Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

Rob Schneider plays a fishtank cleaner who, because of sudden economic tragedy, finds himself forced barebutt first into the life of a prostitute, or as his pimp says: "he-whore." This means that he is the STAR of this feature, co-produced by another SNL alum, Adam Sandler. In Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, the filmmakers play out a number of odd misassumptions. First is that men being paid by women to have sex is funny. Second is that women who do pay for sex don't really want to have sex; they're just insecure and would really like to have other emotional needs met instead. Third, disabilities are always so funny that you don't even have to try to tell a joke.

Here's a word problem. You go to see Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (currently being marketed as a comedy) and you laugh 9% of the time. If you paid $8.50 for your ticket, how much did that laughter cost? Answer: $8.50. You see, you should be getting back $8.50 worth of funny, but you don't. I'm sorry; it's sort of a trick question. If the world was fair, you should be able to go up to the theater's ticket window , slide over 77 cents (three quarters and two pennies) and then receive your ticket with a smile.

What does this all mean? It means that the writing is uneven. Some jokes are funny, but most are not. Part of the problem: Deuce Bigalow is several movies in one, but mostly it's a love story lodged into the armpit of a fart movie. The tasteless/funny ratio runs far more on the tasteless side than it should. If the South Park movie proves anything, you can get away with anything and everything if the joke is funny enough. Deuce Bigalow is not funny enough. Sometimes Rob Schneider's funny, but mostly not. Sometimes the physical gags actually are very funny (watch for the recently blind roommate cooking), but mostly they're flat. There is one joke about a wet t-shirt which was a little too creepy and wrong to be funny.(Note to boys on a date: do not look at your girlfriend during this sequence, look at your watch instead. When the fishstore girl leans towards the fishtank, press the light on your watch. You must not fail.)