A lowly thug, Gigli, is assigned to kidnap the psychologically challenged younger brother of a powerful federal prosecutor to save his mobster boss from incarceration. Staked-out in his one-bedroom apartment with his kidnap victim, Brian, Gigli soon realizes that what he thought would be a routine assignment soon becomes a tumultuous task. Ricki, a gorgeous, free-spirited female gangster is sent to assist Gigli with the kidnapping because his boss does not think that Gigli is up to the job. But when his feelings for the decidedly unavailable Ricki begin to grow, and he actually becomes concerned for Brian, tough guy Gigli begins to transform into an actual human being…which considering his profession could be a very dangerous occupation –IMDb
Martin Brest (born August 8, 1951) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer.
Education
Brest was born in the Bronx, New York and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1969, from New York University’s School of the Arts in 1973 and from the AFI Conservatory with an M.F.A. degree in 1977.
Career
His major studio debut was 1979’s Going in Style, which starred George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg, the first of several films to mix action and comedy to great effect. Brest was then hired to direct the film WarGames, but was fired during production.
Brest got his big break in 1984 with Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy. The film grossed over $300 million and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Brest followed up with 1988’s Midnight Run, starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, a critical and commercial… read more
What we have here is a mainstream American picture butchered by its studio. What was to be a vicious gangster comedy was forced into becoming a standard romantic comedy. The thing is - that just doesn't work - since Brest basically turned his material into talkative excess and moodswings. But there is an offbeat charisma throughout, and a highly fresh kind of rhythm to the dialogue that hardly any films have done.
Not as bad as everyone made it out to be at the time. Justin Bartha is that bad, however.