Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a 1999 American sex comedy film directed by Mike Mitchell and written by Harris Goldberg and Rob Schneider. The film stars Schneider in the title role, and also starring William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, and Arija Bareikis with supporting roles by Oded Fehr, Gail O'Grady, Richard Riehle, Jacqueline Obradors, Big Boy, Amy Poehler, and Dina Platias. The film tells the story of a hapless fishtank cleaner who goes into business as a male prostitute in an attempt to earn enough money to repair damage he caused while house-sitting. It is notable for being the first film produced by Happy Madison Productions.

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
A man holding a rose who is seen through the peephole.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMike Mitchell
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPeter Lyons Collister
Edited by
Music byTeddy Castellucci
Production
companies
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • December 10, 1999 (1999-12-10)
Running time
88 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$17 million[2]
Box office$92.9 million[2]

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo was released in the United States on December 10, 1999, by Buena Vista Pictures. While the film received generally negative reviews from critics, it was a box office success, grossing over $92 million worldwide against a $17 million budget.[2]

A sequel, titled Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, was released in August 2005 by Sony Pictures Releasing.

Plot

Deuce Bigalow, an insecure fishtank cleaner, is fired for cleaning the tank at a public aquarium while naked. Deuce is unsuccessful in attracting women, so he attempts to keep himself busy at work. On a house call, he meets the Argentinian male prostitute Antoine Laconte. Antoine is going on a business trip, and so asks Deuce to care for his sick lionfish and protect his home while he is away. Deuce accidentally sets Antoine's kitchen on fire when trying to make a grilled cheese sandwich in the toaster, and breaks an expensive fish tank, causing a lot of water damage.

Fearing Antoine will kill him (Antoine even tells him he will if he messes the place up), Deuce is forced to find a way to pay $6,000 for the damage. After a talk with a bartender and engaging in a gigolo work with a woman named Claire, Deuce is approached by a low-rent pimp T.J. Hicks who offers to help Deuce make enough money to buy a new fish tank and convinces Deuce to take over the absent Antoine's role as a gigolo. Deuce decides to make the clients feel better about themselves since he only desires to have sex with beautiful women.

After a talk with his dad Bob, Deuce meets unusual clients but he still manages to get along with them, despite there being no sex involved, by helping them with certain issues in their lives. The clients include Fluisa, a mannish obese woman weighing close to 750 pounds; Carol, a woman who is severely narcoleptic; Ruth, who has Tourette syndrome with coprolalia, and therefore is afraid of socializing; and Tina, a woman that has a pituitary gland disorder and is extremely tall. Deuce's list of clients gradually increases, with each client being satisfied by much more fulfilling measures due to his personal attention and friendship. However, Deuce falls in love with one of his clients named Kate who has a prosthetic leg. She later breaks up with Deuce when she finds out that he was a prostitute hired by her friends.

Meanwhile, Deuce is being stalked by Detective Chuck Fowler, who demands Antoine's "black book" of clients and threatens to take Deuce to jail if he does not comply. Deuce eventually helps Fowler please his wife by stripping and erotically dancing for her, and the two make amends. Deuce is still taken into custody on prostitution charges as Fowler needs someone to bring in and Deuce refuses to betray his friend T.J. At the hearing, it is revealed that Deuce never slept with any of the clients except for Kate. Since Deuce gave back the money to Kate and was not paid for sex with her, he is cleared of all charges.

Using the money he made, Deuce restores Antoine's fish tank as TJ, Chuck, and Deuce's clients help to restore the rest of Antoine's house. Although due to time constraints, he is warned that the glass may not be installed properly. Unfortunately, Kate's roommate Bergita accidentally kills the lionfish in Antoine's aquarium when she starts the mixer in which the lionfish was being kept. Deuce buys a replacement lionfish and returns to Antoine's house just before he returns. Antoine taps the new aquarium and the glass shatters. Deuce then reveals his prostituting adventures to the furious Antoine. Enraged, Antoine tries to kill Deuce and at one point shoots a crossbow bolt at him. Fluisa shows up, comes between the two men, and saves Deuce's life (she is not killed because the bolt hits her breasts, between which she has hidden a roast chicken). Antoine is then arrested by Detective Fowler.

A beach party is shown as a postscript reveals the following: Bob becomes a male prostitute and earns almost $7.00 per week. Ruth opens up an all-girls school for people with Tourette's called The Dicklick Shitballs Academy for Girls. Inspired by Deuce, Carol manages to fulfill her dream trip to the Eiffel Tower. Fluisa underwent extensive liposuction and became a model in Victoria's Secret known as Naomi. The offspring of an incarcerated Antoine are Tina really tall and hairy. T.J. stars in a hit sitcom called "Hanging with Mr. Man-Pimp". Deuce marries Kate and starts a radical anti-sushi resistance movement, and they live happily ever after.

Cast
  • Rob Schneider as Deuce Bigalow, an insecure fishtank cleaner turned gigolo.
  • William Forsythe as Detective Charles "Chuck" Fowler, an LAPD detective.
  • Eddie Griffin as Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks, a crazy low-rent pimp and Deuce's friend.
  • Arija Bareikis as Kate, a woman with a prosthetic leg, one of Deuce's clients and later his wife.
  • Oded Fehr as Antoine Laconte, a famous gigolo from Argentina and Chuck's nemesis.
  • Gail O'Grady as Claire, a woman who is Deuce's first client.
  • Richard Riehle as Robert "Bob" Bigalow, a restroom attendant who is Deuce's dad.
  • Jacqueline Obradors as Elaine Fowler, Chuck's wife.
  • Big Boy as Fluisa aka Jabba, an obese woman weighing close to 750 pounds and one of Deuce's clients.
  • Amy Poehler as Ruth, a woman who has Tourette syndrome with coprolalia and is one of Deuce's clients.
  • Dina Platias as Bergita, Kate's blind roommate.
  • Deborah Lemen as Carol, a woman with narcolepsy who is one of Deuce's clients and is seeking to go on a trip to France.
  • Torsten Voges as Tina, a woman that has a pituitary gland disorder and is extremely tall enough that her face isn't seen. She is also one of Deuce's clients.
  • Bree Turner as Allison
  • Andrew Shaifer as Neil, a fish tank repairman.
  • Allen Covert as Vic
  • Elle King as a girl scout who Deuce buys cookies from
  • Jackie Sandler as Sally
  • Pilar Schneider as Old Lady at Restaurant
  • Barry Cutler as Dr. Rosenblatt, a doctor who Kate works for
  • John Harrington Bland as Dr. Rosenblatt's Patient
  • Ron Soble as Judge Addison, a judge who presided over Deuce's trial
  • Robb Skyler as the district attorney who prosecuted Deuce
  • Norm Macdonald as the bartender who Deuce interacts with (uncredited). The postscript stated that Norm Macdonald only worked on this movie for one day.
  • Adam Sandler as the voice of Robert Justin (uncredited), an offscreen passerby who insults Tina.
  • Wes Takahashi as a sushi chef (uncredited)
  • Marlo Thomas as Margaret (uncredited)

Production

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo was the first film released by the Happy Madison Productions film production company. Adam Sandler served as the film's executive producer. Sandler also starred behind the scenes and can be heard yelling the infamous "Freak!' line and other various lines in the background.

Soundtrack
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedDecember 14, 1999 (1999-12-14)
Recorded1999
GenreSoundtrack
LabelHollywood Records
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
  1. "Call Me" - Blondie
  2. "Spill the Wine" - Eric Burdon and War
  3. "You Sexy Thing" - Hot Chocolate
  4. "Get Down Tonight" - KC and the Sunshine Band
  5. "Let's Get It On" - Marvin Gaye
  6. "I'm Not in Love" - 10cc
  7. "Magnet and Steel" - Walter Egan
  8. "No Worries" - Hepcat
  9. "Can't Smile Without You" - Sean Beal
  10. "Lift Me Up" - Jeff Lynne
  11. "Call Me" - Emilia Maiello

Release

Box office

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo opened theatrically on December 10, 1999 in 2,154 venues and earned $12,224,016 in its opening weekend, ranking third in the North American box office behind Toy Story 2's fourth weekend and fellow newcomer The Green Mile.[4] The film ended its run, having grossed $65,538,755 in the United States and Canada, and $27,400,000 overseas for a worldwide total of $92,938,755. Based on a $17 million budget, the film was a box office success.[2]

Critical reception

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 22% based on 76 reviews, with an average rating of 4.01/10. The site's consensus states: "According to critics, Deuce Bigalow is just too dumb and filled with old, tired gags."[5] On Metacritic it has a score of 30 out of 100 based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[6] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B.[7]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, stating "It's the kind of picture those View n' Brew theaters were made for, as long as you don't View."[8] Kendall Morgan from The Dallas Morning News writes in her review, "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo makes There's Something About Mary look like Masterpiece Theatre."[9]

Sequel

In 2005, a sequel, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, was released by Sony Pictures Releasing.

References
  1. "DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO (15)". British Board of Film Classification. March 9, 2000. Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  2. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  3. Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, archived from the original on June 24, 2021, retrieved June 24, 2021
  4. "Weekend Box Office Results for December 10-12, 1999". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. December 13, 1999. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  5. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. December 10, 1999. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  6. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  7. "DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO (1999) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018.
  8. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Movie Review (1999)". Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times. December 10, 1999. Archived from the original on December 1, 2015. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  9. Kendall Morgan (December 10, 1999). "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.