--- title: "Gigli: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/gigli/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/gigli" critics_score: 25 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Gigli (2003): what the critics said Critics' score 25 from 11 reviews: 1 positive, 0 mixed, 10 negative. The consensus on Gigli is overwhelmingly negative, with ten of the eleven reviews finding little to recommend. Most critics describe a romantic gangster comedy undermined by implausible plotting, strained dialogue and an unconvincing pairing of Affleck and Lopez. Praise is scattered rather than shared: some reviews find residual star charisma, occasional effective comedy or welcome contributions from Walken and Pacino. These concessions rarely soften the verdict on the film as a whole. The sharpest reservations concern the crude treatment of disability and sexuality, alongside a muddled tone and talk-heavy scenes that lack momentum. Critics differ mainly over whether any charm survives those problems, though one review breaks decisively from the rest. Variety finds the film silly but enjoyable, praising precisely the dialogue, character work and chemistry that most critics reject. Its enthusiasm makes it a clear outlier rather than evidence of a broadly divided response. ## Variety — Amy Dawes Rating **. 2 August 2003. The critic finds it a silly but enjoyably written and performed romantic comedy that benefits from strong dialogue and character work despite its baggage and nonsensical story. She singles out the engaging chemistry and banter between Lopez and Affleck as the highlight. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2003/film/reviews/gigli-1200540157/) ## Evening Standard — Neil Norman Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. The review deems the film not quite as disastrous as its reputation suggested but still fatally undermined by a preposterous script and corny execution. Brief praise goes to the short contributions from Christopher Walken and Al Pacino. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dead-ends-for-jlo-and-co-7436444.html) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 November 2003. The review calls the film a mess and vanity project that tries to be too many genres at once while offering nothing profound about the sexes, though it admires the curiosity and weirdo tone in places. It singles out the adolescent writing and the way Brest tortures the audience with home-invasion scenes and genre indecision as major complaints. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/gigli-dvd/) ## The AV Club — Keith Phipps Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 2003. The critic finds little reason to see this talky, spark-free gangland romantic comedy, which lacks charge or momentum despite a professional sheen from Brest and charisma from its stars. The dialogue is unconvincing and the film is essentially all talk, redeemed by neither cameos nor the tacked-on ending. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/gigli-1798199372) ## Vulture — Anna Peele Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 16 June 2021. The piece states outright that Gigli isn’t a good film, either in 2003 or now, citing its myopic and convoluted story, jarringly banal score, tonal and genre tensions, and botched production history. It singles out the fake-seeming chemistry between Affleck and Lopez and the time-capsule early-2000s wardrobe and cultural context as notable elements. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/gigli-ben-affleck-jennifer-lopez-friday-night-movie-club.html) ## Time Out — JWin Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic delivers a strongly negative verdict on the film's execution and premise, highlighting the miscast leads and contrived plot elements like the impaired brother subplot and simplistic Hollywood psychology. A few mitigating factors are noted in passing, including visual appeal from one lead and a brief celebrity cameo. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/gigli) ## Empire — Simon Braund Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film utterly devoid of redeeming qualities, with no professional standards met in any aspect of production or performance. They single out the complete lack of chemistry between Affleck and Lopez, along with an appalling script, for particular scorn. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/gigli-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 1 August 2003. The critic deems the film nearly as unwatchable as it is unpronounceable, a gangster comedy that stinks even without its stars and relies on crude, unfunny jokes about disability and sexuality. She singles out the strained banter, sentimental backpedaling, and Affleck's miscasting as an insufferable lunkhead. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-aug-01-et-dargis1-story.html) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 1 August 2003. The critic calls the film a hopelessly misconceived exercise in celebrity self-worship with a special badness all its own, driven by lame dialogue from its stars. He singles out the flat, featureless look and the leads' inability to make their characters plausible or engaging. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/01/movies/film-review-an-offer-of-love-he-can-t-refuse.html) ## The Times — James Christopher Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2003. The critic declares the film an utter disaster that defies adequate description. He highlights the absurd plot involving a kidnapping, the mismatched leads (a lesbian contract killer and a dim-witted hitman), and the crude, laughable dialogue as reasons it is unwatchable. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/gigli-3gnbmss2x2m) ## Collider — Lindsey Clouse Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 1 August 2023. The film is widely regarded as one of the worst ever made and deservedly so, with offensive elements, poor dialogue, and a muddled tone. However, the talented cast including Affleck, Lopez, Walken, and Pacino, along with occasional effective comedic moments, provide some redeeming qualities. [Read the review](https://collider.com/gigli-terrible-ben-affleck-jennifer-lopez/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/gigli.md