by Lars Lindahl http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
Starring Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, Arija Bareikis, Oded Fehr, Richard Riehl, and Norm MacDonald.
Directed by Mike Mitchell Written by Harris Goldberg and Rob Schneider
"Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" is a film that gives star Rob Schneider a perfect chance to meander the streets with no clothes on. This heinous image is sprinkled throughout the film to everyone's chagrin. Why would we want to see this…especially on the big screen? If this image is triggered to disgust its audience, it certainly succeeds. There are points where it is almost impossible to stare at the screen. Some films of this same gross-out genre are highly entertaining for one reason. They disgust and entertain simultaneously because they are either innovative or hilarious. "Deuce Bigalow" lacks these two qualities causing the disgust factor to greatly outweigh the entertainment factor. Most of the jokes were unoriginal, either tired spoofs from other films (there were two idiotic Matrix spoofs in two different scenes) or blatantly stolen from its predecessors (an angry dog bangs against a door almost identically to the dog in "There's Something About Mary"). If I wanted to see funny gags just like those of past movies, I would see past movies. It's cheaper and much simpler. The saddest thing about "Deuce Bigalow" is that its mentor is an unfunny Adam Sandler flick. By copying off unsatisfactory movies like "Happy Gilmore" or "Billy Madison" in which the loser does something crazy but winds up getting a hot girl at the end, Rob Schneider's movie is even more unsatisfactory. Now I know why Sandler himself produced this film; he is trying to make his pictures look better.
"Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" tells the story of sad, pathetic Deuce, a worthless pervert who also happens to be a fish freak who cleans fish tanks. Under some wacky circumstances, Deuce finds himself making money as a gigolo so he can pay off debts to a real gigolo whose house he ruined. As a "man-whore," as they call male prostitutes, Deuce ends up tagging along on dates with bizarre women who no one else will go out with. He escorts an incredibly large woman, an incredibly tall woman, a narcoleptic, a woman with Tourette's syndrome, and of course the woman of his dreams. It is hard to root for Schneider in his role. He is just so pathetic and slimy to start out with, that when he begins to date these women the enthusiasm to see him succeed is very low. At least Sandler is like the guy next door you go to sports games with. Schneider's character is just such a jerk that eventually he becomes excessively irritating.
The film follows a one-joke premise that dies off half way through. Although this may be one of the shortest movies of the Winter, with the openings of nearly a dozen three hour plus films, it seemed a lot longer than an hour and a half. Its predictable plot is mostly responsible for this. Also its terrible acting from the talented William Forsythe, who spends the whole film complaining about the size of his private part, to Norm MacDonald, who had a quick and forgetful cameo as a bartender.
The saddest thing about this movie is that it, and the many others like it, are successful at the box office meaning they will continue to multiply and top more deserving films. The scariest, and only real thought that popped into my brain after watching this movie (besides the fact that I think it made me stupider) is that if this movie copied off the very disappointing Sandler flicks, then will future films copy off "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo." I continue to shiver at the thought.
by Lars Lindahl visit my new website: Lars Attacks http://www.angelfire.com/ny3/larsattacks
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