American Gigolo is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama thriller film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story of a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically involved with a prominent politician's wife (Hutton), while simultaneously becoming the prime suspect in a murder case. American Gigolo was released by Paramount Pictures on February 1, 1980. The film established Gere as a leading man, and was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to include frontal male nudity from its main star.