Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a 1999 American sex comedy film directed by Mike Mitchell in his directorial debut, written by Harris Goldberg and Rob Schneider, and starring Schneider as a hapless fishtank cleaner who goes into business as a male sex worker in an attempt to earn enough money to repair damage he caused while house-sitting. The film is notable for being the first film produced by Happy Madison Productions.

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMike Mitchell
Produced by
Written by
Starring
Music byTeddy Castellucci
CinematographyPeter Lyons Collister
Edited by
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]

The film was released on December 10, 1999 by Walt Disney Pictures (through its Touchstone Pictures label). While the film received negative reviews from critics, it was a box office success, grossing $92 million worldwide on a $17 million budget.[2] A sequel, titled Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, was released in 2005 by Columbia Pictures instead of Touchstone Pictures.

Plot

Deuce Bigalow, an insecure fishtank cleaner (aquarist), is fired for cleaning the tank at a public aquarium in the nude. Deuce is unsuccessful in attracting women, so he attempts to keep himself busy at work. On a house call, he meets an 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.

Fearing Antoine will kill him, Deuce is forced to find a way to pay $6,000 for the damage. Low-rent pimp T.J. Hicks 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.

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 Carol, a woman who is severely narcoleptic; Ruth, who has Tourette syndrome with coprolalia, and therefore is afraid of socializing; Fluisa, an obese woman weighing close to 750 pounds; 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, Kate (Arija Bareikis), 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's own refusal to betray his newfound friend, T.J., by turning him in. 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, although due to time constraints he is warned that the glass may not be installed properly. Unfortunately, Kate's blind roommate accidentally kills the prize fish in Antoine's aquarium when she starts the mixer in which the fish was being kept. Deuce buys a replacement fish and returns to Antoine's house just in time. Antoine is suspicious, but cannot figure out why. He 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. The aforementioned overweight client, 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, and Deuce marries Kate. The end sequences continues to follow the epilogue. Deuce's father becomes a male prostitute. Fluisa underwent extensive liposuction and became a model in Victoria's Secret known as Naomi. Ruth opens up an all girls school for people with Tourette's. Carol manages to fulfill her dream trip to France. T.J. starts his own reality show dedicated to his experiences as a male prostitute, and an incarcerated Antoine marries Tina.

Cast

Production

Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is the first film released by the Happy Madison Productions film production company. Adam Sandler served as the film's executive producer. Sandler also shouted the insults "Freak!" and other offscreen lines.

Soundtrack
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedDecember 14, 1999 (1999-12-14)
Recorded1999
GenreSoundtrack
LabelHollywood Records
  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.[3] 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

The film 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."[4] On Metacritic it has a score of 30 out of 100 based on reviews from 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[5] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B.[6]

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."[7] 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."[8]

Sequel

In 2005, a sequel, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, was released by Columbia Pictures instead of Touchstone Pictures.

References
  1. "DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO (15)". British Board of Film Classification. March 9, 2000. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  2. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  3. "Weekend Box Office Results for December 10-12, 1999". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. December 13, 1999. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  4. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  5. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  6. "DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO (1999) B". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018.
  7. "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo Movie Review (1999)". Roger Ebert. Chicago Sun-Times. December 10, 1999. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
  8. 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.
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