Gossip

"Weak"

Gossip Review


I have quickly found myself tiring of the peculiar tedium of the gritty twentysomething whodunit. While I'll fess up to having liked Cruel Intentions, recent films like Body Shots and The Skulls have left a sour taste in my mouth.

Gossip does not get rid of that taste.

While it's hard to pinpoint why Gossip is so uncompelling, the fault lies mainly in a script that wants to be a thriller but is structured like a thrills-free 80s romance/drama. The premise itself isn't awful: Three cliquish college students (Norman Reedus, James Marsden, and Lena Headey) get their rocks off by making up rumors about their classmates. "Oops!" when one of these gossipy snickerings gets out of hand, finding Beau (Joshua Jackson) arrested for the rape of his girlfriend Naomi (Kate Hudson) -- a crime he didn't commit! (Gasp!)

After being twist-free for 30 minutes, we're thrown for a loop involving a past relationship between Derrick (Marsden) and Naomi, with Jones (Headey) playing amateur detective. None of this goes very far... in fact, the long stretches of confrontation among the principals (that make up the bulk of the film) start out as silly and end up as just boring. The acting is fine; it's the script that stinks.

The lack of attention to detail in Gossip is astonishing, as well. Most annoying is: Why does Lena Headey speak with a thick French accent despite her character's firm insistence that she's a working-class girl from Plymouth? Where does Sharon Lawrence's investigator disappear to halfway into the movie? And what's up with Eric Bogosian???

The answer may lie in the credit "Executive Producer: Joel Schumacher," but Gossip simply feels like a rush job that never should have been made with the script in hand. Four stars for a decent idea; one for execution. And minus another star for a Web site that claims you need to download 20MB worth of files just to enter. Skip the site... and the movie.

Yadda yadda yadda.



Gossip

Facts and Figures

Run time: 90 mins

In Theaters: Friday 21st April 2000

Box Office Worldwide: $5.1M

Budget: $14M

Distributed by: Warner Home Video

Production compaines: Warner Bros. Pictures

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 28%
Fresh: 18 Rotten: 47

IMDB: 5.9 / 10

Cast & Crew

Producer: Robert F. Newmyer,

Starring: as Beau Edson, as Derrick Webb, as Naomi Preston, as Cathy Jones, as Travis, as Professor Goodwin, as Detective Curtis, as Detective Kelly, as Sheila

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews