If you’re of a certain generation, you’d be forgiven for only knowning about Richard Gere from either Pretty Woman or those ridiculous urban legends about him and his supposed proclivities that popped up in the 2000s. Unlike many actors of his era, who have continued to work well into their 70s and 80s, Gere has been relatively quiet, his last mainstream hit film being a co-starring appearance in 2015’s The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Richard Gere was one of Hollywood’s leading men, his handsome looks married with exceptional acting chops. While he’d had previous roles, few would argue that it was his performance as Julian Kay in writer/director Paul Schrader’s 1980 movie American Gigolo that made him desirable, to Hollywood and audiences alike.

Set in Los Angeles (where else?), American Gigolo is the story of an exclusive male escort who is framed for murder while at the same time finds himself falling in love with the wife (Lauren Hutton) of a U.S. politician. The film does a remarkable job balancing multiple ideas – it’s a love story, film noir, and character study, all seamlessly rolled together and set to a soundtrack courtesy of famed dance producer Giorgio Moroder.

While filled with winning performances from now-familiar actors, including Bill Duke as Julian’s pimp, Leon, and a relatively fresh-faced Hector Elizondo as Detective Sunday, American Gigolo is firmly Richard Gere’s film, and he turns Julian Kay into a sympathetic, solitary character. Julian’s job is to sexually fulfill the older women who hire him, yet he shows no urgency to satiate any of his own sexual cravings; sex is a business to him, transactional. Julian instead fills his life with things; a gorgeously decorated apartment in Westwood that belies his trade; it’s his stylish clothes and car that make him who he is.

More than forty years after its release, American Gigolo still manages to be titalating and even a little bit shocking, which makes its impact back in 1980 even more significant. American Gigolo was one of the first Hollywood films where its lead actor has his member on full display. As well, a mainstream film involving sadomasochism back then was far from the norm, as when Julian travels to Palm Strings for a job and is told to have rough sex with the wife (Patty Carr) of the wealthy Mr. Rheinman (Tom Stewart). Though he complies, Julian complains later to Leon that he doesn’t do kink or gay.

Whether its fear or hatred or a questioning of his own sexuality, Julian can’t avoid homosexuality. During an antiquing trip with one of his regular customers, Julian puts on an extreme gay front to stymie questions from other shoppers. While that’s played for fun, later in the film, when it becomes clear Julian is the main suspect in Ms. Rheinman’s killing, he is forced to ascend the steps into a gay nightclub to track down Leon. Far from uncomfortable in this setting, though, Julian acknowledges the man at the front door, pops his collar, and takes in the environment like an old pro. Interestingly, that setting itself is a tamer version of the early ’80s gay club scene that is a key part in William Friedkin’s Cruising. That film, set in New York City, was released on February 8, 1980, just one week after American Gigolo hit theatres on February 1 of the the same year.

In a 2012 interview with The Advocate, Gere spoke of American Gigolo and its subtext:

 “Paul came to see me in Malibu and said, ‘You’ve got to say yes to this by tomorrow at the latest.’ I read it and I thought, ‘This is a character I don’t know very well. I don’t own a suit. He speaks languages; I don’t speak any languages. There’s kind of a gay thing that’s flirting through it and I didn’t know the gay community at all.’ I wanted to immerse myself in all of that and I had literally two weeks. So I just dove in. If I recall, [the nudity] wasn’t in the script. It was just in the natural process of making the movie. I certainly felt vulnerable, but I think it’s different for men than women.”

The Advocate, September 1 2012

Along with its enduring story and performances, American Gigolo is a snapshot of a few real Los Angeles locations that are now gone. Julian’s home in the Westwood Apartment Hotel was in reality the Sunset Plaza Apartments, which were demolished in 1987, while the record store that he visits was the Tower Records at 1028 Westwood Boulevard, now home to an Urban Outfitters.

American Gigolo and its environs continue to inspire. Writer/director Paul Schrader returned to Los Angeles’ sexuality and noir with 2013’s The Canyons, while 2022 saw Showtime air one season of a tv show based on the film, with Jon Bernthal playing Julian Kay. The show met with a shrug from both critics and audiences, perhaps proving that when it comes to an American classic, there can be only one American Gigolo.