Nothing gets gay men going like a pop star pivoting to the big screen. Lady Gaga’s done lots of that already. Let’s not forget her role in the schlocky 2013 bloodfest Machete Kills, her TV turn in American Horror Story (which won her a Golden Globe) or her pre-fame appearance in The Sopranos. Yes, she might have nabbed an Oscar nomination for A Star is Born (as she should!), but what we’re saying is: Lady Gaga’s been working towards this. And in the new trailer for House of Gucci, she pretty much breaks the fourth wall, stares down Ridley Scott’s camera lens and says to the Academy: Give me what’s mine, bitch. She might have the Oscar for Best Original Song (go off “Shallow”!) but she deserves one for Best Actress too.
We can credit Gaga’s background in theatre, paired with her desire to be seen as a serious artist, as the reason behind her ability to switch between the piercing sadness of her work in A Star is Born and the campy, Tammie Brown-standard “I’m acting!” she’s delivering as Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci. This is the role she was born to play. She is, may she incessantly remind you, an Italian-American woman. She loves fashion. She has the kind of murderous dom-top power required to convincingly play someone who would get sent to jail for organising the assassination of her wealthy husband. And heck, if you’re going to hand that role to her, you know for a fact that she will deliver.
So why do we think Gaga will get the Oscar for House of Gucci based on nothing but two minutes and 24 seconds of footage and industry hearsay? Here’s why.
She went method
Okay, no, Gaga didn’t literally kill someone to prove her worth for the part, but interviews with her co-stars suggest she slipped into the character and never quite slipped out of it during filming. Salma Hayek, who stars alongside Gaga in House of Gucci, recently told Variety that, before the shoot began, “We were talking on the phone and [Gaga] was already Patrizia. Her accent was perfect.” If that’s not enough, Salma added: “Her level of commitment — I’ve only seen maybe once or twice somebody commit to a character like she does. And she’s also a great team player.” You hear that?! Oscar nominee Salma Hayek said she had a wild level of commitment to the role! You know who else does that? Daniel Day-Lewis. And while Gaga could almost certainly play Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread, DDL couldn’t sing the shit out of “Poker Face” in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. Lady Gaga Oscar winner for acting confirmed.
The way she says “sweetie” in an Italian accent
To date, the House of Gucci marketing campaign has been built around one thing and one thing only: Lady Gaga saying things. In trailer one, we got three: “I don’t consider myself a particularly ethical person, but I am fair!”, “It’s time to take out zee trash”, and the iconic phrase burnt into the gay lexicon forevermore: “Father, son and house of Gucci”. The new trailer adds a fourth, with Gaga’s Patrizia reminding her soon-to-be assassinated husband Maurizio that Gucci is not just his name, but “Our name, sweetie”, as she points to a big fuck off diamond wedding ring on her finger. It’s these moments that will not only get gay men’s arses in seats in the theatre, but remind the Academy of how capable she is of commanding control of a scene. That’s power!
She’s playing a real life person!
Biopics are catnip to Oscar voters, because they like to have a real life person to compare someone’s performance to. In fact, every year since 2011, an actress has been nominated for playing someone famous — in Renée Zellweger’s case for 2019’s Judy, she even went and won. And while of course it makes everyone hypercritical of certain aspects of your performance, be it your looks or your accent, Gaga has nothing to worry about, since her slightly hammy Italian accent sounds sorta similar to Patrizia’s English.
Her physical “transformation”
The Academy are famously fickle when it comes to what they look for in a worthy performance. More often than not, if an actor usually deemed attractive makes themselves not so attractive, it guarantees them a nomination. “Transformative” the critics call it. Well, guess what? If that’s what you want, Gagz will give it to you! While we get to see Gaga in full Gucci regalia, looking like an 80s fashion icon, we also get a glimpse into her downfall, as she starts to plot the assassination of her husband and, for some reason, becomes Jo Calderone all over again. In the trailer, we see her give us truck driver chic as she asks the two assailants: “Who does what?”. Of course, Gaga is hugely convincing as a malicious hitman-hirer, whether she’s wearing an expensive dress or looking like she works for Eddie Stobart. They call that range, girls. Roll out the red carpet. This film might wind up being a trashy soap opera saga, but we don’t care. Give Gaga that Oscar!!