To me, Ridley Scott’s ‘House of Gucci’ was an “artistic documentary,” more or less biased, than an entertaining movie. The stories about self-made entrepreneurs, family business legacy have always had universal appeal and value. In any other family-owned-and-run business anywhere in the world, there comes a moment when the next generation has to take up the torch. The contrasts between the “founding fathers” and the new family business blood are deeper than the Grand Canyon. This is how I came with an alternate business timeline for the main characters.
Michael Brooks
An award-winning entrepreneur, speaker, and author.
Spoilers Disclaimer:
My take on spoilers is that they can’t harm a good movie. In this particular case, I have no intention to discuss cinematography aspects and artistic achievements. As an entrepreneur, the sole focus of my article will be on the business elements of this larger-than-life story.
European Business Aristocracy from an American Entrepreneurship Perspective
Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.
– Aldo Gucci
To me, Ridley Scott’s ‘House of Gucci’ was an “artistic documentary,” more or less biased, than an entertaining movie. The stories about self-made entrepreneurs, family business legacy, and especially the tricky ownership (management) successions have always had the universal appeal and value.
It’s both interesting and fascinating to look at a century-old brand through different lenses. Just like in any other family-owned-and-run business anywhere in the world, there comes a moment when the next generation has to take up the torch. By default, the contrasts between the “founding fathers” and the new family business blood are deeper than the Grand Canyon.
This is the moment when this brilliant movie caught my attention for real. What’s even more important, it made me think about it long after the closing credits.
This is how I came with an alternate business timeline for the main characters, and I would like to share it with the Hacker Noon readers.
WHAT IF, but NOT in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Animated Style?
Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci and Lady Gaga as Patrizia Reggiani (Copyright: © 2021 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Both Maurizio Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani were both heirs to their family businesses in their own right. I have to admit that I had more sympathy for Patrizia who wasn’t exactly born with the silver spoon in her mouth.
She grew up poor and never knew her biological father. When Patrizia was 12, her mother Silvana married wealthy entrepreneur Ferdinando Reggiani, who later adopted Patrizia.
It’s worth mentioning that Patrizia Reggiani was the daughter of a waitress mother and a truck driver father. On the other side, we have Maurizio who was the son of actors Rodolfo Gucci and Sandra Ravel. His father was one of the sons of Guccio Gucci, who founded the Gucci company in 1921.
Judging on what I could in the movie, Patrizia had more entrepreneurship spirit in her than Maurizio, who wasn’t business-oriented and determined, to put it the mildest way possible. She was clearly the driving force that made it possible for Maurizio to win Gucci’s version of ‘Game of Thrones.’
Now, I have no choice but to dive into spoiler waters, but I promise, I won’t go too deep.
Poor Maurizio, You Should’ve Left the Golden Gucci Rocks, and Stuck to the Trucks
As you might’ve expected, Maurizio’s father – stuck in his past of old glory days – didn’t approve of his son’s marriage. Surprisingly, Maurizio decided it’s about time to man up and stand for himself. In the epic scene, Maurizio not only proposes to Patrizia in front of her father, but also asks for a job because his own father strips him of inheritance and any business perspective within the Gucci empire.
It was inspiring to see a business aristocrat with a hose washing the trucks owned by his father-in-law with a smile on his face. He was ready to become a hero starting from zero with the support of his energetic, and unfortunately too ambitious wife.
I’m using the word ‘unfortunately’ because she will eventually make him take the wrong turn and return to reclaim the business throne of Gucci’s empire. You will see for yourself, if you haven’t already, how this is going to end.
In my alternate timeline, Maurizio stays in his father-in-law’s trucking company.
At his father-in-law’s trucking company, he earns the respect of his boss and colleagues. He learns invaluable lessons about entrepreneurship and family business. With the help and support of the force-of-nature embodied in his wife, he not only takes over the business, but expands it beyond the wildest dreams of his father-in-law.
In the meantime, the spoiled and incapable Gucci “next-generation” fails miserably to take the family business to the next level and into the next century.
Maurizio proves his worth to himself and his father who looked down on his life’s choices. He manages to prove everyone who has ever doubted him wrong. And, he lives happily ever after with the love of his life, and a bunch of children who will demonstrate their entrepreneurial-mindset superiority over their Gucci cousins and business counterparts.
Unfortunately, this isn’t how both the real-life story and the movie itself develop and end.
As I already wrote, you will see the movie yourself, and judge for yourself which timeline you prefer better. My alternate ‘House of Gucci’ timeline is entirely hypothetical and shamelessly biased based on my personal life and business experience. However, as such, it guarantees that you won’t end up with the cheesy and cliche tagline ‘The Rise and Fall of House of Gucci.’
The Movie Isn’t Boring and It Ends with a Warning!
There are currently no members of the Gucci family at Gucci
The last scene of the movie ends with this haunting line.
Gucci is one of the most popular brands in the world that’s worth billions of dollars. Yet, there’s no Gucci in Gucci, except for the name itself. Sad? Well-deserved? Unavoidable? Avoidable?
I leave it up to you to decide and vote for me for this year’s Noonies2021 Awards in the Business, Entrepreneur, and Entrepreneurship categories.
I have to take care of my House of Brooks and the Tech House of Hacker Noon with good business decisions and top stories.
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House of Gucci: Rewriting a Better Alternate Business Strategy and Timeline
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