Who’s going Gaga for ‘Gucci’?

I’m thinking I should have gone easier on those creamed potatoes and maybe passed on that second slice of Nashville hot pumpkin pie. But this is no time for regrets. The Beatles are on TV, and I’m looking to see if anyone is selling trousers in the exact shade of green that George Harrison wore during that rooftop concert. If so, this might be a purchase that would tempt even those Buy Nothing devotees.

I’m Glenn Whipp, awards columnist for the Los Angeles Times, host of the Envelope’s Friday newsletter, burning matches, lifting latches, on my way home.

Goo Goo G’Gucci

Sorry for that headline. I’m obsessed with Peter Jackson’s “Get Back” Beatles documentary at the moment. I’m going to spend the weekend watching it on a loop. It makes me happy and prevents me from dwelling on the disappointment that is “House of Gucci.” Win-win.

I wish I had as much fun with “House of Gucci” as some of my friends did, seeing this trashy, tedious movie through their Gaga-vision and finding only joy in its camp and Jared Leto’s prosthetics and forgetting that Ridley Scott couldn’t quite decide on a tone for this 2-hour, 40-minute true-crime melodrama. Sure, there are pleasures to be had in its 160 minutes, many of which my colleague Justin Chang laid out in his generally positive review of the film. Gaga is, as Justin writes, a force of nature, which is about the one thing that critics agree on. (“Gucci” sits at a meh 59 right now on the review aggregation site Metacritic.)

Lady Gaga goes to the chalet in “House of Gucci.”

(Fabio Lovino / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures)

Oscars 2022: ‘Tomorrow never knows’

Could “House of Gucci” earn a best picture nomination? It is directed by Sir Ridley and it’s wildly watchable in spots, so maaaaybe ... but probably not, as I lay out in this column that sports the headline “It’s never too early to talk Oscars. Here are 5 things to think about now,” a title that you may find objectionable, though you are here, reading this newsletter. But then, maybe you come for the pie and the bad Beatles puns in the headers. In that case, let me just say: “I want you. I want you so baaa-aaad. I want you. I want you so baaa-aaad, it’s driving me mad, it’s driving me mad.” Now excuse me, while I crawl off to sleep in the bath.

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-’CODA’

But before I go, a word for “CODA,” the story of Ruby Rossi, the only hearing member of a Deaf family (the movie’s title is an acronym: child of Deaf adults), who, at 17, dreams of going away to college and pursuing her passion for singing. It’s on Apple ... no, not Apple Records, the label the Beatles created, but Apple TV +.

It’s a sweet coming-of-age story that reduces everyone to tears in the best way, as I discussed with Emilia Jones and Marlee Matlin, who play the daughter and mother in the family, and the film’s writer-director, Siân Heder. I could go on — but I already have (read the article ... nudge, nudge). And also writer Mike Royce summed it up nicely on Twitter, saying “CODA” is “the perfect film to watch with your family during the holidays instead of arguing about how everything is f—.”

On that note, time to get back to the Beatles and that pumpkin pie. From me to you: Hope you’re having a fine and blessed Thanksgiving weekend.

Marlee Matlin and Emilia Jones, stars of “CODA.”

(Jesse Dittmar / For The Times)

Don’t just read ... listen

The Envelope podcast has returned with brand-new episodes that spotlight this awards season’s top contenders. Each week features A-list actors, directors or showrunners in intimate conversations about their lives and creative processes — and how it all fuels their art. For our season premiere, which launched Tuesday, Kirsten Dunst recounts transformative moments from her long career and shares stories about starring with Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog.” New episodes — featuring Los Angeles Times entertainment reporters Yvonne Villarreal and Mark Olsen in conversation with the likes of Halle Berry, Jennifer Coolidge and Adam McKay — will drop every Tuesday.