Gossip (2000 American film)

Last updated

Gossip
Gossipposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
Written by Gregory Poirier
Theresa Rebeck
Produced byJeffrey Silver
Robert Newmyer
Starring
Cinematography Andrzej Bartkowiak
Edited by Jay Cassidy
Music by Graeme Revell
Production
companies
Village Roadshow Pictures
NPV Entertainment
Outlaw Productions
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date
  • April 21, 2000 (2000-04-21)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$24 million [1]
Box office$12 million [1]

Gossip is a 2000 American teen psychological thriller film directed by Davis Guggenheim, and starring James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus and Kate Hudson. The film follows a trio of college students who decide to start a rumor for a class assignment and track its circulation, but the rumor results in grave consequences and spirals out of control. The film was a box office disappointment and received negative reviews.

Contents

Plot

On a Manhattan college campus, Derrick Webb, Travis, and Cathy Jones (referred to as simply "Jones") are students and roommates. Derrick and Jones share an attraction but have not acted on it. Travis is devoted to the wealthy Derrick as he allows him to live rent free in his apartment and focus on his art. They all take a Communications class with Professor Goodwin, in which the subject of gossip is brought up. As they enjoy telling lies, the three decide to start a rumor for their final paper and track the results.

At a party, they run into Naomi Preston and her boyfriend, Beau Edson. Jones resents Naomi for her wealth, sense of entitlement, and for supposedly starting a rumor about Jones sleeping with Goodwin. While in the bathroom, Derrick witnesses Beau and Naomi kissing in the adjacent room. Beau attempts to have sex with Naomi but is rejected; he leaves and Naomi passes out. Derrick, Jones and Travis agree to concoct a rumor that Naomi and Beau did have sex. The rumor spreads across campus, changing quickly. Jones writes her paper while Travis turns the rumor into an art installation full of warped photos of Naomi.

Eventually Naomi herself hears the rumor. Beau denies it, but witnesses remember him seemingly celebrating with his friends. Since Naomi doesn't remember anything, she becomes convinced she was raped by Beau; under the encouragement of her friends, she reports it to the police. As a result, Beau is arrested. Jones feels remorse at the turns of events, but Derrick and Travis convince her to stay quiet.

Jones goes to speak to Naomi and learns she and Derrick went to the same high school. However, Naomi becomes upset at the mention of Derrick; conversely, Derrick claims not to know Naomi. Jones travels to their old high school and discovers that Derrick and Naomi were formerly a couple. A staff member tells her that Derek raped Naomi after she refused sex with him.

When Jones confronts Derrick, he claims the sex was consensual and that Naomi made up the rape story so her father would not be upset with her. His local reputation then plummeted and his family disavowed him. He admits to picking Naomi as the target of their "rumor project" as revenge. Jones is horrified, while Travis believes Derrick's story.

Jones tries to confess to the police, but Derrick manipulates events to make it look like Jones is in love with Beau and they do not believe her. Travis refuses to help her, reminding her of everything Derrick has done for them. Beau learns of Derrick's assault of Naomi, and the two fight. Derrick tricks Beau into thinking they are both victims of Naomi's lies before knocking him unconscious.

Derrick goes to Naomi's dorm and taunts her about the night of the party and reveals he did this in revenge for her ruining his life. After attacking her, he leaves. The next day, Naomi is pronounced dead from suicide. However, due to Derrick and Naomi's past, police come to suspect Derrick of killing her. This rumor spreads around campus and investigators come to his apartment to search for clues. Travis overhears Derrick trying to blame him, using Travis' art as proof. However, the detective seems convinced Derrick is guilty and leaves to get a warrant.

As Derrick packs a bag and prepares to flee, Jones sees Travis buying a gun on the street. She goes to the apartment to warn Derrick, but Travis has arrived there first. In a struggle for the gun, Derrick appears to fatally shoot Jones. In a panic, Derrick tries to convince Travis to take the blame, which Travis refuses. Desperately, Derrick confesses to raping Naomi.

Derrick's confession replays on the recording equipment that Travis surreptitiously set up in the apartment. At this point, Jones stands up, Professor Goodwin enters and Naomi appears from the other room with Beau. The police are revealed to be Naomi's driver and a student from Jones' Calculus class. The investigation was a setup to trick Derrick into confessing on camera. As everyone abandons Derrick, Goodwin insinuates that he too has heard the rumor of him and Jones having an affair.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Toronto and Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada from October to December 1998. [2]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 29% of 66 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "Gossip drags on far beyond its entertainment value." [3] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 31 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. [4]

The film was criticized for its plot holes and melodrama, [5] but its cinematography and soundtrack was praised. [6] In the San Francisco Examiner , Wesley Morris wrote, "Gossip seems to have been written by a program that selects elements from music videos and girl-in-peril tele-movies to make one particularly off-the-charts ridiculous film." [7]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times liked the movie up until its surprise ending. He said the film looked like it "had something to interesting to say about date rape and gossip", but that the filmmakers cop out with an ending that is "like a sneer at the craft of storytelling". [8] Angus Wolfe Murray of Eye for Film had similar views on the ending, but was more positive and gave it three out of five stars, calling it "one step up from the serial slasher flick" and praising Marsden's screen presence. [9]

Box office

The film opened at #12 at the North American box office making $2.3 million USD in its opening weekend. [1] The film suffered a 59% decline in box office earnings the following week, descending to #17.

Related Research Articles

<i>Guilty as Sin</i> 1993 drama thriller film by Sidney Lumet

Guilty as Sin is a 1993 American legal thriller film written by Larry Cohen, directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Ransohoff. It stars Rebecca De Mornay and Don Johnson, and was produced by Hollywood Pictures.

<i>The Last Seduction</i> 1994 neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by John Dahl

The Last Seduction is a 1994 American neo-noir erotic thriller film directed by John Dahl, featuring Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, and Bill Pullman. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and distributed by October Films. Fiorentino's performance garnered widespread critical acclaim and generated talk of an Oscar nomination, but she was deemed ineligible because the film was shown on HBO before its theatrical release. October Films and ITC Entertainment sued the Academy, but were unable to make Fiorentino eligible for a nomination.

<i>Eating Raoul</i> 1982 film by Paul Bartel

Eating Raoul is a 1982 American black comedy film written, directed by and starring Paul Bartel with Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, Ed Begley Jr., Buck Henry, and Susan Saiger. It is about a prudish married couple who resort to killing and robbing affluent swingers to earn money for their dream restaurant.

<i>Kiss the Girls</i> (1997 film) 1997 film by Gary Fleder

Kiss the Girls is a 1997 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and Cary Elwes. The screenplay by David Klass is based on James Patterson's best-selling 1995 novel of the same name. A sequel titled Along Came a Spider was released in 2001.

<i>Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo</i> 1999 film directed by Mike Mitchell

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a 1999 American sex comedy film directed by Mike Mitchell and written by Harris Goldberg and Rob Schneider. The film stars Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, and Arija Bareikis, with supporting roles by Oded Fehr, Gail O'Grady, Richard Riehle, Jacqueline Obradors, Big Boy, Amy Poehler, and Dina Platias. The film tells the story of a hapless fishtank cleaner who goes into business as a male prostitute in an attempt to earn enough money to repair damage he caused while house-sitting. It was the first film produced by Adam Sandler's production company Happy Madison Productions.

<i>Eye for an Eye</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

Eye for an Eye is a 1996 American psychological thriller film, directed by John Schlesinger and written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. It stars Sally Field, Kiefer Sutherland, Ed Harris, Beverly D'Angelo, Joe Mantegna and Cynthia Rothrock. The story was adapted from Erika Holzer's novel of the same name. The film opened on January 12, 1996.

<i>The Players Club</i> 1998 film directed by Ice Cube

The Players Club is a 1998 American dark comedy drama thriller film written and directed by Ice Cube in his feature film directorial debut. In addition to Ice Cube, the film stars Bernie Mac, Monica Calhoun, Jamie Foxx, John Amos, A. J. Johnson, Alex Thomas, Charlie Murphy, Terrence Howard, Faizon Love and LisaRaye McCoy in her first starring role.

<i>Rumor Has It</i> (film) 2005 American film

Rumor Has It is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine and Mark Ruffalo. The concept of the screenplay by Ted Griffin is that a woman learns that her mother and grandmother may be the inspiration for the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb. The film received negative reviews from critics and was a box office disappointment, grossing $88.9 million against its $70 million budget.

<i>Innocent Blood</i> (film) 1992 film by John Landis

Innocent Blood is a 1992 American black comedy horror film directed by John Landis and written by Michael Wolk. The film stars Anne Parillaud as a beautiful French vampire who finds herself pitted against a gang of mobsters led by Salvatore Macelli who eventually becomes a vampire and schemes to build a criminal syndicate of vampires.

<i>Tightrope</i> (film) 1984 film by Richard Tuggle

Tightrope is a 1984 American neo-noir psychological mystery crime action thriller film directed and written by Richard Tuggle and produced by and starring Clint Eastwood.

<i>The Comfort of Strangers</i> (film) 1990 Italian film

The Comfort of Strangers is a 1990 psychological thriller film directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, Natasha Richardson, and Helen Mirren. The screenplay by Harold Pinter was adapted from the 1981 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan.

<i>Jade</i> (film) 1995 American erotic thriller film by William Friedkin

Jade is a 1995 American erotic thriller film written by Joe Eszterhas, produced by Robert Evans, directed by William Friedkin, and starring David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Richard Crenna, and Michael Biehn. The original music score was composed by James Horner based on a song composed by Loreena McKennitt. The film was marketed with the tagline "Some fantasies go too far."

<i>Mr. Jones</i> (1993 film) 1993 film directed by Mike Figgis

Mr. Jones is a 1993 American romantic drama film directed by Mike Figgis, and starring Richard Gere, Lena Olin, Anne Bancroft, Tom Irwin and Delroy Lindo.

<i>Blue Steel</i> (1990 film) 1990 film by Kathryn Bigelow

Blue Steel is a 1990 American action thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver and Clancy Brown. The film is about a police officer who shoots and kills a robbery suspect on her first day of duty and then becomes involved with a witness of the shooting.

<i>Matador</i> (film) 1986 film by Pedro Almodóvar

Matador is a 1986 Spanish erotic thriller film co-written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar about a student matador, Ángel Giménez, who confesses to murders he did not commit.

<i>Deception</i> (2008 film) 2008 American film

Deception is a 2008 American erotic thriller film directed by Marcel Langenegger and written by Mark Bomback. It stars Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, and Michelle Williams. The film was released on April 25, 2008 in the United States.

<i>Beat</i> (2000 film) 2000 American film

Beat is a 2000 American biographical drama film written and directed by Gary Walkow, and starring Courtney Love, Kiefer Sutherland, Norman Reedus, and Ron Livingston. The film focuses primarily on the last several weeks of writer Joan Vollmer's life in 1951 Mexico City, leading up to her accidental killing by her husband, the writer William S. Burroughs. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2000 and was entered into the 22nd Moscow International Film Festival.

<i>Towelhead</i> (film) 2007 film

Towelhead is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Alan Ball and based on Alicia Erian's novel of the same name. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2007, under the name Nothing Is Private. The motion picture, like the book, touches on issues of coming-of-age, sexual awakening, privacy, and race.

<i>Trust</i> (2010 film) 2010 film by David Schwimmer

Trust is a 2010 American drama thriller film directed by David Schwimmer and written by Andy Bellin and Robert Festinger based on an uncredited story by Schwimmer. Starring Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Jason Clarke, Liana Liberato, and Viola Davis, the film follows a fourteen-year-old girl who becomes a victim of sexual abuse after meeting a man posing as a teenage boy on an online chat room.

<i>The Man in 3B</i> 2015 American film

The Man in 3B is a 2015 American mystery crime-thriller film directed by Trey Haley. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by The New York Times best-selling author Carl Weber. The Man in 3B stars an ensemble cast that includes Lamman Rucker, Christian Keyes, Anthony Montgomery, Robert Ri'chard, Nafessa Williams, DB Woodside, Kellita Smith, James Black, Jackée Harry, Marla Gibbs, and Billy Dee Williams. The film was released on November 6, 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Gossip". Box Office Mojo . IMDb. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Gossip". Turner Classic Movies Database . Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Gossip". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved December 4, 2022. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  4. ↑ "Gossip". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  5. ↑ Holden, Stephen (April 21, 2000). "'Gossip': Saturday Night Etiquette for Rogues and Vixens". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ O'Hehir, Andrew (April 21, 2000). ""Gossip"". Salon. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  7. ↑ Morris, Wesley (April 21, 2000). "Psst, didja hear? 'Gossip' is as idle as they come". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  8. ↑ Ebert, Roger (April 21, 2000). "Gossip". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  9. ↑ Murray, Angus Wolfe (January 19, 2001). "Gossip". Eye for Film. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.