Gigli

Directed by Martin Brest, Gigli follows a pair of mobsters (Ben Affleck’s Gigli and Jennifer Lopez’s Ricki) as they’re tasked with holding onto the mentally-impaired brother (Justin Bartha’s Brian) of a powerful federal prosecutor. Brest, armed with his own screenplay, has infused Gigli with an entertaining, briskly-paced sensibility that’s heightened by its smattering of amusing sequences and stirring lead performances, as, in terms of the latter, the filmmaker effectively elicits compelling, engaging work from both Affleck and Lopez that’s rife with palpable chemistry – with the stars’ strong efforts ultimately smoothing over the decidedly hit-and-miss bent of the padded-out narrative. And while the picture remains quite watchable from start to finish, particularly thanks to electrifying one-scene appearances by Christopher Walken and Al Pacino, Gigli‘s overlong running time admittedly does pave the way for a flabby midsection that hardly feels as tight or streamlined as one might’ve preferred – with this especially true of a closing stretch that just goes on and on (and on). Still, Gigli‘s easygoing atmosphere, perpetuated by its loose, clever dialogue, paves the way for an endeavor that’s predominantly quite engaging and enjoyable – with the end result a better-than-expected piece of work that could (and should) have topped out at 90 minutes max.

**1/2 out of ****