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DUECE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO
* out of *****
Reviewed by Finger_Of_DOOM
Genres
Comedy
1999
Directed by
Mike Mitchell
Written by
Harris Goldberg & Rob Schneider
Cast
Rob Schneider .... Deuce Bigalow
William Forsythe .... Detective Chuck Fowler
Eddie Griffin .... T.J. Hicks
Arija Bareikis .... Kate
Oded Fehr .... Antoine Laconte
Gail O'Grady .... Claire
Richard Riehle .... Bob Bigalow
Jacqueline Obradors .... Mrs. Elaine Fowler
I remember watching this film when it first came out about 7 years ago and thinking that it was quite funny, the film has it's moments. But the danger in revisiting some films, especially comedies after several years, is that you don’t find them funny anymore. After all, I have done a fair bit of growing up over the years and my sense of humor has evolved. So with much trepidation I pooped this disc into my player and the results were as a I feared, this movie was certainly not as funny anymore. My major question however is, does anyone really find Rob Schneider funny anymore? Comedy is a rather subjective form to be sure, but Rob Schneider? Surely he's run his course, so why would anyone think that a sequel is a good idea (2005's Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo). That remains a mystery to me. Thankfully, I don't have to review the awfully unfunny sequel as well. In fact, Schneider probably wouldn't be making films if it wasn't for his buddy and former SNLer Adam Sandler who plays the role of executive producer on this farce. Thanks Sandler, thanks a lot, jerk!
Deuce Bigalow is a loser; he cleans fish tanks for a living and basically optimises the dateless idiot with hardly a redeeming factor to him. One day Deuce is cleaning a pond filled with exotic fish for a rich well-to-do man-about-town, Antoine (Oded Fehr), who is everything a woman could want (or so the filmmakers would like us to think); handsome, wealthy and he knows how to pleasure a woman. Antoine has to fly to Europe to please some bored housewife who needs a good lay and leaves the care of his sick tropical fish and, more importantly, his house to Deuce after only just meeting him (what? You have to be kidding?). Deuce, being the clumsy idiot that he is, breaks his fish tank and realises that he has to replace it and fix the house before Antoine returns to kill his sorry ass. He eventually becomes a gigolo and whores himself to women for money, at first unsuccessfully until he meets a pimp, T.J. Hicks (Eddie Griffin) who helps him become a "he-bitch" to sell his "mangina" (that's right, his "mangina", the male vagina). Deuce meets a variety of crazy women, all in this film for comedic effect, there's the large black lady, the incredibly tall woman, the woman with a prosthetic leg, a narcoleptic, and the girl with Tourrete's who can't control her swearing. Deuce, although a gigolo doesn't sleep with these flawed women but instead finds ways to make them feel good about themselves (herein lies the moral lesson in the film).
This film plays out like a series of failed sketch ideas from SNL or, failing that, from Schneider's own comedy routines. One scenario after another leads our bumbling hero to what I can only assume is comedy. Usually of the crass nature and almost always poking fun at the crazy women that Deuce is contracted to. The filmmakers come off as overly insensitive and rude but they make up for this by injecting a message about how to feel better about oneself, as if this gives them an excuse to humiliate people with disabilities. Eddie Griffin provides the Yoda-like mentor that guides our hero into these crazy situations. His character is occasionally funny, however his routine gets stale quickly.
Perhaps I'm being a little too hard on this film, after all it is a comedy and I shouldn't take it too seriously but when you've seen higher caliber stuff why would you want to go back to stupid inane drivel such as Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo? This is the perfect kind of fare for 14 year-old boys or any adult that still has a 14 year-old’s personality. The point is, if this is your sort of thing then by all means check it out, hell even buy the DVD. If it's not then perhaps give this one a miss, you're not really missing anything noteworthy anyway…and let's hope that Schneider's career comes to an end real soon.
Finger_Of_DOOM's reviews also appear on DVD Compare, where they include details of the DVD release. For this review click here. Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)
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