Retro Review: Gossip (2000)

Gossip (2000) is fun to watch for the same reason it’s fun to watch Havoc (2005) and the like – it’s a small, well-intentioned but not-so-great thriller full of hungry young actors brought to the screen by ambitious young filmmakers looking to break big with a film capitalizing on their youth. It shows promise at times, and entertains in a small screen, Saturday afternoon sort of way. But it’s most interesting when viewed as a launching pad for its talent, and as such it mostly succeeded.


A junior varsity twist flick emulating its idols in the big leagues, Gossip is a movie about the power and danger of words, and the ambiguity with which we so recklessly toss them about. It stars James Marsden as Derrick Webb, a naughty little rich boy looking for kicks. His roommate Cathy (Lena Headey) suggests starting a rumor for a school project, then tracking the patterns on which it travels. Sort of like “Understanding the Game of Telephone 101”. Derrick sees this as an excellent opportunity to stir up some trouble, and he targets Kate Hudson’s spoiled and prissy Naomi for the experiment. The rumor – that Naomi’s beau Beau (Joshua Jackson) got her drunk and date raped her when she passed out.

Malicious? Sure. But what’s the harm, right? They’re only words...