Watching the just-released trailer for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, I couldn't help but revisit Christopher Cherot's 2005 soap opera of a movie, titled G.

For those unfamiliar, it's a loose retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, hence the title G., starring Richard T Jones, Blair Underwood, Andre Royo, Chenoa Maxwell, amongst others, and was described as a "Gatsbyesque love story set against Hip-Hop's invasion of the Hamptons." 

I've repeatedly sung the praises of Cherot's debut, Hav Plenty, despite its obvious no-budget/lo-budget aesthetic. The film had a charm to it that won me over, even with its flaws, and I liked the wry humor. It was an auspicious start for Cherot, and it sits comfortably in my DVD collection; I still watch it today, over a decade later, fondly.

However, I can't quite say the same for G., which was Cherot's follow-up to Have Plenty.

I remember really anticipating its release when I learned it was in production, in part because I was looking forward to seeing what Chris Cherot would do next, as he'd been mostly invisible since Hav Plenty, several years prior. But I was disappointed in the effort by Monsieur Cherot, who co-wrote the screenplay based on a story by, of all people, Andrew Lauren (fashion Icon Ralph Lauren's son), who also produced and financed the film. I recall he has a bit role in it as well.

Despite being made on a much higher budget than Hav Plenty, with bigger names in front of and behind the camera, G., which played more like an over-extended glossy music video, was actually Cherot in retrograde, I thought; an opportunity unfulfilled. 

Although I don't know exactly how much control he really had over that project, compared to his feature film debut (a superior film, made for a lot less).

G. pulled in just over $3 million in box office ticket sales; not bad I suppose, all things considered. 

Any of you watch G.? If so, thoughts?

Here's its trailer as a reminder; and underneath, check out a new trailer for Baz Luhrmann's take on the F. Scott Fitzgerald work (with No Church In The Wild, from the Watch The Throne album, blasting at the intro):

Watch G trailer in Entertainment  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com