Gere) is that rarest of rare things: a male prostitute who services women. Julian is a $1,000-per-night hooker who pretends to be a chauffeur and/or translator but instead brings sexual pleasure to the rich ladies of Malibu, Beverly Hills, and the rest of the Los Angeles uppercrust. One evening he meets Michelle Stratton (Lauren Hutton) at a swanky L.A. restaurant and mistakes her for his client of the evening. Michelle wasn't his client, but when she finds out what sexy, mysterious Julian does for a living she's intrigued. She find him again and pays for his services. Soon, they are falling in love.Meanwhile, Julian is sent by his pimp Leon (Bill Duke) to the Palm Springs home of one Mr. Rheiman and his wife Judy. Mr. Rheiman wants Julian to have sex with his wife, he wants to watch, and he wants Julian to hit Judy. Julian doesn't care for that last bit, as he's in the business of romantic pleasure and not "kink" such as sadomasochism. We never do find out if he hits Judy or not, but a few days later, Julian reads in the newspaper that Mrs. Rheiman was murdered. Soon Detective Sunday from LAPD Homicide (Héctor Elizondo) is nosing around and asking questions. A horrified Julian soon realizes that he is being framed for murder.Giorgio Moroder composed the music. The song "Call Me", composed by Moroder and Debbie Harry and performed by Harry's band Blondie, became a massive hit single.
 American Gigolo
fetched
2023-12-10T10:40:15Z
 American Gigolo
parsed
2023-12-10T10:40:15Z
 American Gigolo
processingComment
Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
 American Gigolo
isPartOf
DBTropes
 American Gigolo / int_1b4e322c
type
Mr. Fanservice
 American Gigolo / int_1b4e322c
comment
Mr. Fanservice: Richard Gere in various states of undress, Richard Gere exercising in nothing but gym shorts, and the infamous male frontal nudity scene.
 American Gigolo / int_1b4e322c
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_1b4e322c
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_1b4e322c
 American Gigolo / int_4db42cf3
type
Male Frontal Nudity
 American Gigolo / int_4db42cf3
comment
Male Frontal Nudity: Julian gets out of bed and walks over to a window, in the nude, after sex with Michelle.
 American Gigolo / int_4db42cf3
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_4db42cf3
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_4db42cf3
 American Gigolo / int_77063cd7
type
Hooker with a Heart of Gold
 American Gigolo / int_77063cd7
comment
Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Male example. Julian is good-natured guy, and even believes that he doing nothing more than bringing back to older women forgotten romantic pleasures.
 American Gigolo / int_77063cd7
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_77063cd7
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_77063cd7
 American Gigolo / int_77dd4ff0
type
Sliding Scale of Shiny Versus Gritty
 American Gigolo / int_77dd4ff0
comment
Sliding Scale of Shiny Versus Gritty: As the frame and police case fall into place, Julian's appearance and mannerisms drastically change. He starts to wear dirty, unkempt clothes and grows a five o'clock shadow. He trashes his swank serviced apartment and flash Mercedes Benz convertible, then abandons both and goes on the run. He rents an anonymous Ford Pinto and spends his days and nights cruising dodgy neighborhoods while anxiously chain-smoking cigarettes. This is lampshaded by almost everyone he bumps into.
 American Gigolo / int_77dd4ff0
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_77dd4ff0
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_77dd4ff0
 American Gigolo / int_7e95adeb
type
High-Class Call Girl
 American Gigolo / int_7e95adeb
comment
High-Class Call Girl: A very rare straight male example. Julian takes $1000/night to service older rich ladies.
 American Gigolo / int_7e95adeb
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_7e95adeb
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_7e95adeb
 American Gigolo / int_863fa679
type
What Happened to the Mouse?
 American Gigolo / int_863fa679
comment
What Happened to the Mouse?: Did Julian hit Judy when Mr. Rheiman told him to? We never find out, as the scene cuts away.
 American Gigolo / int_863fa679
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_863fa679
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_863fa679
 American Gigolo / int_87ab7f69
type
Sharp-Dressed Man
 American Gigolo / int_87ab7f69
comment
Sharp-Dressed Man: In the opening montage Julian drives his snazzy sports car up to a men's fashion store and buys himself a sharp new suit. He's always impeccably dressed in the height of 1980 men's fashion, until he's running from the cops and starts to look a lot more disheveled. (This film is credited with making Armani very popular in Hollywood.)
 American Gigolo / int_87ab7f69
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_87ab7f69
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_87ab7f69
 American Gigolo / int_937fc70c
type
Chalk Outline
 American Gigolo / int_937fc70c
comment
Chalk Outline: We don't get a close look at the crime scene photo of Judy Rheiman but the outline around her body is still visible.
 American Gigolo / int_937fc70c
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_937fc70c
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_937fc70c
 American Gigolo / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 American Gigolo / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Mr. Rheiman's command that Julian hit Judy establishes him as a slimy a-hole, but it also sets up the moment a couple of scenes later where Julian reads about Judy's murder. Leon, who wants to lure Julian into gay prostitution, tells him that all the rich middle-aged ladies that he services will turn on him in an instant. He's right; the rich Beverly Hills wife who was with Julian at the time of the Rheiman murder refuses to admit it, leaving him without an alibi, and his pimp Anne refuses to lift a finger to help him out.
 American Gigolo / int_9d12bbc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_9d12bbc1
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_9d12bbc1
 American Gigolo / int_a70223
type
Karma Houdini
 American Gigolo / int_a70223
comment
Karma Houdini: Sure, Julian avoids going to prison for a crime he didn't commit when Michelle gives him an alibi. But it sure seems likely that Mr. Rheiman is going to get away with framing him, and possibly with plotting the death of his wife, and the young blonde dude is definitely going to get away with murder.
 American Gigolo / int_a70223
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_a70223
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_a70223
 American Gigolo / int_b034d333
type
Film Noir
 American Gigolo / int_b034d333
comment
Film Noir: Neo-noir. A Los Angeles male prostitute who wants nothing more than to sex the ladies finds himself being framed for murder.
 American Gigolo / int_b034d333
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_b034d333
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_b034d333
 American Gigolo / int_bb18a227
type
It's All About Me
 American Gigolo / int_bb18a227
comment
It's All About Me: A panicked Julian finds Anne in a fancy restaurant, tells her that he's wanted for murder, and begs for help. Anne could not give less of a crap, instead getting mad at him for not meeting the Swedish lady that he was supposed to pick up at the airport. She tells Julian that she has no interest in helping him.
 American Gigolo / int_bb18a227
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_bb18a227
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_bb18a227
 American Gigolo / int_bf3d0873
type
Where Everybody Knows Your Flame
 American Gigolo / int_bf3d0873
comment
Where Everybody Knows Your Flame: Leon, the pimp who sent Julian to the Rheiman house, more frequently matches male prostitutes up with other men. Julian finds him at a gay nightclub. The muscular dudes on the dance floor are either in leather gear or shirtless.
 American Gigolo / int_bf3d0873
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_bf3d0873
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_bf3d0873
 American Gigolo / int_e0a077fa
type
Miss Kitty
 American Gigolo / int_e0a077fa
comment
Miss Kitty: Anne, who runs a stable of male and female prostitutes and is miffed at Julian for not turning over more of his salary. She throws him to the wolves when he becomes inconvenient.
 American Gigolo / int_e0a077fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_e0a077fa
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_e0a077fa
 American Gigolo / int_f03aae7f
type
Your Other Left
 American Gigolo / int_f03aae7f
comment
Your Other Left: A throwaway gag. When Julian is in the lineup and they're told to turn right, suspect #3 turns left, leading the annoyed cop to say "No, right."
 American Gigolo / int_f03aae7f
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_f03aae7f
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_f03aae7f
 American Gigolo / int_f3fd818b
type
Dark Reprise
 American Gigolo / int_f3fd818b
comment
Dark Reprise: Up-tempo theme song "Call Me" is heard over the opening credits. Moroder synthesizer renditions of "Call Me" are heard throughout the movie as Julian is up to his sexy exploits. However, later in the film when Julian is desperate and wanted for murder, the "Call Me" melody is played much slower and in a lower key.
 American Gigolo / int_f3fd818b
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_f3fd818b
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_f3fd818b
 American Gigolo / int_f64a9cf7
type
Earn Your Happy Ending
 American Gigolo / int_f64a9cf7
comment
Earn Your Happy Ending: After two deaths, after he's humiliated, arrested for murder, and thrown into prison, Julian is finally freed when Michelle provides him with a (false) alibi. With Michelle's marriage ruined she and Julian will be free to live a life together. (Of course, that doesn't address the matter of the unsolved murder; see Karma Houdini below.)
 American Gigolo / int_f64a9cf7
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_f64a9cf7
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_f64a9cf7
 American Gigolo / int_f6c3d469
type
Fanservice Extra
 American Gigolo / int_f6c3d469
comment
Fanservice Extra: The two topless female hookers sunning themselves on Anne's porch when Julian comes to call.
 American Gigolo / int_f6c3d469
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_f6c3d469
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_f6c3d469
 American Gigolo / int_fab98c53
type
American Title
 American Gigolo / int_fab98c53
comment
American Title: American Gigolo, a title with a heavy dose of irony.
 American Gigolo / int_fab98c53
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_fab98c53
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_fab98c53
 American Gigolo / int_name
type
ItemName
 American Gigolo / int_name
comment
 American Gigolo / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 American Gigolo / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Gigolo / int_name
 American Gigolo / int_name
itemName
American Gigolo

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 American Gigolo
hasFeature
American Title / int_db954287
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
Film Noir Index / int_db954287
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
Male Frontal Nudity / int_db954287
 American Gigolo
hasFeature
Sharp-Dressed Man / int_db954287