Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) ⭐ 5.7 | Comedy, Romance (original) (raw)
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While watching `Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,' you may well find yourself laughing out loud from time to time and hating yourself for it afterwards. For this lame brained comedy, beyond being incredibly juvenile and silly in its comedic temperament, also manages to be as politically incorrect as possible, using as its targets the obese, the handicapped and an assortment of social outcasts and misfits. And, although the ribbing is generally quite good-natured and even affectionate at times, one can't help but feel a little guilty about laughing.
The formula for the film adheres very closely to the one employed by virtually all "Saturday Night Live" or "Second City" alumni in their initial forays into big screen comedies. Once again we have the usual bumbling nerd trying to win acceptance as a `cool dude,' making a shambles of everything he touches, yet ultimately managing to garner the respect of his peers and the love of a beautiful woman. Rob Schneider plays the title role, a professional fish tank cleaner who, through a complicated series of circumstances, finds himself delving into the realm of `man whore' in order to earn some much needed money. The stupidity of the premise and the situations cannot be underestimated as Schneider is put through a series of pratfalls, misunderstandings and verbal slugfests that are often quite amusing almost in spite of themselves. It takes either a certain amount of daring or a shocking degree of insensitivity (or perhaps a little of both) to line up a series of jokes and sight gags aimed at people who suffer from obesity, Tourettes Syndrome, Narcolepsy, blindness and limb amputation - but this film does it. Somehow, though, the film manages to treat its characters with such a genial fondness that it never seems particularly harsh or mean spirited. Whether or not that mitigates the feeling of guilt resulting from one's laughter must, finally, be a matter of personal conscience I suppose.
Schneider plays the lead in a nicely relaxed fashion, not succumbing to the hyperbolic mugging that so many comics are prone to indulge in when faced with similar roles. And what a pleasant surprise to encounter Marlo Thomas of all people in an uncredited cameo appearance and still looking like a knockout in her sexy lingerie.
`Deuce Bigalow' may not sit well with the easily offended or with those who prefer their comedy to be of a bit more - um, shall we say - cerebral nature. Still, unabashed silliness makes for a fun time every now and then and, in that spirit, this film deserves to be seen.
Tasteless, but often very funny and sometimes hilarious
Let's see...you're watching a movie starring and co-written by Rob Schneider. You're obviously not expecting something with depth and plausibility. But he is a talented comedian, and anyone who is an avid SNL fan has seen Rob perform some very funny skits. He's not Milton Berle, but he has that mindlessly funny comic energy that frequently works.
"Deuce Bigalow" is a film almost aimed at ticking off critics. Not all audiences will find the crude gags funny, but others--preferably those who can let go of their inhibitions for an hour and a half--will have tons of laughs. The subplot involving Deuce's father as a bathroom attendant is pretty cheap. It's an obvious setup for scatological gags. One of them involving a scene in which Deuce is having a pleasant man-to-man talk with his Dad while you can hear the groans of someone in one of the stalls loudly...relieving himself made me roll with laughter. I wouldn't call it a priceless gag, but you don't always have to aim high with comedy. If it's funny, it's funny. If you laughed, you laughed.
Just like any Farrelly Brothers movie, there are gags involving physical handicaps like obesity, narcolepsy and Turrett's Syndrome. However, the jokes are executed in such a broad manner that no one--even ones with any of those disorders--shouldn't be offended.
Naturally, some will hate this movie, some will like this movie, some will love this movie. In my mind, if it's a comedy and I'm laughing--what other factors should I be looking for?
My score: 7 (out of 10)
One of the funniest films of 1999
Among a huge list in 1999 of comedies (American Pie, Bowfinger, Dogma, and South Park topping that list), Deuce Bigaow has to be included. It is a original comedy about a fish man (Rob Schnieder) who becomes a man-prostitute in order to pay for a 6,000 dollar tank. What follows in the film are some of the best and most outrageous antics to come from a SNL type of character movie. The premise sounds dumb, to be sure (as most others are), but Schnieder makes this worth watching with his consistently funny performance. Norm McDonald makes a cameo. A-
Who Didn't Like The Fish Tank Scene...Be Honest!!
Deuce Bigalow is exactly what you would expect from this production team and straight up you either like them or you don't.
I like them so for me Deuce Bigalow hits the spots I expected it to hit.
The comedy is low brow but its not trying to be an art film so its all good.
And I'm not going to apoligise for my absolute love of the term/category of 'He B!tch' :) My wife and I have been using that expression for years now and it never gets old!!
The cast throughout is fun and add plenty of comedy gold.
Its a fun movie that most will at least get some moments of mirth from and others will laugh their socks off :)
Rob Schneider is not known for his acting but he proved that he can perform with the rest of them in "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo." This might be his best film to date because he is what makes this film come alive along with the rest of his castmates.
I liked this movie so much that it hurt me every time I laughed. This was a film that should be used as a model for true laughter and comedy because the jokes were clean and funny at the same time. Schneider co-wrote this film that introduced a plot that was so funny, which had a sweet underlying plot that I found to be very enjoyable to watch.
My favorite scene in this whole movie involved the blind date with the woman who could not control her mouth. You will have to watch the movie to understand what I'm talking about.
The whole cast was incredible as they all turned in superb performances. It also seemed they were having fun with one another on the set and it showed in their performances, which is one thing I look for in a good film.
"Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" cracked me up and should be watched by everyone.
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