House of Versace

Let me tell you right off the bat this movie is 4 stars out of 5, and the only reason it's not 5 stars out of 5 is because of the documentary "Beyond the Headlines: House of Versace."

Gina Gershon perfectly embodies Donatella Versace while "Keith Mars" from "Veronica Mars" aka Enrico Colantino perfectly embodies Gianni Versace. The always amazing Colm Feore portrays older brother Santo Versace. The reason I say both Gina & Enrico EMBODY their characters and Colm portrays Santo is because growing up in the 90s I saw interviews of Donatella & Versace regularly. I know their mannerisms, inflictions of voice, etc. They EMBODIED their roles. Aside from obvious facial structures it felt like I was watching a home video. Even though Gina doesn't look identical to Donatella she came VERY close. Enrico looked IDENTICAL to Gianni; and when I mean identical I mean IDENTICAL! I had never seen Santo so I don't know if Colm played him correctly, but given the amazing acting skills of that man I'm sure he did. The rest of the cast looked like whom they portrayed (Alex Carter whom plays Donatella's husband Paul is one of my new crushes). Surprise cameo by the great Raquel Welch as Aunt Lucia.

There are no surprises as far as basic storyline: boy from nothing becomes fashion icon alongside family in the Hollywood spotlight. The surprises come with how they get there. I didn't know Donatella didn't help design the clothes. I didn't know Donatella was even married with more than one child. I didn't know Gianni had no clue whom Andrew Cunanan was. I didn't know Gianni was a homebody and stayed at home with his long-term boyfriend. I didn't know how complex Gianni & Donatella's relationship was. I didn't know how close they were to Princess Diana. I didn't know Donatella's daughter Allegra was 50% owner of the Versace empire. And I didn't know Elton John was the one who staged an intervention on Donatella when she had a drug problem...she had a drug problem?

That last bit is why I give the movie a 4. In the documentary it clearly states two things: 

1. Gianni left 20% of his company to Donatella, 30% to Santo, and 50% to Allegra, but in the movie it didn't spell it out like that. It simply said "My only heir is Allegra." Given there was no explanation, but it didn't spell it out like the documentary did. Although Donatella & Santo already had their shares it really should've spelled it out. It made Gianni seem vindictive and unappreciative which he wasn't according to the rest of the movie.
2. During Allegra's 18th birthday party her father nods and she confronts her mother Donatella about her drug habit and partying ways. In the documentary it clearly states Elton John being a close friend of Donatella & Gianni's staged the intervention. None of Donatella's friendships are focused on.

Had these things been addressed I would've said 5 stars. But aside from that it's the first TV movie in a very long time I want on DVD to watch over and over. In fact since it debuted Saturday night I've seen the two-hour flick 3 times. I cannot get enough of it. 

Personally I think Gina & Enrico deserve Emmy wins. They didn't parody their roles; they paid homage. Not once did I feel I was watching an SNL skit; in fact in one scene Santo says to Donatella "Look at you now. You're a joke. People are making fun of you." And it felt real. Like a real conversation. Watch this movie because you will not only love it, but get more insight to what really went on in the "House of Versace."