Gia (1998)

  Ah, the young Angelina Jolie days, when she was an up-and-coming starlet who would still take her clothes off for a role.  It's fun to go back and watch earlier movies and see when now-stars valued rent money over dignity.

This is the made-for-HBO film about the life of Gia Carangi, a Philly girl who became a model in the late 70's, shot to international fame for her sultry vitality, picked up a crippling drug addiction along the way, and died at age 26 from AIDS. 

The movie is shot in a pseudo-documentary style, with "interviews" from Gia's (Angelina Jolie) photographers, lovers, and family interspersed with scenes acted in real time.  It focuses most on Gia's pursuit and eventual relationship with makeup artist Linda (Elizabeth Mitchell), her tumultuous relationship with her mother (Mercedes Ruehl) and the mentoring she received from legendary talent manager Wilhelmina Cooper (Faye Dunaway). It also spends a good chunk of time covering the lurid results of Gia's drug addiction, showing her sores and track marks, her stints in rehab, and her decline from AIDS-related pneumonia. 

Angelina Jolie won a Golden Globe and a SAG award for this film, which was only fair.  If this had been released to theaters, she might have won an Oscar for it, instead of Gwyneth Paltrow.  But it's ok, because Angie has gone on to become a producer and director, as well as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN.  But, if you want to see her naked and making out with Juliet from Lost, pick up a copy of Gia.