Early in the first episode of Showtime’s “American Gigolo,” we get a montage: Tanned abs, vintage sports car, a man’s arm around a woman’s waist, his sport coat flung over one shoulder. And sex. Lots of sex. It’s all set to Debbie Harry singing “Call Me,” the song written for and made famous by the original “American Gigolo,” Paul Schrader’s skuzzy Los Angeles crime story overlaid with a glossy sheen from 1980, starring a wardrobe by Giorgio Armani and the guy wearing it: A swaggering Richard Gere.
That montage (which the opening credits mirror in subsequent episodes) is a nod to the mood and visual aesthetics of the original. And yet it all feels so very expected. Boring, even.
But perhaps you’re willing to overlook that because Jon Bernthal is here — in the Gere role — to pique your interest. I have some bad news about that as well. Bernthal isn’t your typical leading man, which has been key to his career-long appeal. His looks suggest not a movie star but a guy from the neighborhood, with a nose that has seen a few fights. There’s a sense of danger — and humor — in the way he carries himself in most roles. Not here.
