Fresh off Disney’s Aladdin, Guy Ritchie has made a fun, original, expletive loaded crime caper, The Gentlemen. I’m always surprised to remember that Ritchie actually makes as many PG/PG-13 movies as he does R ones. His rhythm, flow and aesthetic fit so well in the gritty R genre. I hope you enjoy The Gentlemen review below!
The Gentlemen Review
The Gentlemen is less gritty than Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. For instance, in The Gentlemen we get an upbeat hip hop gang dressed in designer track suits and long, slow, beautiful shots of Mathew McConaughey starring in a movie as opposed to long, slow, beautiful shots of McConaughey shilling cars and cologne. Time is a flat circle, my friends.
McConaughey stars as the dapper Michael “Mickey” Pearson, a drug kingpin looking to get out of the business. Enter Matthew (Jeremy Strong), the equally morally ambiguous bigwig that is eager to buy him out. But wait! Dry Eye (Henry Golding) may or may not have plans that may or may not align with theirs. The audience discovers the whole plot from a deplorable private eye played by Hugh Grant (who is obviously having as much fun here as he did in his masterpiece, Paddington 2) as he tells it to Mickey’s number two, Ray (Charlie Hunman). Michelle Dockrey sheds her Downton Abbey gowns and title to portray Rosalind, Mickey’s unflappable wife. And where does Colin Farrell fit in? You have to see him to believe him. The viewer gets the very real sense that these actors are having the time of their lives and luckily for us, it is contagious. This movie is a good time had by all.
EXCEPT. . .
Unlike Aladdin and the Sherlock Holmes movies, this film isn’t for kids. It includes such non-family-friendly topics as drugs, murder, attempted rape, projectile vomiting and extremely creative cussing that only the Brits could get away with. Leave the kiddos at home, grab a pint, and partake in a boisterous movie about bad guys being bad.
The Gentlemen is now playing in theaters!
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