Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo [M]

Deuce Bigalow is a constantly strapped-for-cash fish tank cleaner who catches a bit of a break when his job for a rich and exotic male gigolo escalates from cleaning the coy pond to taking care of a sick Lion fish and house-sitting his luxurious Malibu apartment. However, a little accident happens resulting in the destruction of an expensive fish tank and a general trashing of the abode. With his client coming back in 3 weeks, Deuce can see there is only one way out of the jam: offer his services to ladies as a lover for hire. 

This movie worked for me once upon a time. There was a time when I watched this movie and found it really funny, but it remains to be seen that we can all grow out of our childhood and adolescence favourites. Happy Madison productions: those of Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider are really all hit-and-miss. You’ll have the ones that work and continue to work even when you grow up a bit like 50 First Dates or The Hot Chick, but then in true hydra style, you’ll have ones that succumb to an expiration date after a while like this one and others that just were iffy to begin with such as The Animal. For me, Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo still has its heart and slightly romantic charm, but ultimately it just doesn’t work for me anymore. 

Deuce Bigalow is a constantly strapped-for-cash fish tank cleaner who catches a bit of a break when his job for a rich and exotic male gigolo escalates from cleaning the coy pond to taking care of a sick Lion fish and house-sitting his luxurious Malibu apartment. However, a little accident happens resulting in the destruction of an expensive fish tank and a general trashing of the abode. With his client coming back in 3 weeks, Deuce can see there is only one way out of the jam: offer his services to ladies as a lover for hire. 

I feel that this is an example of caricatures and exaggerations that are put into the mix so as to really hammer home the movie’s message: that everyone is beautiful and there are people in the world who will love you for you. It’s a very pleasing message to be sure: it’s romantic and what a lot of people want to hear, but the fact that disorders such Tourette Syndrome, obesity, and Narcolepsy are caricatured for humorous purposes is a bit too harsh for my liking and will definitely cut a bit too close to home for audiences who are directly affected or linked to these things. Having grown up a little bit and now being wiser, this type of humour now looks to me to be crude, cheap, and a fairly easy way out of actually doing some serious writing. I don’t want to say that this movie is bad because it really isn’t in many ways, but it belongs in front of a specific type of audience: one that obviously doesn’t involve me or people like me who look for something a little bit cleverer in their movies. 

As far as everything else goes, this movie sits comfortably: the performances are fine, the script delivers the intended message, and everything flows together relatively smoothly. 

Starring Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, Arija Bareikis, Oded Fehr, Big Boy Amy Poehler, and Richard Riehle, Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo is a semi-cute movie with a nice message that shines out, but ultimately it’s a film that can be done without. You’re not missing anything if you go your whole life without watching it. Filled with romance, drama, and comedy, it worked once upon a time for me, but times change.