If John Travolta had done American Gigolo

The fact that he only had female clients would have been even more ridiculous than it was with Gere.

I heard in the Brett Easton Ellis podcast with Paul Schrader that Travolta was getting panicky about the part due in part that it would increase gay speculation about him.

Funny how standards change...look at the shirtless pics of Gere, by today's standards he'd be doughy.

I didn't realize Christopher Reeve turned it down, then they picked up Gere and booted him out for Travolta who then quit and they brought back Gere. Nor did I realize Armani wasn't famous till this movie and Armani got involved because Travolta liked him.

Reeve would have been sizzling in American Gigolo.

Julie Christie was apparently going to do the female role but she dropped out. It was then offered to M who felt it was too sleazy and then they got Lauren Hutton.

Gere is a knockout in that. If that's "doughy," just point me toward the bakery.

r7

While he is attractive you must admit his physique by today's standards is nothing.

you have body issues r8

There's nothing wrong with his body and when you can see his ribs as he moves that's certainly not doughy.

No six pack abs, no biceps, no definition, whether you think he is or is not attractive isn't the issue, the issue is, by TODAY'S standards he's not built. Just like when Jeff Stryker hit the porn industry in the 80s, I used to think, "He is so built" but he's nothing by today's porn stars with their muscularity.

we get your pea-brained little point, derpididoo asswipe. Gere is playing a grown man not an instragram whore and even by today's standards he is gorgeous.

Meryl didn't think it was too sleazy; she simply wasn't pretty or sexy enough for the female lead....

I think Gere looks incredibly alluring in this. Beautiful. The movie is an unwatchable piece of shit however - it's completely un-engaging mostly because of how bored he seems in it.

but on the other hand G would have been somewhat credible as the male lead.

I would've loved to have seen Reeve in the role if only to see his junk.

Gere has certainly improved as an actor since then. He's still working to shed this image decades later and I can kind of understand why - in his heyday he made models look expressive and animated.

All preening, and always willing to drop trou.

Internal Affairs was really the turning point in his career in terms of proving he can actually act. He's had a few misses since then (First Knight, Sommersby), but in general I've enjoyed his performances very much from 1990 on. And he's Proven generous when it comes to allowing his co-stars to shine (Pretty Woman).

He seems more balanced as a person too r17.

He's funny on the Graham Norton show discussing how he was in a hotel with the rest of the cast when Chicago got nominations for all the actors but him.

He seems more humble now. He previously seemed kind of arrogant. Come to think of there is another interview where he tells how he drove Louis Gossett off the set one day because of his arrogance. He takes responsibility for it all.

It's hard to imagine any actor but Gere in A.G. He was at his peak looks-wise and embodied the part of an exclusive male ho. I didn't know who Lauren Hutton was at that time, (I was 16) but she was so beautifully alluring and magnetic that I became a fan of hers because of A.G.

Christopher Reeve was actually even better looking than the impossibly gorgeous Gere, but I don't think he would've been as believable in the role. Perhaps by turning down A.G. Reeve went on to star in the part he seemed destined to play in Somewhere in Time which was released that same year.

My favorite romantic movie of all time. The chemistry Reeve and Jane Seymour shared in S.I.T. was electric. Travolta wasn't a good fit for A.G. I doubt he had the goods or desire for a full frontal nude scene. Almost 40 years after A.G. most actors STILL don't. Female actresses need to protest this disparity. If they are required to do nudity, the males should be required to as well.

r19 reveals herself to be a frau

Gurl please..I'm a masculine bro from MO. I like to see male nudity, not female.

Why don't the "frau" users think before they spew out their catty, ill-formed comments . It's gotten VERY old and tedious.

Actually, you are both wrong. Since I WAS in my prime back when that movie was made, I distinctly remember most of my friends straight and gay saying he was not that hot for a Gigolo. He was basically unknown at that point so people just made a judgement on his looks. There were plenty of other guys that would have been physically more built without being roided out.

All that said, looking back, he was perfect for the roll. He needed to pull off looking like he belonged in Beverly Hills fit handsome and trim, not some trashy porn star on Chatter bait.

At least I had abs.

Can you imagine Chris Reeve's hulking physique butt naked standing by those blinds?

^^^Yes, in that role, he WAS "perfect for the roll."

Oh he would have shown his butt happily. Just look at him in Saturday Night Fever in bed in his bikini underwear and presenting ass. Im sure he would have presented hole if John badham had only asked him.

[quote]My favorite romantic movie of all time. The chemistry Reeve and Jane Seymour shared in S.I.T. was electric.

said no man ever

Said a GAY man who was 16 and closeted at that time.

I should've stated "My favorite STRAIGHT romantic movie of all time."

SHELTER is this grown gay man's favorite romantic movie of all time. Satisfied now judgemental Mary! R28?

There's an interesting story about "American Gigolo." When Travolta was suggested, someone said that retired actor Frances Lederer was hired to give Travolta pointers in playing it suave (which Lederer, a former European heartthrob, certainly had knowledge of.) Could have been interesting. But the movie itself disappointed me. Instead of the murder angle, I would have liked seeing the emotions and psychology of his clients. Let's face it: fewer women than men pay for sex. Did any of his clients ever fall for him? Some were a pretty worldly bunch (Frances Bergen [Candice's mother] as Mrs. Lauder. I liked the movie, but it could have been more.