Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (US)

Films like this one are almost immune to opinion. If you dislike base humour and walk around with your nose in the air, then you won`t even bother to read this (or any other review). That`s what makes this such a great opportunity to recommend this movie.

Fans of "Adam Sandler" comedies (he`s executive producer here) will notice many of the traits that make his movies so watchable. It`s light, it`s consistent in it`s humorous tones and above all it lacks the p.c attitude that spoils so many new comedy releases. They`ve found a formula for entertainment and it works, pretentions and deeper meanings are always completely avoided. Here Rob Schneider steps into Adam`s shoes and fills them sufficiently well. He isn`t quite as endearing, but this particular character is probably to blame for that.

Deuce is a loser fish-tank cleaner who accidentaly destroys the contents of an appartment he`s looking after (including a $5000 tank). A replacement must be bought before the client returns and he ends up as an impromptu gigolo. Later on, a pimp (Eddie Griffin) takes him under his wing and lines up a variety of misfit clients, including a narcileptic and a freakishly tall woman (who`s head is always too high to fit on screen!). Obviously, he`s reluctant to complete his duties and comes up with a variety of ways to avoid `pleasuring` these ladies.

As a story it`s dumb (but fun), silly (but enjoyable) and the words "guilty" & "pleasure" have never been more apt!. Thankfully the disc itself is well-equipped to deliver a good performance and the encoding is first-rate. The audio is smartly rendered and "That`s a huge b*tch!" is just one of the heckles you`ll get to hear given spatial positioning in the DD5.1 mix. The picture is bright and vibrant too and never short of impressive. Sadly, there aren`t any interesting extras to speak of. There are some storyboard comparisons and a teeny little featurette, but neither is worth bothering with really (it`s the AV quality that matters in the end though).

Basically, this is a lot of fun and won`t tax your intellect too much. I think new-guy Griffin stood-out as the funniest character (as Deuce`s "Male-Madame"). I seemed to find his comic portrayal a lot more humorus the second time around though because I`d adjusted to his style and knew all of his phrases (he-pimp, she-john, man-whore etc). Actually, there are plenty of other decent characters and well-judged performances to applaud and I think the film has a genuinely good-natured core. Those who want sub-text and depth should look elsewhere, but if all you want is an enjoyable few hours and a couple of good laughs, look no further.