Rob Schneider is front and center in his ‘comedic’ turn as the hapless pool cleaner who turns to alternative means to help solve his financial problems.
The Plot
Deuce Bigalow is an unlucky fish tank cleaner who can’t catch a break. Fired from his job at the aquarium, Deuce is on his last legs when he befriends a local gigolo named Antoine. His friend has a rare fish that needs to be looked after, so Deuce moves into Antoine’s house, and despite his best intentions, Deuce wrecks the immaculate mansion and smashes Antoine’s fish tank.
Having to make a lot of money quickly, Deuce pretends to be a friend of Antoine’s and has many ‘dates’ which pay well, thanks to T.J.’s help in organizing the dates. The more Deuce dates, the more money he makes and his hope to fix Antoine’s place before he returns comes closer to fruition.
His dates are less than perfect, from a girl with narcolepsy, Tourette’s, and even abnormally tall, Deuce has all sorts of encounters. Pursued by the eccentric Detective Fowler, Deuce overcomes a lot and eventually life gets back to normal for him.
The Good
There are funny moments in the film.
The Bad and the Ugly
While I understand why this film was a hit in 1999, there is no way a movie of this caliber would ever be made today.
There are multiple offensive moments that are played up for laughs which aren’t that funny. Deuce is no hero, nor is he someone to care about. His love for fish is a little extreme. The problem with the film is the dates that he has.
Of course, Deuce is going to date larger women, very tall women, a woman with Tourette’s syndrome, and find love with someone who is missing a leg. The jokes are not completely insulting, but they haven’t lasted the test of time.
The other problem is that Deuce Bigalow is not a great character. I really dislike him. Deuce is pathetic from his nude swimming at the aquarium to having the store clerk reach to the bottom of the aquarium to get an item just because it will get her shirt wet, Deuce Bigalow is an idiot. I don’t want him to be successful, I want him to go to jail.
It’s hard to like a movie when you despise the main character.
Beyond the Film Facts
- The cookie girl is played by Rob Schneider’s daughter Elle King.
- Rob Schneider was a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nominee for his role in the film. We all know how valuable those awards are.
- The film was nominated for best teen comedy at the Teen Choice Awards.
- This was the first movie from Happy Madison Productions.
- Adam Sandler has a voice credit in the film. He can be heard shouting the word freak when Deuce is out with the tall girl.
- The sequel to the film, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo was produced and released by Columbia Pictures.
- The movie earned over $12 million dollars on its opening weekend.
- Roger Ebert was not a fan of this film. That’s being kind compared to what Ebert had to say.
The Streamy Award
{The following four categories are based on a Film Reel scale.
1 Reel-Bored and Killing Time, 2 Reels-When You Have Some Time, 3 Reels-Make Some Time, 4 Reels-Big Screen Event}
It’s hard to recommend a movie that is bad, and I certainly do not recommend you watch Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. There are funny moments but not enough to recommend that you spend your free time watching this film.
Disney may have lost out on the rights to the sequel, but I think that’s ok. It’s no harm to the studio, and certainly no loss to the Disney film vault.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo gets a ¼ Reel. There are moments that are funny which can be found on YouTube. No need to waste your time watching the whole movie.
Cast and Crew
- Rob Schneider as Deuce Bigalow
- Eddie Griffin as T.J. Hicks
- William Forsythe as Detective Chuck Fowler
- Oded Fehr as Antoine Laconte
- Gail O’Grady as Claire
- Amy Poehler as Ruth
- Richard Riehle as Bob Bigalow
Directed by Mike Mitchell
Produced by Touchstone Pictures / Happy Madison Productions / Out of the Blue . . . Entertainment
Release Date: December 10, 1999
Budget: $17 million
Box Office Gross
Domestic: $65,538,755
Worldwide Total: $92,938,755
Coming Soon
The Rob Schneider retrospective continues with The Hot Chick.