Gia (Unrated Edition) Reviews

• A Great Film - Wonderful Acting - Good Storytelling

  
  By A2A1HDK1NXG1S2 on 2001-06-25
  This is it folks - a genuine "breakout performance". We don't get them often enough so we should pay attention when we do.

  WARNING ::: This review reveals some plot points !

  "Gia", a film for HBO, stars Angelina Jolie, Faye Dunaway, Elizabeth Mitchell and Mercedes Ruehl.

  This film is the life-story of Gia Carangi, one of the first "supermodels". How big a star/model was Gia? Well, Cindy Crawford was dubbed the "young Gia" and the "next Gia" - that's how famous she was.

  Unfortunately, besides being the "face" of the day in the modelling world, she was also fairly famous for her drug addiction and ultimate fall from grace.

  If you want a more indepth depiction of Gia's life - there are a couple of books available. The best being "Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia".

  Back to the film.

  Angelina Jolie BECOMES Gia in every sense of the word. Her performance is one of the best portrayals of real people in years. She is completely and utter believable. She captures what is surely the essense of Gia. She brings a desparate wanting to the character that you can feel.

  Elizabeth Mitchell ( recently of "ER" fame ) co-stars and really provides an excellent touch-stone for Gia's tortured existance.

  There's nothing pretty about this film - it shows the whole story, the drugs, the parties, the sex, the pain and the suffering. It depicts, with little filter, the USING of Gia and her decent into her fate.

  It's no surprise that Angelina won a Golden Globe for this amazing performance. It's no surprise that she was nominated for an Emmy either. You're not able to take your eyes off her. As a matter of fact, this is a much awarded film - including a best actress award for Angelina Jolie at the LA Outfest.

  Faye Dunaway is mainly here for star power - almost as if they weren't sure Angelina Jolie could pull it off. She's okay here, but we all know that Faye has done some amazing work and here, she sort of phones it in.

  Mercedes Ruehl plays Gia's mother and she does a good job. She's a little over the top but you suspect it's an accurate portrayal.

  For the Angelina Jolie fan - it's a MUST SEE, MUST OWN film. For others, it really is worth the time and money.

  You don't often get a chance to see a young star make an amazing film like this. You'll see small tales of "Lisa" from her Academy Award winning performance in "Girl, Interupted" in Gia, but mostly you'll see an INCREDIBLE performance by Angelina Jolie. Really remarkable.

  FYI : There is an UNRATED version available on VHS that is currently not available on DVD. The UNRATED version contains more explict scenes ( specifically the shower sequence is longer ).

  In all, a great film. Well written, directed and acted. A real gem. Thank you HBO.

  All The Best, turtlex
  
  

• Gia - A tragic true tale!

  
  By A16X61RLY1YJL7 on 2004-01-02
  "Gia" is quite simply the haunting but well told story of Gia Marie Carangi. Truth be told, I was not drawn to this movie at first because of the story, what drew me and I'm sure many others to it is the star Angelina Jolie. After her success in the Tomb Raider movies, I thought it would be interesting to see some of her past work, thus this movie became very interesting!

  Angelina Jolie performs admirably and brilliantly in this film, almost to perfection in what I'm sure is an even greater range in her talents. The depth of the character she portrays does compel you to the character despite already knowing the tragic outcome. Praise goes to Faye Dunaway and Mercedes Ruehl for their efforts in this film as well.

  This true life sad story is told well in the film; however, the director, Michael Cristofer, chose an almost cryptic style in which to tell the tragic story of Gia's life which, at times, detracts from the overall telling of the story. The score for the film does do well in what it's designed to do, augment the overall feel of the movie.

  The Premise:

  "Gia" is the overly tragic story of Gia Marie Carangi; a young and extremely beautiful woman from Philadelphia who suffered the break up of her parents at a young age and then in her late teens, a photographer stumbles upon her and not long thereafter the life of a supermodel overwhelms her. Incapable of dealing with separation of any form, she turns to drugs!

  What follows from there is a heart wrenching and very telling true life tragedy of what happened to this beautiful young woman.

  I would definitely recommend this HBO movie; one for the story itself and two for the exceptional performance by Angelina Jolie in this heartrending tale. {ssintrepid}

  Special Features:

  -Cast & Crew Bios
  -Photo Gallery
  
  

• AMAZING

  
  By on 1999-12-30
  The entire movie is fabulous, but i would just like to pay special attention to Elizabeth Mitchell for her amazing performance as Angelina Jolie's love interest. Now i totally agree with everyone when they say that Angelina's performance was flawless, but most people have a tendency to over look Mitchell's character and her part which made the movie so wonderful! somehow Mitchell was able to steal all of the scenes she was in, which is an especially hard task since most of the scenes are with Jolie. she's amazing as Gia's lover. you are truly able to feel the love Linda has for Gia, and this is in part thanks to the chemistry between the two actresses but also because of Mitchell's obvious amazing talent at completely giving herself to her part! all i want to know is what else she's has been or will be in! i loved her in this movie and i hope that she keeps portraying wonderful characters such as Linda! so for everyone who loves Gia, next time you watch the movie please pay special attention to Elizabeth Mitchell's magnificent performance as the only person who loved Gia unconditionally!
  
  

• Missing 6 Minutes

  
  By A960TISQYIFBM on 2005-06-12
  This is a terrific movie and I was thrilled to see Angelina Jolie playing this part, (I first saw her in Hackers). But in case you don't know this, the DVD is missing 6 minutes of the movie. the only way to have the extra 6 minutes is to have gotten the original release on VHS (or recorded in from HBO). After Angelina became more popular, 6 minutes of her nude scenes were deleted from later re-releases of the movie including this DVD. But it still is a good movie.
  
  

• Another extraordinary performance by Angelina Jolie

  
  By on 1999-02-14
  In this intense and heartfelt film, Angelina Jolie captures the essence of the sad and turbulent spirit of Gia Marie Carangi, the fashion model who struggled with abandonment, fame and drug addiction. Elizabeth Mitchell is Linda, a character who represents several of Gia's relationships. She is an angelic "square" whose attempts to put Gia on the right track are constantly frustrated. Although the film takes some poetic license with this enduring love interest, it does provide us with an accurate glimpse of the kind of monogamous relationship Gia longed for but was unable to obtain. Faye Dunaway as Whilhelmina Cooper (Wilhelmina Models founder)and Mercedes Ruehl as Kathleen Sperr (Gia's mother) are wonderful. Ruehl has a complex character to portray. The movie will not win the modeling industry any new friends, and you'll think twice if you were planning on farming your daughter out to young miss fashion competitions. Angelina Jolie as Gia lets us learn from her mistakes and the movie leaves an indelible mark that cannot be airbrushed away.
  
  
• Gia: A Tragic Story of the American Dream
  By A5FHUFYZ3JBFW on 1999-11-30
  While some viewers may be shocked or even disgusted by the graphic love scenes in Gia, it is a film that can be apprecitated nonetheless for its sensitive, yet up-front, portrayal of a young girl who finds herself very quickly thrown into the dark world of the modeling business. Angelina Jolie is perfect as the ill-fated Gia who went from top model to anonymous AIDS case in a welfare hospital. The chemistry between Jolie and her on-screen love interest, Elizabeth Mitchell, is amazing, and Jolie's incredible performance only adds to our feelings of sorrow as dark beauty Gia spirals downward into an underworld of drugs and eventually death. Viewers will be haunted by the the graphic scenes in which Gia finally loses her battle with AIDS. The film contains sporadic documentary-style interviews with Gia's friends and family, and Mercedes Ruehl stands out as Gia's never-quite-there mother. This film will leave viewers breathless as they try to comtemplate how such a fate could befall such a young, beautiful woman who seemed to have everything. This film shoud be seen by everyone for it showcases a problem too often dismissed by a seemingly glamourous profession.
  
  
• From a gay perspective, this is a must-see movie
  By A3C0MTP0YQEBEV on 1999-01-19
  While "Gia" certainly is a sobering look at the short life and tragic death of Gia Carangi, 80's supermodel, this movie also gets a five star rating for its depiction of the relationship between Gia and her lover Linda. (Unfortunately, the character Linda never really existed in real-life; this is an amalgamation of different relationships Gia had with women.) However, kudos must be given to Angelina Jolie and especially Kathleen Mitchell for the heat and chemistry these two put on the screen. Unlike many movies that depict both the affectional and sexual realtionships between two women, wherein the actresses look as though they are either sleep walking or don't have a clue how two women might interact with one another on an other-than- friends basis, these two actresses capture the whole picture. From the performance that shows up on screen, you could swear that it isn't just acting. They get every nuance, from eye contact to touch. However, you have to get the Unrated version, not the R rated version, to really get the whole picture. The Unrated version contains scenes that go much farther in explaining how Gia's relationship, even if fictional, is the emotional core of this movie. Especially fun is the extended version of Gia and Linda having dinner together when Gia moves back to Philadelphia. While the R version only gives us a peck on the lips at the dinner table, the unrated version contains several of what appear to be outtakes from filming, that are special because of the good humor that the two actresses seem to share in filming a great physical-but-with-clothes-on scene, several times. The initial scenes with Gia and Linda in the photography studio, as well as in bed for the first time, also give a more extended view of the heat between the two characters.If you're tired of politically correct lesbian movies featuring women who look like they need a bath and a good haircut, this is definitly one to rent. I'm only left with a couple of questions: Who is Kathleen Mitchell? Has she ever been in anything else? Angelina Jolie deserves the kudos she's gotten for portraying Gia, but Mitchell deserves a ton for bringing a real-live formerly heterosexual woman who meets someone that changes her mind to life with such a fine, nuanced performance.
  
  
• Unbelievable and Heartwrenching
  By ANKMRV9WVHB7A on 2000-04-22
  I was maybe ten when Gia died. Needless to say I had never heard of her when this movie came out. But being a huge fan of Angelina Jolie I watched it. After it was over I just sat there thinking (a sign of a very good movie in my opinion). I had run the gamet of every emotion possible in just two hours. I felt like I had just met someone quite amazing and they told me their life story. Angelina Jolie has proven herself in the past as an amazing actress, but this film established her as a master of the craft. No one could have come close to the power she radiates while showing us who Gia was. I don't say "plays Gia" because it was definitly more than portraying a character. She became Gia. I hate when people categorize this movie as "lesbian/ gay film", because it generalizes a very complex emotional human being. Gia wasn't just a lesbian, she was a model, a friend, a daughter, and a lover. If you want to experience the human condition, it's joy and pain, watch Gia. It truly is a work of art. And Angelina Jolie is an artist.
  
  
• Touching, Stunning, and Haunting
  By on 1999-05-14
  I read this book and found it unforgettable, and I love Angelina Jolie, so I was really looking forward to this. I was not dissapointed at all. Jolie is not only so beautiful she takes your breath away, but has real talent and star power. The casting was perfect, and Mercedes Ruehel was brilliant as usual. I don't care for Fay Dunaway but thought she was perfectly cast (though her teeth alarm me) Several scenes stand out--there's the one where she goes into the modeling agency, all punked-out and with an attitude. The snotty receptionist asks her name and she replies "Gia". The receptionist bitchily says, "G-what?" Gia pulls out her switchblade and carves the letters G-I-A right into the shocked receptionist's desktop. The scene where she does a photo shoot nude behind a chain link fence, but asks the blonde assistant she likes to join her in the shoot, is very sexy, beautifully shot and romantic. It gets pretty depressing towards the end when she's desperate for junk and sick, but that's what heroin does to you. (I lost a friend, who was also a model, to heroin several years ago--in fact I read the book the same weekend she overdosed). Though try as the makeup artists might, they just can't make Jolie look as terrible as she's supposed to. Jolie is so stunning it almost hurts to look at her in some of the scenes where she's dressed and made up to the nines. Many of the clothes are to die for (no pun intended) The last few scenes really made me cry, especially when Mercedes Rhuel (who plays her mother) starts crying while she's talking about her daughter's tragic end. Beautiful, haunting, and also thought provoking--yes, supermodels have miserable lives sometimes, despite their looks. And women, even if your boyfriend/husband doesn't want to watch it with you because he thinks it's a 'chick flick', tell him he'll love it, and I'm sure he will become *very* interested during the love scenes!
  
  
• the best film ever
  By AXBL6Z5XUL7PT on 2004-12-14
  If you havent seen this film already you must buy it and watch it over and over again. Angelina Jolie play a model in need of help as at a young age her mother left her father for a rich man which left her feeling alone. Brought up in a house full of men GIA is sure to turn out a tom boy which she does. meeting a photographer at the age of 17 GIA soon turns into a fashion ikon beautiful and succesful her life was great. As all models in the 80's gia was no different she started taking cocaine to be in the in croud. One photoshoot she was asked to do one topless which she refused to do unless a woman who was working for the photographer was in with her they soon became lovers. So the number 1 model in the world was a bisexual cocaine addict. The film really had a twist ibn it when Gia went to her dealer for more cocaine but was no where to be seen but there was a nother crack head there and she was so desprate she took heroine which he offerd her instead. She took it soon passed out when she woke she was coverd in bruises which this drug addict did he also raped her. so now she had been raped beaten and given heroine with a dirty needle. she caught HIV she didnt know this at this point her girlfriend told he to choose the drugs or her she chose the drugs. soon after she was in rehab no longer beautiful noone wanted her to model for them when she got out
  she was cutting her self because she didnt have drugs she went back to her dealer which beat her because she used drugs off someone else. this is when she found out about the HIV it was now worse she had AIDS and was going to die she went to she her ex girlfriend but never told her she was going to die later that week she was in hospital dieing. When you watch this film you will see the brilliant acting from Angelina Jolie but i warn you this film is very sad at the end even i cried i cant get over how good her acting was and im not the only one as she won an oscar for it
  
  
• Different Taste, but Delicious. . . .
  By AP9UOXX9272YO on 2004-01-11
  I generally do not watch films such as this kind, but a friend offered it to me saying it was not like a porn movie or anything, but an intriguing film that makes you want to watch it over again and again. It was truly a sensational film, though I had never heard of Gia Carangi.

  It is a film in which starts Gia (Angelina Jolie) as a street/city girl who had no manners and worked for her father in a small restraunt. She was later discovered and introduced to a woman who saw a future in her. The hunch was right. Though Gia was one extroverted character, which made her unfavorable to other models, she was daring and extravagant. She was willing to try new things, and she was not afraid to what extent. She soon became quite popular.

  From her first shoot, she met the makup artists, in which she got an uneasy welcome. But at that point, she met a person named Linda. Linda was to be her savior. Linda quickly learned how witty Gia was, not only when she heard Gia's quick retorts, but also when Gia asked her to pose with her in a nude protrait shoot with a photographer. From this point onwards, feelings began to develop and so did Gia's career.

  In the beginning, Linda resisted to Gia's seduction and tried to convince herself that she was straight. Linda even retained a boyfriend, which infuriated Gia. Gia then started goijng back to her old ways--drugs and guys, like she did when she first was living in the city.

  Anyhow, I will not tell anymore, in fear that I may spoil the whole movie, but this is a film in which I would strongly recommend. Though the genre may not be in the common mainstram, this film is metaphorical and can be related to many themes in life. It can be mixed with fantasy vs. reality, in such that Gia was living in a fantasy, but ended becuae of reality.
  
  

• Fabulous, dahling!
  By on 1999-10-27
  Angelina Jolie is the Queen of all women. Her performance in Gia was breath-taking. She gave you a real sense of how the late Gia Carangi felt about wanting to be loved, and the constant fear of abandonment by her mother; we really felt that whenever Kathleen left NY, Gia really didnt know if she would return. The most touching relationship is between Jolie and Elizabeth Mitchell (Linda), her on-again off-again lover for 9 years. I wish the real Gia could have experienced the love portrayed in the movie with just that one special person....instead, she sought love in several different people. Elizabeth is fantastic, and although their pairing seems to be an odd one, I think that's what makes it work. The chemistry between Jolie and Mitchell was fantastic, and made for some endearing and hot scenes. The unrated version is great. I am now an AJ fan for life. She is a true professional, a true artist, and just oozes sensuality and sexuality.
  
  
• My Favorite Movie of All Time
  By A1YCEINZYVWAL on 2001-11-04
  Gia. One word says it all. Real life story of tragic supermodel is the best film i've ever seen. Beautifully written and directly with absolutely fabulous music and photo shoot montages not to mention the acting which is incredible. Gia's mother is wonderfully portrayed as a typically east-coast neurotic not all there mother. Lynda is played so realisticly i doubt that i can even consider any woman straight again. Every supporting actor on screen is wonderful. But of course the reason why this movie is so good is Angelina Jolie. An amazing actress in an amazing movie shines as bright as any star around. Carrying her role through the highs and lows of Gia which were so draining she EARNED her place in the hollywood elite. The story itself is an extremely remarble one drawing from real life, real people and the diary of the main character's namesake. A profoundly tragic flim which should not for those who cry easily. Don't rent this film if your in the mood for a feel good comedy! This is a film that requires a box of tissues!!! Simply my favorite film of all time.
  
  
• "A capturing performance by Angelina Jollie"
  By ANIY85PHL0DL4 on 2000-08-14
  If you are an Angelina Jolie fan, this may already be your all-time favorite AJ performance. If you are not an AJ fan yet, you will be after you see this amazing true story drama of Gia Marie Carangi. Gia grew up in Philadelphia, her parents had seperated when she was young which had left her looking for real love the rest of her life. She later met Wilhemina Cooper who became her modeling agent, and Gia's life took off from there. Gia also meets the woman of her dreams, and their romance throughout the movie was breathless and also slightly tear-jerking. Aside Angelina's powerful performance, she was well supported with great co-stars including Elizabeth Mitchell who played "Linda" Gia's love. It is a Romance that can never be forgotten. -This is a must see movie.
  
  
• Unrated Version at a great price!
  By ARP9MDGT4NKCL on 2004-08-25
  The movie is an entertaining yet gut wrenching story of the first super model Gia Marie Carangi. Gia is unfortunately known for being the first female public persona to die from contracting the AIDS virus at the age of twenty six. When Gia passed in 1986 little was known about AIDS. Radioactive suits were used for AIDS patients and it was considered the "gay plaque". Gia was born in Philly and the first to walk the catwalk in a boisterous style. She was also a pioneer being a brunette in the modeling world of "Marsha freakin' Brady" `s.
  
  "... heaven on earth back again into under far in between through it in it and above..." from Gia's journal
  
  This movie chronicles Gia's relationships to family, friends, photographers, other models and drugs. This roller coaster of a movie is not for the faint of heart or close minded. Her rise to stardom and downward spiral take you by the hand every step of the way. Your heart goes out to the wise cracking model, almost daring you not to fall for her yourself, despite her heroin addiction. Her attempts of recovery and living as a house wife ("Mrs Doodiekins") are both endearing and entertaining. This is one of the first movies that I actually spoke to the screen, "NO GIA!" "You go girl!", etc.
  
  I can not say enough about Angelina Jolie's acting of the ill fated model. All sides of this complex character are shown. Charming, lovable, destructive, stubborn, it's all there! Jolie's performance in this HBO movie earned her the Golden Globe award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy nomination. Elizabeth Mitchell's performance as Linda is underrated and worth props. Mercedes Ruehl is excellent in everything she does, this is no exception. Ruehl plays Gia's "absent" mother Kathleen Carangi. Faye Dunaway is superb as the sympathetic modeling agent Wilhemina Cooper. Thinking back on the movie, not one bad performance in the bunch.
  
  
  Now that you know the basics of a "movie review" are covered, here is the real reason I am writing. I owned the "R" rated version of this movie on DVD and was curious to know what the added five minutes of footage contained. I searched the internet and could not find the information anywhere. If you are interested like I was this may be helpful to you. Granted I have not seen the "R" version in a while but these are the scenes I spotted. (no spoilers in case you have not seen this movie)
  The black and white chain link fence scene Between Gia and Linda is longer and more graphic. The scene inside studio 54 has a couple more seconds including more sex and drug use. Gia goes to "score" from Satellite in the red dress and Geisha make-up, the motor cycle ride is longer. The shower scene where Linda is "cleaning up" Gia is a little longer.
  
  That is all the difference I saw. If I missed anything, I`m sorry. If you like the movie half as much as I did, buy it. It's inexpensive, and worth so much.
  
  
  
  
  
• Live the life fantastic.
  By APYCNRS112N2B on 2000-02-25
  When talented people lose their lives far too early, it's tragic. The story of Gia Carangi, as presented by scripters Michael Cristofer (Bonfire of the Vanities), and Jay McInerney (nothing worth mentioning) tries hard to present a tale of tragedy with one glaring omission: Gia Carangi was never talented.

  She was beautiful, and from a broken home. She became addicted to drugs, she had low self-esteem, and lost her life early. It's all a shame but hardly anything earth-shattering in today's world. Unfortunately, Mr. McInerney continues to believe that beauty IS talent, that people really CARE about supermodel's lives, what they think, alas the rub.

  Angelina Jolie is beautiful and takes us through a range of emotions in her portrayal of Gia. The story is predictable and derivative, the dialogue cliché after cliché.

  Pass.
  
  

• Angelina Jolie
  By on 2001-11-13
  Full frontal nudity.....I wish I could give it six stars.
  
  
• A very moving, absolutely gorgeous film
  By AYMPVLWFKTAYE on 2002-08-13
  Michael Cristofer couldn't have selected a more perfect actress to portray Gia Carangi than Angelina Jolie - Jolie's in-your-face attitude complements Carangi's bad-girl persona perfectly. Elizabeth Mitchell's portrayal of Linda is similarly excellent - the chemistry between the two women is phenomenal. Even apart from the casting, though, the movie is outstanding - aesthetically, it blows me away every time I see it (and only partly because Jolie is so beautiful.) The direction, the sound track, everything about this film is top-notch.

  The story itself is touching, engaging, and heart-wrenching; watching the young Gia destroy her life with drugs, even choosing drugs over the love of her life, is a very emotional experience. I end up in tears every time I see the movie, and I enjoy it every time. Mercedes Ruehle does a great job as Gia's mom, expertly conveying the nuances of her own neuroses, and expressing her conflicting emotions regarding her troubled daughter.

  I can't say enough good things about "Gia;" I really recommend it to Jolie fans, Carangi fans, or anyone who enjoys a good, tragic love story.
  
  

• Skip the R rated one. This is the ONLY version worth seeing!
  By A14VQ55F6O49C1 on 2004-08-04
  The movie Gia (based on a true story) is very well made for an HBO film. Jolie is really good and uses her ex-modeling skills a lot in this one. The R rated version cut out a good amount of nudity, so it will be nice to see it all put back in. For those of you wondering, YES Angelina Jolie is naked in a LOT of this film and NO it doesn't have a happy ending!
  
  
• The best Angelina Jolie movie . . . You have to see this!
  By A2R4XG0L7Z01V8 on 2003-12-24
  A true story, starring Angelina Jolie as Gia Marie Curangi (just call her Gia), who was one of the first American women who died from the AIDS virus.

  This was filmed documentary style, which surprised me, although not too much of the documentary scenes interrupt the film. It does get annoying when this person is talking about Gia but who doesn't actually appear in Gia's life until later in the film, so you don't have a clue who they are.

  Of course, Angelina Jolie stars as Gia, throwing herself so much into the role that you forget where to draw the line between Angelina and Gia. Angelina almost became Gia, and it's hard to understand why exactly this film isn't better known. Forget Tomb Raider, forget Girl, Interrupted, this should have been THE film of Angelina's career. Why it wasn't, is beyond me. The story is a stunning portrayal of a young girl thrown in at the deep end, and not knowing what to do.

  Alongside Angelina, Faye Dunaway plays a small, but very much needed role in this. She stars as Gia's agent, and also her mentor. Gia will phone her in the middle of the night to talk, and when she dies, Gia is left alone and lost. Thus begins her downward spiral into the fatal world of drugs.

  By the back cover of the DVD, you know Gia's character dies, so you're expecting that. What you don't expect is how drawn out it is, but how fast the film goes. At just under 2 hours long, it was over before I knew it. Once she's discovered as having AIDS, the film quickly progresses into a drugs/AIDS story, and its horrifying. The end scenes of Angelina show how great an actress she is, and just what drugs can do to you.

  There is a lot of nudity in this film. But it's done very well - or as well as it can be, when there are almost full frontal shots, but from far away. You would think this would turn you off the film, but it really attributes to what the film is. Angelina seems to have no qualms about her body and flaunted it to the max in this. She also flaunted her (small) collection of tattoos, but no Billy Bob scrawled across her upper arm, as this was before he came on the scene.

  Angelina is one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood at the moment. She's not your classic beauty - as Gia says in the film, "a woman isn't a woman unless she's blonde". But Angelina is beautiful; there's no doubt about it. She's one of these lucky women who look good without any makeup - not that I'm jealous of course!

  Gia's character almost seemed schizophrenic at some points, and this could have been because of the drugs, but she's also very insecure about her various relationships. It was hard to see her change from a happy, smiley young girl, to an angry, crying woman, throwing stuff around.

  I've never heard of Gia before this, but now I'm pleased I have this movie, and I can watch it whenever I want to. She was only 26 when she died, which is horrifying, considering how much she did in her short life. And she started modelling when she was 17, and started taking drugs soon after. But the people in the modelling world didn't seem to care that one of their finest models was doing drugs, as shown in the movie.

  HIV can take a while to develop into AIDS, but the doctors said in the film, that it could have been from sharing a needle. You see very graphically the first time Gia injects herself, whereas before she was just sniffing. You don't see her injecting again after this, which made me think this was when she got HIV then.

  It's quite scary as the film goes on, before you realise there is anything wrong with her, because you notice her hair getting greyer and greyer, and bags appearing under her eyes.

  The very start, when you see Gia getting makeup put on her, is a bit freaky, but I won't explain why, you have to watch the end, as the scenes get repeated.

  All in all, a great film, and definitely re-watchable. It will shock you to the core and one of Angelina's best performances yet.
  
  

• Amazing.....
  By A2B214GZ0SUQ4H on 2000-04-28
  I have never heard of this woman before I saw this movie. So I watched knowing nothing about her Based on a her life events, I was interested already. I was really young when she began her modeling career and when she died as well. "GIA" showed how troubled she was and the problems she had growing up in her family. Also the impact AIDS had on her life in general. Dying of something you don't know what it is you are dying from. Now that alone is scary. AIDS was something new in the late 70's/early 80's. Not much was known about it. "GIA" is easy to follow and not boring one bit. At points throughout the movie, I was left guessing what she would do next. How far would GIA, this famous model, go to make herself happy? A woman who had everthing in life, but was still unhappy. You will have to find out yourself. It takes you on for a wild ride and leaves you wanting more. "GIA" keeps you on the edge of your seat at times. But also Angelina Jolie does an excellent job at keeping the audience focused on the character's emotions. Too tragic of an ending indeed for someone who definately was at the top of her game in the modeling business. Great actress Angelina Jolie is and brings a great amount of justice to GIA, her work, and life.
  
  
• HBO Delivers
  By A2UW83R0JOZZ6 on 2000-05-17
  Kudos to a clever script, smart direction and the magnificent performances of Angelina Jolie, Mercedes Ruehl and Elizabeth Mitchell. Sometimes some of the best movies are the ones that never make it to theaters. HBO has a history of recognized original films, and this is one that I would definetely recommend to anyone who has a fascination with the world of modeling and show business.

  Jolie, who is quite a character herself, creates an accurate and stunning portrayal of the model who burned out as quickly as she rose to fame in the ever-evolving world of fashion and modeling. Spiraling downwards into a world of drugs, sex and violence, Carangi lived hard and died young, her face forever immortalized by the lens that first discovered her raw and intriguing appeal. No doubt about it, she is an unforgettable icon in the industry, such as the scene indicates where she rudely carves her name into the receptionist's counter at the modeling agency who immediately takes her under their wing and turns her from a feisty and fearless teenager into a seductive and ethereal glamour goddess. Now this was a performance well-warranted of recognition and the Golden Globes knew that, thus presenting Jolie with its high honors as Best Actress.

  Mercedes Ruehl was the perfect narrator for the story, Gia's forlorn and almost flaky mother, boning up her daughter's legacy with childhood memories and the typical endearments only mothers could enjoy. Then there's the wonderful supporting role of Linda, Gia's on-again off-again girlfriend, who is played with wonderful restraint by Elizabeth Williams. The only character with enough sense to try to get miles away from Gia's destructive behavior and crumbling sense of self-worth. She tries relentlessly to lead Gia astray from her powerful addictions (promiscuity, heroin, etc.), but loses her fight each time. Her love is honest and deep, but her will to stay sane is even stronger, and she eventually walks away later on. Not to mention with a man, which Gia takes offense to and fuels her fire for her deep-rooted depression and her escape into the euphoria of intravenous drugs, which ultimately becomes her demise.

  It's a sad story to tell, but nevertheless it's told well, and although you won't be smiling when it's over, you'll be very much impressed by the acting and the directing. Five stars it is, and this definetely won't be a waste of money to the person who chooses to buy, lest they aren't convinced by my gushing review!
  
  

• Always and forever
  By AANG87SKNL3T7 on 2004-01-07
  I loved this movie the very first time I watched it, and even though I love Angelina, the storyline, the cast, and everything about it.... I must say the things that made me want to watch this movie over and over is just how emotional the movie is.

  I get inspiration when I am painting by watching this movie. This is one of those artistically beautiful movies that you can pause on any given moment and be able to paint the most beautiful picture on canvas.

  Angelina is flawlessly gorgeous when she is all made up... and even when she is given the "drugged up" look - she still has you completely captivated.

  This is a fantastic movie, the cinematography is great, the writing is RIGHT ON, and the account of Gia is truly memorable.
  
  

• Sad and Tragic but still a great movie
  By A1IWR4FKPGE95C on 2003-11-15
  Angelina Jolie gives the performance of her career in this film that depicts the meteoric rise and hard fall of supermodel Gia Carangi. This is the story of a tough, streetsmart and fast talking gril from Philadelphia who became one of the world's most successful models. Her intense beauty and wild ways open doors for all that was good and bad. She had a voracious appetite for sex with both men and women but what she loved most was definately to get high on cocaine and heroin. Her fast pace life filled with money,fame and cover shots for the world's top fashion magazines came spiralling out of control when she became a bonafide junkie that could not stop sticking needles in her arms and sniffing large quantities of coke on a daily basis. Finally her world came to a halt when she died at the age of 26 of Aids from apparently either a contaminated needle or the many sex partners that she had at various times in her life. It could be both but the film tends to draw the conclusion that she was infected with the virus thru a contaminated needle. Angelina Jolie who in my opinion is more beautiful than the real Gia, nails this character to the wall with an incredible intensity and finess. She gives a brilliant over the top performance and is with this movie in my opinion that she jumps to the category of the Hollywood heavyweights. She is truly an excellent actress and if this movie would have been release theatrically, she would of atleast grabbed an Oscar nomination as Best Actress. She did however won the Golden Globe for her performance in this incredible film. This movie even though it is sad and tragic and tough to watch at times is one of my favorites and I recommended to anyone who not only likes Angelina Jolie or wants to see what a great actress she is but also to the people who at one time or another have contimplated doing drugs and they can see for themselves what the final outcome is:SELF DESTRUCTION and probably even death like in the case of Gia who wanted to live a normal life but her inner demons (whatever they were) and obsession for the drugs and unprotected sex ended her life at an early age. You shouldn't miss this movie, it is available for rental in most video stores but don't rent it buy it this is a great film to have in any movie collection. I bought my copy and you should too.
  
  
• Mesmerizing Tale of Fame and Self-destruction
  By AW4MT9WP95TVD on 2004-11-16
  This is really an excellent film and it rightly catapulted Jolie to stardom. Her performance here is outstanding. If this had not been an HBO film, she probably would have won an Oscar. It is a beautifully filmed gut-wrenching story. Not for the prudish certainly, but for those heartier souls, this is a real winner.
  
  
• Jolie's best work yet!
  By A2MI0TCTOOLED on 2000-04-08
  This movie is absolutely outstanding! It is raw and uninhibited. The acting in this movie is perfect. At the end of the movie you feel exhausted and almost like you were in it. Yet you want more of it. I have been a longtime fan of Angelina Jolie's, and her work in this movie is even better than her performance in Girl Interrupted. She is a remarkable and extremely powerful actress. Beautiful and talented, a rarity. If she keeps picking roles like this one she is going to have a lot of awards on her shelves.
  
  
• A Disappointment.
  By A34PAZQ73SL163 on 2005-06-22
  Well, it looks like I definitely have a contrarian opinion here because so many amazonians loved "Gia," but I simply could not get into this movie even though I watched the entire thing. Due to its weak plot and characterization, I don't know if we can really make a statement regarding Jolie's acting talents. There's not much that she could have done with such a stunted role. It is profoundly difficult to form any type of attachment to Gia. She's just not someone you can feel empathy for.
  
  I will grant that many of the party and sex scenes are magnetic, but, despite their visual interest, they are in no way a legitimate substitute for a meaningful plot. With the lesbian scenes, I understand why the movie caused a stir, but it seems to me that, if one is interested in such things, there are more direct and uniform sources from which to derive these pleasures. At every level, "Gia" just doesn't work.
  
  
• hold the cheese
  By on 2006-07-04
  This movie is so cheesey, it's pathetic. Basically what you have here is Angelina Jolie in a series of bad wigs, touching her mouth constantly like a old person checking their dentures, doing a bad impression of someone high and kissing a blonde repeatedly. That is it. Angelina looks nothing like Gia and portrays Gia as selfish needy creature who desprately clingy to the people around her and not a bit grateful for her fame as a model and how fortunate she was to get a big break, especially during the times when blonde models were the popular thing. It could be the script or it could Angelina's acting but this film made Gia come across as unlikeable, arrogant and needy. The white fade outs after each scene was the cheesiest part. Also cheesey was Angelina, for the 90th time trying to play a tough chick which was completely unbelieveable. Angelina oversells the tough part and turns into a joke. She may as have a scene with her wearing a baseball cap and chewing tobacco. She is not the least believeable as a tough in your face kind of person. The worse part of the film was when they had Angelina taking pics as Gia. To pretend that photos of someone hopping around and laughing and making faces could actually be used in a modeling portifilo is stupid. Worse yet, in the pictures, she is just dressed in jeans with apparently no makeup on and a wig that looks like it's knotted. That scene was a great joke. If you have already seen Angelina playing Lisa in "Girl, interrupted", then you have basically seen her in this movie as well. Don't waste your time on this cheesey junk. If you want to know about the real Gia, do a yahoo search on her or buy the book about her life. This movie doesn't even feel like a biography about a real person but instead, an excuse for Angelina to prance around in modeling outfits, try to look tragic and drag out her infamous and stale "girl, interrupted" shtick. It's sad that Gia's real life story gets thrown at the waist side as the movie seems to try to glamourize Gia's bad behavior while giving only a brief glimpse of the ugly sides of her life. I don't think Gia would have appericiated that, considering that when she found out about her health, she tried to educate people against drug use and learn from her mistakes. It's ironic that a movie based on her life tries to then glamourize not only the drug use but the idea of having no professionalism at all (by running off during a modeling shoot) and being unappericiative of success. An unknown actress might have helped this movie. As it is now, Angelina is too over exposed or over hyped to portray a real person. Other cheesey moments was when they seemed to be interviewing people so they could talk about her. First, the interviews would occur just at random and were spaced very far in between in each other. There was not a smooth transition from the moment when they stopped showing Gia at the moment to the interview with people talking about her. The interviews with people talking about her felt like a muddled mess in between the actual movie. Read the book instead of watching this.
  
  
• Angelina Jolie at her best!
  By A1A9ZAWVJPZGRB on 2000-05-11
  I veiwed this "movie" about 5 months ago, and I must say that it was a superb movie. First of all, Angelina Jolie was perfect for the part, infact her acting was so real, I was almost feeling how she felt. Second, I had no idea that this was a true story when I had seen it. While I was watching it, I thought it was very sad and entertaining, but when I found out that EVERYTHING in the film was true, I wa shocked. And third, the story is so touching and tragic at times. I know guys don't cry, but I almost did at the very en when Gia found out she had aids and couldn' tell her girlfrind, Linda. This was a great story and it showd that people who are beautiful can't always have beauty and happiness at the same time. To sum it all up...it was FANTASTIC! A MUST SEE!
  
  
• why not the Unrated version
  By on 2002-04-30
  I saw this movie orginally on HBO , then got hold of the unrated version on VHS , the one thing I can't figure out is why they didn't bring out the unrated version on DVD , this is the on aspect of DVDs that I love, you can put all the additives as well as the movie on this media , they should have brought this one out with the orginal version and unrated version available , then I would have bought it in a second.
  
  

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