Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/ Member: Online Film Critics Society
Starring Rob Schneider, Oded Fehr, Eddie Griffin, William Forsythe, Chi Chi La Rue. Directed by Mike Mitchell. Rated R.
Rob Schneider's Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo is so much better than most of the crap the similarly idiotic, infinitely higher-profile Adam Sandler has made (with the possible exceptions of The Wedding Singer and Happy Gilmore) that it's almost tempting to recommend it. And had the movie been more of a knee-slapper, I might have done just that; unfortunately, this eminently likeable movie is only mildly amusing. First-time feature director Mike Mitchell made a decent frame of a movie -- including a main character that actually develops -- but he forgets to suffuse his goofball, gross-out comedy with laughs.
The title character (Schneider) is actually a fish-tank cleaner by trade. One day he gets himself a gig cleaning the expensive fish tank of the enigmatic and very European Antoine. Deuce soon finds out just what Antoine does for a living, and nobody describes the occupation than Antoine himself: "women pay me to give them pleasure." Deuce responds "I'm gonna kill my guidance counselor!"
Well, Antoine has to go away to Switzerland for six weeks and he entrusts Deuce with his house and his fishtank (not forgetting the ominous "you mess up anything and I'll kill you!"). Needless to say, on his first day on the job, fishtank goes bye-bye thanks to Deuce's overwhelming curiosity about Antoine's fancy exercise equipment. This leaves Deuce with six weeks to obtain enough money to replace the tank and clean up the mondo mess he made. No prizes for guessing Deuce's cash flow sourse of choice.
Yes -- Deuce gets himself a pimp, played by Eddie Griffin. He hooks Deuce up with various colorful dates. One is named "Jabba the Slut," weighing in at some 600 pounds. Another has Tourette's syndrome and spouts random obscenities at innocent passers-by. Yet another is grotesquely tall, with a suspiciously manly voice. We never see the latter's face. Aside from these freaks of nature -- pleasuring whom is repulsive but very lucrative -- there is one normal girl, the one Deuce inevitably falls in love with. Her little secret I dare not reveal, though you can probably guess it from the trailers.
To my surprise, I really warmed up to Deuce Bigalow the person. Unlike some of Sandler's subjects, who tend to be meanies, retards or similarly unlikeable types, Schneider's misbegotten Gigolo has a warm heart and is not an utter moron. What's more, his character actually goes someplace, rather than just being used as a tool to elicit cheap laughs (though there are plenty of those). It's nothing groundbreaking - - I don't want to over-analyze this feather-light fare or give it more credit than it deserves -- but by the end of the movie I felt like Deuce Bigalow was a happier person and I actually cared.
While Deuce Bigalow fulfills the daunting task of inserting likeable characters into the script, it doesn't quite do it when it comes to laughs. Aside from a couple hilarious The Matrix parody sequences, there just isn't much here to incite the kind of fall-off-your-chair belly laughs the ads seem to promise. I won't say that all the gags fall flat but none of them are memorable. I laughed or chuckled intermittently but the movie just wasn't as funny as I was hoping.
After watching Deuce Bigalow, I'm not convinced that Rob Schneider is a bankable leading man. He's successful here, but before this movie, he was only known as "the delivery guy in Big Daddy" or "the guy who shouts 'You can dooooo it!' in The Waterboy". This will streamline his career, but it is hardly a star-making turn. Schneider is a talented actor, but he needs something more challenging (sophisticated?) than this. Adam Sandler (who, by the way, executive produced this) proved that he wasn't a hack in the sweet, romantic, smart The Wedding Singer. If Schneider doesn't want to be remembered as "that gigolo" for the rest of his career, he needs a more significant comedic role.
This is an entertaining diversion, nothing more, nothing less. It's not exactly riotous but it's more than watchable. Deuce Bigalow is probably more hit than miss, though not quite a bullseye.
Grade: C+
©1999 Eugene Novikov
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